Contextual Review

Contextual Review

Perform comprehensive reviews of code changes, implementation plans, and architecture decisions. Analyzes for quality, correctness, security, and adherence to project standards.

First: Read the Base Guidelines

Before reviewing any code, read base-review.md. It establishes:

• Reviewer philosophy (respect existing patterns, burden of proof on changes)
• Core quality standards (type safety, transaction integrity, data access, caching)
• Severity calibration with codebase-specific examples
• Common blind spots that reviewers unfamiliar with this codebase miss

The base guidelines apply to ALL reviews. Area-specific guides add targeted checklists.

When to Use

• Reviewing pull request changes
• Examining workspace diffs before creating a PR
• Getting feedback on code changes
• Identifying potential issues before merging
• Reviewing gameplans and implementation plans before execution
• Validating data model and API design decisions

Area-Specific Guidelines

Based on what files changed, consult the appropriate reference:

For reviewing implementation plans before code is written:

Read the relevant reference file(s) based on the diff to get area-specific checklists and guidelines.

Review Process

0. Checkout PR

Run gh pr checkout <PR> to get the PR code locally. If it fails, continue with the review.

1. Gather Context

First, understand the scope of changes:

# Get the diff statistics to understand what files changed
GetWorkspaceDiff with stat: true

# Then examine individual file changes
GetWorkspaceDiff with file: 'path/to/file'

2. Review Categories

Analyze changes across these dimensions:

3. Project-Specific Checks

For this codebase, also verify:

• Bun: Using bun instead of npm or yarn
• Drizzle ORM: Schema changes use migrations:generate, never manual migrations
• Testing Guidelines:
  • No mocking unless for network calls
  • No .spyOn or dynamic imports
  • No any types in tests
  • Each it block should have specific assertions, not toBeDefined
  • One scenario per it with exhaustive assertions
• Security: Check OWASP top 10 vulnerabilities (XSS, injection, etc.)

4. Provide Feedback

Use the DiffComment tool to leave targeted feedback:

DiffComment({
  comments: [
    {
      file: "path/to/file.ts",
      lineNumber: 42,
      body: "Potential SQL injection vulnerability. Consider using parameterized queries."
    }
  ]
})

Review Checklist

Code Quality

• Clear, descriptive variable and function names
• Functions are focused and not too long
• No dead code or commented-out code
• Error handling is appropriate
• Edge cases are handled

Security

• No hardcoded secrets or credentials
• Input is validated and sanitized
• No SQL injection vectors
• No XSS vulnerabilities
• Authentication/authorization is correct
• Sensitive data is not logged

Performance

• No unnecessary database queries
• Appropriate use of indexes
• No obvious memory leaks
• Pagination for large datasets
• Caching where appropriate

Testing

• New code has tests
• Tests cover happy path and error cases
• Tests are meaningful, not just for coverage
• No flaky test patterns

TypeScript

• Proper types used (no any without justification)
• Type narrowing is correct
• Generic types are appropriate
• Null/undefined handled properly

Output Format

Provide a structured review with:

1. Summary: Brief overview of what the PR does
2. Findings: Categorized issues (Critical, High, Medium, Low, Suggestions)
3. Positive Notes: Good patterns or improvements noticed
4. Recommendation: Approve, Request Changes, or Comment

Severity Levels

• Critical: Security vulnerabilities, data loss risks, breaking changes
• High: Bugs, significant performance issues, missing error handling
• Medium: Code quality issues, missing tests, unclear logic
• Low: Style issues, minor improvements, nitpicks
• Suggestion: Optional improvements, alternative approaches

Example Review

## Summary
This PR adds user authentication using JWT tokens with refresh token support.

## Findings

### Critical
- **src/auth/token.ts:45**: JWT secret is hardcoded. Move to environment variable.

### High
- **src/auth/login.ts:23**: Missing rate limiting on login endpoint.

### Medium
- **src/auth/validate.ts:12**: Token expiration check should use `<=` not `<` to handle exact expiration time.

### Suggestions
- Consider adding request ID to auth logs for debugging.

## Positive Notes
- Good separation of concerns between token generation and validation
- Comprehensive error types for different auth failures

## Recommendation
**Request Changes** - Address the critical security issue before merging.

Workflow

1. Attempt to checkout the PR with gh pr checkout <PR> (continue if it fails)
2. Get diff statistics with GetWorkspaceDiff(stat: true)
3. Review changed files systematically
4. Use DiffComment for inline feedback
5. Provide overall summary and recommendation
6. Offer to help fix any critical issues