'assertEquals()' may be 'assertSame()'

Reports JUnit assertEquals() calls that can be replaced with an equivalent assertSame() call. This is possible when the arguments are instances of a final class that does not override the Object.equals() method and makes it explicit that the object identity is compared.

Suggests replacing assertEquals() with assertSame().

Example:

  @Test
  public void testObjectType() {
    Object o = getObject();
    Assert.assertEquals(String.class, o.getClass());
  }

After the quick fix is applied:

  @Test
  public void testSort() {
    Object o = getObject();
    Assert.assertSame(String.class, o.getClass());
  }

Locating this inspection

By ID

Can be used to locate inspection in e.g. Qodana configuration files, where you can quickly enable or disable it, or adjust its settings.

AssertEqualsMayBeAssertSame

Via Settings dialog

Path to the inspection settings via IntelliJ Platform IDE Settings dialog, when you need to adjust inspection settings directly from your IDE.

Settings or Preferences | Editor | Inspections | JUnit

Inspection ID: AssertEqualsMayBeAssertSame

Suppressing Inspection

You can suppress this inspection by placing the following comment marker before the code fragment where you no longer want messages from this inspection to appear:

//noinspection AssertEqualsMayBeAssertSame

More detailed instructions as well as other ways and options that you have can be found in the product documentation:

IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3

Inspection Details
By default bundled with:	IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3, Qodana for JVM 2025.3,

Last modified: 03 December 2025