# Brooks Review

> PR code review that surfaces decay risks, design smells, and maintainability issues with concrete Symptom → Source → Consequence → Remedy findings, drawing on twelve classic engineering books. Triggers when: user asks to review code, check a PR, shares a diff or pastes code asking "does this look right?" / "any issues here?" / "ready to merge?", or asks for feedback on a function, class, or file. Also triggers when user mentions: code smells / refactoring / clean architecture / DDD / SOLID principles / Hyrum's Law / deep modules / tactical programming / conceptual integrity / Brooks's Law / Mythical Man-Month / second system effect. Do NOT trigger for: questions about how to write code from scratch, language syntax questions, or framework/tool questions where no existing code is shared.

- Skill: `gabrielmoreira/brooks-review` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add gabrielmoreira/brooks-review`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/gabrielmoreira/brooks-review/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: gabrielmoreira (https://skillmd.com/u/gabrielmoreira)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/gabrielmoreira/brooks-review

---


# Brooks-Lint — PR Review

## Setup

Read in order:

1. `../_shared/common.md` — Iron Law, Project Config, Report Template, Health Score
2. `../_shared/source-coverage.md` — book coverage, exceptions, tradeoffs
3. `../_shared/decay-risks.md` — symptom definitions and source attributions
4. `pr-review-guide.md` (this directory) — the analysis process

## Process

**Scope:** if the user did not specify files or paste code, apply Auto Scope Detection
(`../_shared/common.md`) first.

1. Understand the review scope, then scan for each decay risk in the order specified (Steps 1–6 of the guide)
2. Run the Quick Test Check (Step 7 of the guide) — skip for docs-only or non-production changes
3. Apply the Iron Law to every finding
4. Output using the Report Template from common.md

**Mode line in report:** `PR Review`

