Reference checked for 'null' is not used inside 'if'

Reports references to variables that are checked for nullability in the condition of an if statement or conditional expression but not used inside that if statement.

Usually this either means that the check is unnecessary or that the variable is not referenced inside the if statement by mistake.

Example:

  void test(Integer i) {
    if (i != null) { // here 'i' is not used inside 'if' statement
      System.out.println();
    }
  }

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.

VariableNotUsedInsideIf

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 | Java | Probable bugs

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 VariableNotUsedInsideIf

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

IntelliJ IDEA 2025.2

Inspection Details
By default bundled with:	IntelliJ IDEA 2025.2, Qodana for JVM 2025.2,

Last modified: 18 September 2025