cogc - Cognitive Complexity

Overview#

The cogc command calculates cognitive complexity for C# code. Unlike cyclomatic complexity which measures structural complexity, cognitive complexity measures how difficult code is for humans to understand. It takes into account nesting, breaks in linear flow, and other factors that affect readability.

Syntax#

nmbl cogc <ProjectFileOrDirectory>

Arguments#

• ProjectFileOrDirectory - Path to a .csproj file or directory containing C# files

Output#

Displays cognitive complexity scores for methods in your code, helping you identify methods that are difficult to understand and maintain.

Examples#

Analyze a Specific Project#

nmbl cogc src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj

Calculates cognitive complexity for all methods in the project.

Analyze a Directory#

nmbl cogc src/Services/

Analyzes all C# files in the Services directory.

Compare with Cyclomatic Complexity#

# First check cyclomatic complexity
nmbl cc src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj

# Then check cognitive complexity
nmbl cogc src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj

Comparing both metrics gives you a complete picture of code complexity.

Understanding Cognitive Complexity#

Cognitive complexity differs from cyclomatic complexity by:

• Penalizing nesting - Deeply nested code is harder to understand
• Ignoring structures that don’t affect readability - Simple switches don’t increase complexity
• Accounting for breaks in linear flow - Jumps and recursion increase complexity

Complexity Guidelines:

• 0-5: Very easy to understand
• 6-10: Easy to understand
• 11-20: Moderate difficulty
• 21+: Difficult to understand, should be refactored

Related Commands#

• cc - Calculate cyclomatic complexity
• loc - Count lines of code
• todos - Find TODO comments