code_review

Code Review Checklist

Use this skill to conduct a thorough, senior-level code review.

Inputs

• Target: The file or directory to review.
• Focus: (Optional) Specific area to check (e.g., security, performance).

Tooling Strategy

• Use view_file to read the code.
• Use grep_search if looking for specific patterns across multiple files.

Workflow

1. Functionality & Logic (The "Does it Work?" Check)

• Requirements: Does this solving the stated problem?
• Edge Cases: Nulls, empty states, limits (min/max).
• Error Handling: Are errors caught, logged, and handled gracefully (no silent failures)?

2. Security (The OWASP Check)

• Injection: Check for raw SQL, innerHTML, or eval().
  • ❌ Bad: db.query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = " + input)
  • ✅ Good: db.query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = $1", [input])
• Secrets: Ensure NO API keys or passwords are committed. (Use .env).
• Auth: Are permission checks present on sensitive routes?

3. Performance (The Scalability Check)

• Loops: No expensive operations inside loops (e.g., DB calls).
• N+1 Problems: Check for fetching data in a loop instead of batches.
• Memory: Are listeners/connections cleaned up?

1. Code Quality (The Maintainability Check)

• Naming: Variables should be intentional (isValid vs v).
• DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself): Can distinct logic be extracted to a helper?
• SOLID Principles:
  • S: Does the class/function do only ONE thing?
  • O: Can we add features without changing this code?
  • L: Can subclasses be used interchangeably?
  • I: Are interfaces too bloated?
  • D: Is it hard-coded to a specific implementation? (Use dependency injection).
• Comments: Explain WHY, not WHAT.

5. Git & Hygiene

• Commits: Are they atomic and descriptive?
• Leftovers: No console.log (debug only), commented-out code, or TODOs without an issue tracking them.

Output Format

Structure your review like this:

Summary: [High level opinion - Ready to Merge / Changes Requested]

Category	Status	Notes
Functionality	✅ / ⚠️	...
Security	✅ / 🔴	...
Performance	✅ / ⚠️	...

Detailed Comments:

• [File/Line]: [Issue description]
  • Suggestion: [Code snippet check]

Comprehensive Review Guidelines

1. The Review Mindset

• Goals: Catch bugs, ensure maintainability, share knowledge, improve architecture.
• Not Goals: Nitpicking formatting, showing off, rewriting to personal preference.
• Provide Effective Feedback: Be specific, actionable, educational, and focused on the code, not the person. Suggest, don't command.

2. Differentiate Severity (The Label System)

Use explicit labels to set expectations:

• 🔴 [blocking]: Must fix before merge (e.g., security flaws, breaking bugs).
• 🟡 [important]: Should fix, discuss if disagree (e.g., architectural issues, N+1 queries).
• 🟢 [nit]: Nice to have, not blocking (e.g., minor naming improvements).
• 💡 [suggestion]: Alternative approach to consider.
• 📚 [learning]: Educational comment, no action needed.
• 🎉 [praise]: Acknowledge good work and solid patterns!

3. Review Techniques

• The Question Approach: Ask questions to encourage thinking (e.g., "What happens if items is empty?" instead of "This fails if empty").
• Collaborative Language: Use suggestions (e.g., "Would it make sense to extract this?" instead of "Extract this").
• Avoid Implementation Detail Reviews: Ensure tests describe behavior, not internal state (e.g., test what happens on click, not that an internal counter incremented).

4. Handling Disagreements

If there's disagreement: Seek to understand the author's approach, acknowledge valid points, request data (like a benchmark) if needed, and know when to let go if it's working and not critical.