Code Review Skill
This skill defines how to perform structured, objective code reviews.
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Asked to review a pull request, merge request, or branch.
- Evaluating changed, added, or deleted files for correctness and quality.
Review Process
1. Branch and Merge Target
- Confirm the current branch is a feature, bugfix, or PR/MR branch — not the project's primary branch (e.g.
main,master,develop, or equivalent). - Verify the branch is up-to-date with the target branch.
- Identify the target branch for the merge.
2. Change Discovery
- List all changed, added, and deleted files.
- For each change, look up the commit title and review how connected components are implemented.
- Never assume a change or fix is correct without investigating the implementation details.
- If a change remains difficult to understand after several attempts, note this explicitly in your report.
3. Per-File Review
For every changed file, check:
| Area | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Location | File is in the correct directory |
| Naming | File name follows naming conventions |
| Responsibility | The file's responsibility is clear; reason for its change is understandable |
| Readability | Variable, function, and class names are descriptive and consistent |
| Logic & correctness | No logic errors or missing edge cases |
| Maintainability | Code is modular; no unnecessary duplication |
| Error handling | Errors and exceptions are handled appropriately |
| Security | No input validation issues; no secrets committed to code |
| Performance | No obvious performance issues or inefficiencies |
| Documentation | Public APIs, complex logic, and new modules are documented |
| Test coverage | New or changed logic has sufficient tests |
| Style | Code matches the project's style guide and coding patterns |
For generated files: confirm they are up-to-date and not manually modified.
4. Overall Change Set
- Verify the change set is focused and scoped to its stated purpose — no unrelated or unnecessary changes.
- Check that the PR/MR description accurately reflects the changes made.
- Confirm new or updated tests cover new or changed logic.
- Evaluate whether tests could actually fail, or only verify a mock implementation.
5. CI and Tests
- Ensure all tests pass in the continuous integration system.
- Fetch online documentation when unsure about best practices for a particular package or library.
Feedback Standards
- Be objective and reasonable — avoid automatic praise or flattery.
- Take a devil's advocate approach: give honest, thoughtful feedback.
- Provide clear, constructive feedback for any issues found, with suggestions for improvement.
- Include requests for clarification for anything that is unclear.
Output Format
Provide your review as a chat response, covering conclusions and recommendations per file, including:
- Summary of what changed and why
- Issues found (with severity: suggestion / minor / major)
- Specific recommendations or questions per file
- Overall verdict: approved, approved with suggestions, or changes requested