Empty Init Block

ID

kotlin.empty_init_block

Severity

low

Remediation Complexity

medium

Remediation Risk

low

Remediation Effort

medium

Resource

Code Smell

Language

Kotlin

Tags

code_smell, empty

Description

Reports init { } blocks whose body contains no statements.

An init block is executed during object construction to perform initialization work. An empty init block contributes nothing and constitutes dead code. It typically results from an incomplete implementation or from initialization logic that was removed without deleting the surrounding block.

Rationale

class Config {
    val value = 42
    init { }        // FLAW — empty init block has no effect
}

class ValidConfig {
    val value = 42
    init {
        require(value > 0) { "value must be positive" }  // OK
    }
}

Remediation

  • Remove the empty init { } block.

  • If initialization logic is needed, add it inside the block.

References