SuperAPI AI Directory

review-branch

Testing & quality

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Updated 10-16 06:51

About this skill

Review Branch: Code Review and Cleanup

Review every change the current branch introduces relative to main — committed AND uncommitted — for reuse, quality, and efficiency. Fix issues directly.

Phase 1: Identify Changes

  1. Resolve the merge base against main:

    git merge-base main HEAD
    
  2. If the current branch IS main (or no merge base differs from HEAD), tell the user there is nothing to review and stop.

  3. Capture the cumulative diff (branch commits + working tree) into a temp file so the agents can read it without flooding your context:

BASE=$(git merge-base main HEAD)
git diff --no-color "$BASE" > /tmp/review_branch.diff
wc -l /tmp/review_branch.diff
  1. Capture the list of new (untracked) files and their contents — git diff does not include them:

    git ls-files --others --exclude-standard > /tmp/review_branch_new.txt
    
  2. Also capture the list of files changed (committed-only summary) so you can spot-check:

    git diff --stat "$BASE"
    

Phase 2: Launch Three Review Agents in Parallel

Use the Agent tool to launch all three agents concurrently in a single message. Pass each agent:

  • The diff path (/tmp/review_branch.diff)
  • The new-files path (/tmp/review_branch_new.txt) so they read each new file in full
  • The merge base context ("This is the cumulative diff of branch against main")

Agent 1: Code Reuse Review

For each change:

  1. Search for existing utilities and helpers that could replace newly written code. Look for similar patterns elsewhere in the codebase — common locations are utility directories, shared modules, and files adjacent to the changed ones.
  2. Flag any new function that duplicates existing functionality. Suggest the existing function to use instead.
  3. Flag any inline logic that could use an existing utility — hand-rolled string manipulation, manual path handling, custom environment checks, ad-hoc type guards, and similar patterns are common candidates.

Agent 2: Code Quality Review

Review the same changes for hacky patterns:

  1. Redundant state: state that duplicates existing state, cached values that could be derived, observers/effects that could be direct calls
  2. Parameter sprawl: adding new parameters to a function instead of generalizing or restructuring existing ones
  3. Copy-paste with slight variation: near-duplicate code blocks that should be unified with a shared abstraction
  4. Leaky abstractions: exposing internal details that should be encapsulated, or breaking existing abstraction boundaries
  5. Stringly-typed code: using raw strings where constants, enums (string unions), or branded types already exist in the codebase
  6. Unnecessary JSX nesting: wrapper Boxes/elements that add no layout value — check if inner component props (flexShrink, alignItems, etc.) already provide the needed behavior
  7. Nested conditionals: ternary chains (a ? x : b ? y : ...), nested if/else, or nested switch 3+ levels deep — flatten with early returns, guard clauses, a lookup table, or an if/else-if cascade
  8. Unnecessary comments: comments explaining WHAT the code does (well-named identifiers already do that), narrating the change, or referencing the task/caller — delete; keep only non-obvious WHY (hidden constraints, subtle invariants, workarounds)

Agent 3: Efficiency Review

Review the same changes for efficiency:

  1. Unnecessary work: redundant computations, repeated file reads, duplicate network/API calls, N+1 patterns
  2. Missed concurrency: independent operations run sequentially when they could run in parallel
  3. Hot-path bloat: new blocking work added to startup or per-request/per-render hot paths
  4. Recurring no-op updates: state/store updates inside polling loops, intervals, or event handlers that fire unconditionally — add a change-detection guard so downstream consumers aren't notified when nothing changed
  5. Unnecessary existence checks: pre-checking file/resource existence before operating (TOCTOU anti-pattern) — operate directly and handle the error
  6. Memory: unbounded data structures, missing cleanup, event listener leaks
  7. Overly broad operations: reading entire files when only a portion is needed, loading all items when filtering for one

Phase 3: Fix Issues

Wait for all three agents to complete. Aggregate their findings and fix each issue directly. If a finding is a false positive or not worth addressing, note it and move on — do not argue with the finding, just skip it.

When done, briefly summarize what was fixed (or confirm the code was already clean) and the test/typecheck status. Do NOT commit or push — leave the cleanup as working-tree changes for the user to review and commit.

Notes

  • This reviews the WHOLE branch's contribution, not just the latest commit. Use /simplify for the narrower "review uncommitted changes only" workflow.
  • If the diff is very large (>2000 lines), warn the user that the agent reviews may be coarse-grained, and suggest running the skill earlier next time (e.g. after each meaningful commit).
  • Determining "main": this skill assumes the branch's integration target is named main. If the repo uses master or develop, ask the user once, then use that.