Missing Apex documentation
Why is this an issue?
Apex classes, interfaces, enums, constructors, methods, and properties without documentation are harder to understand and maintain:
Developer productivity: Time wasted understanding undocumented code
Knowledge loss: Intent is lost when original developers leave
AI agents: Undocumented code is harder for AI tools to work with correctly
Onboarding: New team members struggle with undocumented codebases
This rule checks for ApexDoc comments (/** ... */) on:
All classes, interfaces, and enums (regardless of access modifier)
Public constructors, methods, and properties (private, protected, and package-private members are not flagged)
Note: Only /** ... */ ApexDoc comments satisfy this rule. Regular block comments (/* ... */) and line comments (// ...) are not treated as documentation.
Examples
Class
Example of incorrect code:
public class AccountService {
public static void processAccounts(List<Account> accounts) {
// ...
}
}
Example of correct code:
/**
* Service class for Account-related business operations.
*/
public class AccountService {
public static void processAccounts(List<Account> accounts) {
// ...
}
}
Interface
Example of incorrect code:
public interface AccountProcessor {
void process(Account acc);
}
Example of correct code:
/** Processes Account records for classification and validation. */
public interface AccountProcessor {
void process(Account acc);
}
Enum
Example of incorrect code:
public enum Priority {
HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW
}
Example of correct code:
/** Represents the priority level assigned to an Account. */
public enum Priority {
HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW
}
Constructor
Example of incorrect code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
public AccountService() {
}
}
Example of correct code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
/** Creates a new AccountService with default settings. */
public AccountService() {
}
}
Method
Example of incorrect code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
public static void processAccounts(List<Account> accounts) {
// ...
}
}
Example of correct code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
/**
* Sets priority based on industry for a list of accounts.
* @param accounts The accounts to process
*/
public static void processAccounts(List<Account> accounts) {
// ...
}
}
Property
Example of incorrect code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
public Integer batchSize { get; set; }
}
Example of correct code:
/** Service class for Account operations. */
public class AccountService {
/** The number of records to process per batch. */
public Integer batchSize { get; set; }
}
Regular comments do not count
A /* ... */ block comment is not an ApexDoc comment. This code is still flagged:
/* This is NOT an ApexDoc comment */
public class AccountService {}
Use /** ... */ instead:
/** This IS an ApexDoc comment. */
public class AccountService {}
How can I fix violations?
Add class-level documentation: Describe the class purpose and responsibilities.
Document public methods: Explain what methods do, their parameters, and return values.
Document public constructors and properties: Include documentation for all public-facing members, not just methods.
Use
/** ... */format: Only ApexDoc comments count — regular block comments (/* ... */) and line comments (// ...) are not recognized by this rule.
When should I disable this rule?
You may dismiss specific violations for simple getter/setter methods or trivial code where documentation adds no value.
Resources