diff --git a/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/CheckstyleRunner.java b/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/CheckstyleRunner.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ab1f7eb..0000000
--- a/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/CheckstyleRunner.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,180 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2016-present Open Networking Foundation
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package org.onosproject.checkstyle;
-
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.Checker;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.ConfigurationLoader;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.DefaultConfiguration;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.PropertiesExpander;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.AuditEvent;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.AuditListener;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.CheckstyleException;
-import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.Configuration;
-import org.onosproject.buckdaemon.BuckTask;
-import org.onosproject.buckdaemon.BuckTaskContext;
-
-import java.io.File;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
-import java.util.stream.Collectors;
-
-import static com.google.common.base.Strings.isNullOrEmpty;
-
-/**
- * Buck task for executing checkstyle on the specified project files.
- */
-public class CheckstyleRunner implements BuckTask {
-
-    private final Configuration config;
-
-    public CheckstyleRunner(String configLocation, String suppressionLocation) {
-        try {
-            // create a configuration
-            DefaultConfiguration config = (DefaultConfiguration) ConfigurationLoader
-                    .loadConfiguration(configLocation, new PropertiesExpander(System.getProperties()));
-
-            // add the suppression file to the configuration
-            DefaultConfiguration suppressions = new DefaultConfiguration("SuppressionFilter");
-            suppressions.addAttribute("file", suppressionLocation);
-            config.addChild(suppressions);
-
-            this.config = config;
-        } catch (CheckstyleException e) {
-            throw new RuntimeException(e);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void execute(BuckTaskContext context) {
-        List<String> input = context.input();
-        if (input.size() < 3 || input.get(2).length() == 0) {
-            return;
-        }
-        String project = input.get(0);
-        String baseDir = input.get(1);
-
-        // create a listener for output
-        StringAuditor listener = new StringAuditor(context);
-        listener.setProjectName(project);
-        listener.setBaseDir(baseDir);
-
-        // create Checker object and run it
-        final Checker checker = new Checker();
-        final ClassLoader moduleClassLoader = Checker.class.getClassLoader();
-        checker.setModuleClassLoader(moduleClassLoader);
-
-        try {
-            checker.configure(config);
-            checker.addListener(listener);
-
-            // run Checker
-            List<File> fileList = input.subList(2, input.size()).stream()
-                    .filter(s -> !s.contains("/:"))  // Yes, fighting a hack with a hack.
-                    .map(File::new)
-                    .collect(Collectors.toList());
-            int errorCounter = checker.process(fileList);
-            if (errorCounter > 0) {
-                context.output("CHECKSTYLE ERROR");
-            }
-
-            listener.await();
-        } catch (CheckstyleException | InterruptedException e) {
-            e.printStackTrace(); //dump exeception to stderr
-            throw new RuntimeException(e);
-        } finally {
-            checker.destroy();
-        }
-
-    }
-
-    static class StringAuditor implements AuditListener {
-
-        private final BuckTaskContext context;
-        private CountDownLatch finishedLatch = new CountDownLatch(1);
-        private String baseDir = "";
-        private String project = "";
-
-        StringAuditor(BuckTaskContext context) {
-            this.context = context;
-        }
-
-        public void setBaseDir(String base) {
-            this.baseDir = base;
-        }
-
-        public void setProjectName(String projectName) {
-            this.project = projectName;
-        }
-
-        public void await() throws InterruptedException {
-            finishedLatch.await();
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void auditStarted(AuditEvent evt) {
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void auditFinished(AuditEvent evt) {
-            finishedLatch.countDown();
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void fileStarted(AuditEvent evt) {
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void fileFinished(AuditEvent evt) {
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void addError(AuditEvent evt) {
-            switch (evt.getSeverityLevel()) {
-                case ERROR:
-                    StringBuilder output = new StringBuilder();
-                    String fileName = evt.getFileName();
-                    if (!isNullOrEmpty(baseDir)) {
-                        int index = fileName.indexOf(baseDir);
-                        if (index >= 0) {
-                            fileName = fileName.substring(index + baseDir.length() + 1);
-                            if (!isNullOrEmpty(project)) {
-                                output.append(project).append(':');
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                    output.append(fileName).append(':').append(evt.getLine());
-                    if (evt.getColumn() > 0) {
-                        output.append(':').append(evt.getColumn());
-                    }
-                    output.append(": ").append(evt.getMessage());
-                    context.output(output.toString());
-                    break;
-                case IGNORE:
-                case INFO:
-                case WARNING:
-                default:
-                    break;
-            }
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void addException(AuditEvent evt, Throwable throwable) {
-            addError(evt);
-            context.output(throwable.getMessage());
-        }
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/package-info.java b/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/package-info.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 241a819..0000000
--- a/tools/build/conf/src/main/java/org/onosproject/checkstyle/package-info.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2018-present Open Networking Foundation
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-/**
- * checkstyle runner for BuckDaemon.
- */
-package org.onosproject.checkstyle;
diff --git a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/checkstyle-mvn.xml b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/checkstyle-mvn.xml
index a236f73..fcad23f 100644
--- a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/checkstyle-mvn.xml
+++ b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/checkstyle-mvn.xml
@@ -115,6 +115,14 @@
         <property name="message" value="javafx classes are not supported by all JDKs."/>
     </module>
 
+    <!-- Don't allow usage of RuntimeException -->
+    <module name="RegexpSingleline">
+        <property name="format" value="throw[ ]*new[ ]*RuntimeException"/>
+        <property name="minimum" value="0"/>
+        <property name="maximum" value="0"/>
+        <property name="message" value="Don't throw generic exception types"/>
+    </module>
+
     <!-- Checks for Headers                                -->
     <!-- See http://checkstyle.sf.net/config_header.html   -->
     <!-- <module name="Header"> -->
@@ -122,12 +130,6 @@
     <!--   <property name="fileExtensions" value="java"/> -->
     <!-- </module> -->
 
-    <module name="RegexpHeader">
-        <!-- The following line is different for maven due to how the maven checkstyle plugin works -->
-        <property name="headerFile" value="${checkstyle.header.file}"/>
-        <property name="fileExtensions" value="java"/>
-    </module>
-
     <module name="SuppressWarningsFilter" />
 
     <module name="SuppressWithPlainTextCommentFilter"/>
@@ -164,13 +166,13 @@
             <property name="suppressLoadErrors" value="true"/>
         </module>
         <module name="JavadocType">
-            <property name="severity" value="warning"/>
+            <property name="severity" value="ignore"/>
         </module>
         <module name="JavadocVariable">
             <!-- Suppress check for private member Javadocs.
              Possibly revist fixing these. -->
             <property name="scope" value="public"/>
-            <property name="severity" value="warning"/>
+            <property name="severity" value="ignore"/>
         </module>
         <module name="JavadocStyle"/>
         <!-- @author tag should not be used -->
@@ -309,7 +311,7 @@
         <module name="InterfaceIsType"/>
 
         <module name="VisibilityModifier">
-            <property name="severity" value="warning"/>
+            <property name="severity" value="ignore"/>
         </module>
 
 
diff --git a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/pmd.xml b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/pmd.xml
index 156e6f9..19bac09 100644
--- a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/pmd.xml
+++ b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/pmd.xml
@@ -15,63 +15,59 @@
   ~ limitations under the License.
   -->
 <ruleset xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-    name="ONOS Rules"
-    xmlns="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset/1.0.0"
-    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset_xml_schema.xsd"
-    xsi:schemaLocation="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset/1.0.0 http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset_xml_schema.xsd" >
+         name="ONOS Rules"
+         xmlns="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset/1.0.0"
+         xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset_xml_schema.xsd"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset/1.0.0 http://pmd.sf.net/ruleset_xml_schema.xsd">
 
     <description>ONOS PMD rules</description>
 
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/unnecessary.xml" >
-        <exclude name="UselessParentheses" />
+
+    <rule ref="category/java/errorprone.xml">
+        <exclude name="EmptyCatchBlock"/>
     </rule>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/basic.xml">
-      <exclude name="EmptyCatchBlock"/>
+    <rule ref="category/java/errorprone.xml/EmptyCatchBlock">
+        <properties>
+            <property name="allowCommentedBlocks" value="true"/>
+        </properties>
     </rule>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/basic.xml/EmptyCatchBlock">
-      <properties>
-	<property name="allowCommentedBlocks" value="true"/>
-      </properties>
-    </rule>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/unusedcode.xml">
-      <!-- Explicit public keyword in interface methods is acceptable -->
-      <exclude name="UnusedModifier" />
-    </rule>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/imports.xml"/>
+    <rule ref="category/java/bestpractices.xml"/>
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/optimizations.xml">
-      <exclude name="LocalVariableCouldBeFinal" />
-      <exclude name="MethodArgumentCouldBeFinal" />
-      <exclude name="AvoidInstantiatingObjectsInLoops" />
+        <exclude name="AvoidInstantiatingObjectsInLoops"/>
     </rule>
 
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/strings.xml">
-      <exclude name="AvoidDuplicateLiterals" />
+        <exclude name="AvoidDuplicateLiterals"/>
     </rule>
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/braces.xml"/>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/naming.xml">
-      <exclude name="AvoidInstantiatingObjectsInLoops" />
-      <exclude name="ShortClassName" />
-      <exclude name="ShortMethodName" />
-      <exclude name="ShortVariable" />
-      <exclude name="LongVariable" />
+    <rule ref="category/java/codestyle.xml">
+        <!-- Explicit public keyword in interface methods is acceptable -->
+        <exclude name="UnnecessaryModifier"/>
+        <exclude name="UselessParentheses"/>
+        <exclude name="ShortClassName"/>
+        <exclude name="ShortMethodName"/>
+        <exclude name="ShortVariable"/>
+        <exclude name="LongVariable"/>
+        <exclude name="MethodArgumentCouldBeFinal"/>
+        <exclude name="LocalVariableCouldBeFinal"/>
     </rule>
-    <rule ref="rulesets/java/naming.xml/VariableNamingConventions">
-      <properties>
-	<!--  ONOS allows the name "log" for static final Loggers -->
-	<property name="violationSuppressRegex" value=".*'log'.*"/>
-      </properties>
+    <rule ref="category/java/codestyle.xml/VariableNamingConventions">
+        <properties>
+            <!--  ONOS allows the name "log" for static final Loggers -->
+            <property name="violationSuppressRegex" value=".*'log'.*"/>
+        </properties>
     </rule>
 
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/clone.xml"/>
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/strictexception.xml"/>
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/design.xml">
-      <exclude name="GodClass" />
+        <exclude name="GodClass"/>
     </rule>
     <rule ref="rulesets/java/coupling.xml">
-      <exclude name="LawOfDemeter" />
-      <exclude name="ExcessiveImports" />
-      <!-- Suppress Removed misconfigured rule warning -->
-      <exclude name="LoosePackageCoupling" />
+        <exclude name="LawOfDemeter"/>
+        <exclude name="ExcessiveImports"/>
+        <!-- Suppress Removed misconfigured rule warning -->
+        <exclude name="LoosePackageCoupling"/>
     </rule>
 </ruleset>
 
diff --git a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/suppressions.xml b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/suppressions.xml
index c4e43e2..9f433a7 100644
--- a/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/suppressions.xml
+++ b/tools/build/conf/src/main/resources/onos/suppressions.xml
@@ -61,4 +61,6 @@
 
     <!-- Suppressions for yangutils generated code -->
     <suppress files="org.onosproject.yang.gen.v1.*" checks="Javadoc.*" />
+
+    <suppress files="ApiDocRegistrator.java" checks="JavadocPackage" />
 </suppressions>