name: git-review
description: Guide for conducting effective code reviews. Use when reviewing PRs, giving feedback, or establishing review standards.

Git Code Review

This skill provides guidance for conducting thorough, constructive code reviews that improve code quality and team collaboration.

When to Use This Skill

• Reviewing Pull Requests
• Giving constructive feedback
• Setting up review processes
• Training new reviewers

Review Mindset

[!IMPORTANT]
Review the code, not the person. Focus on improving the codebase, not criticizing the author.

Approach reviews with:
- Curiosity, not judgment
- Suggestions, not demands
- Collaboration, not gatekeeping

Review Checklist

Functionality

• [ ] Code does what PR description says
• [ ] Edge cases handled
• [ ] Error handling appropriate
• [ ] No obvious bugs

Code Quality

• [ ] Code is readable and clear
• [ ] Functions/methods have single responsibility
• [ ] No code duplication (DRY)
• [ ] Variable/function names are descriptive
• [ ] Complex logic has comments

Testing

• [ ] Tests cover new functionality
• [ ] Tests cover edge cases
• [ ] Existing tests still pass
• [ ] Test names are descriptive

Security

• [ ] No hardcoded secrets/credentials
• [ ] Input validation present
• [ ] No SQL injection vulnerabilities
• [ ] Authentication/authorization correct

Performance

• [ ] No N+1 queries
• [ ] Appropriate data structures used
• [ ] No unnecessary loops/iterations
• [ ] Resources properly released

Documentation

• [ ] Public APIs documented
• [ ] Complex logic explained
• [ ] README updated if needed
• [ ] CHANGELOG updated if needed

Comment Types

Use prefixes to clarify intent:

Examples:

nit: Consider renaming this to `userCount` for clarity.

suggestion: This could be simplified using Array.filter().

question: Why do we need this null check here?

issue: This will throw an error if `data` is undefined.

blocker: This exposes user passwords in the response.

Giving Feedback

Do ✅

+ "Consider using a Map here for O(1) lookup instead of array.find()"
+ "This could potentially throw if user is null - maybe add a null check?"
+ "Nice solution! One thing to consider: what happens if the list is empty?"

Don't ❌

- "This is wrong"
- "Why would you do it this way?"
- "This is bad code"

Feedback Formula

[Observation] + [Impact/Reason] + [Suggestion]

Example:

"This function is 80 lines long (observation), which makes it harder to test and maintain (impact). Consider extracting the validation logic into a separate function (suggestion)."

Review Response Times

[!TIP]
Quick reviews (even partial) are better than delayed perfect reviews.

Approval Criteria

Approve when:
- All blocking issues resolved
- Code works as intended
- Tests pass and cover changes
- No security concerns

Request changes when:
- Blocking bugs or issues
- Security vulnerabilities
- Missing required tests
- Breaking changes unaddressed

Comment (no approval) when:
- Have questions but no blockers
- Need more context
- Partial review completed

Decision Tree

Reviewing a PR
├── Read PR description first
│   └── Understand the "what" and "why"
├── Check diff size
│   ├── > 400 lines → Ask to split or schedule session
│   └── Manageable → Continue review
├── Review code
│   ├── Start with tests (understand intent)
│   ├── Review main implementation
│   └── Check edge cases
├── Leave comments
│   ├── Blocking issues → Use "issue:" or "blocker:"
│   ├── Suggestions → Use "suggestion:" or "nit:"
│   └── Questions → Use "question:"
└── Submit review
    ├── All good → Approve
    ├── Has blocking issues → Request changes
    └── Need more info → Comment only

Review Best Practices

GitHub Review Commands

# View PR diff
gh pr diff <number>

# Checkout PR locally
gh pr checkout <number>

# Add review
gh pr review <number> --approve
gh pr review <number> --request-changes --body "Please fix X"
gh pr review <number> --comment --body "Looks good overall"

# View PR checks
gh pr checks <number>

Common Review Oversights

Resources

• Review Checklist - Quick reference checklist for code reviews

Related Skills

• Git Commit - Writing commit messages
• Git PR - Creating Pull Requests