# Code Review

> Reviews code changes for bugs, security issues, and quality problems

- Skill: `gabrielmoreira/code-review` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add gabrielmoreira/code-review`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/gabrielmoreira/code-review/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Security, Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: gabrielmoreira (https://skillmd.com/u/gabrielmoreira)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/gabrielmoreira/code-review

---


# Code Review Skill

Review code changes in coder/coder and identify bugs, security issues, and
quality problems.

## Workflow

1. **Get the code changes** - Use the method provided in the prompt, or if none
   specified:
   - For a PR: `gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER> --repo coder/coder`
   - For local changes: `git diff main` or `git diff --staged`

2. **Read full files and related code** before commenting - verify issues exist
   and consider how similar code is implemented elsewhere in the codebase

3. **Analyze for issues** - Focus on what could break production

4. **Report findings** - Use the method provided in the prompt, or summarize
   directly

## Severity Levels

- **🔴 CRITICAL**: Security vulnerabilities, auth bypass, data corruption,
  crashes
- **🟡 IMPORTANT**: Logic bugs, race conditions, resource leaks, unhandled
  errors
- **🔵 NITPICK**: Minor improvements, style issues, portability concerns

## What to Look For

- **Security**: Auth bypass, injection, data exposure, improper access control
- **Correctness**: Logic errors, off-by-one, nil/null handling, error paths
- **Concurrency**: Race conditions, deadlocks, missing synchronization
- **Resources**: Leaks, unclosed handles, missing cleanup
- **Error handling**: Swallowed errors, missing validation, panic paths
- **Frontend** (`site/src/`): audit against the FE rule IDs in
  [Frontend Patterns](../../docs/FRONTEND_PATTERNS.md) and cite the rule ID
  in findings (for example, "FE7: re-typed query key")

## What NOT to Comment On

- Style that matches existing Coder patterns (check AGENTS.md first)
- Code that already exists unchanged
- Theoretical issues without concrete impact
- Changes unrelated to the PR's purpose

## Coder-Specific Patterns

### Authorization Context

```go
// Public endpoints needing system access
dbauthz.AsSystemRestricted(ctx)

// Authenticated endpoints with user context - just use ctx
api.Database.GetResource(ctx, id)
```

### Error Handling

```go
// OAuth2 endpoints use RFC-compliant errors
writeOAuth2Error(ctx, rw, http.StatusBadRequest, "invalid_grant", "description")

// Regular endpoints use httpapi
httpapi.Write(ctx, rw, http.StatusBadRequest, codersdk.Response{...})
```

### Shell Scripts

`set -u` only catches UNDEFINED variables, not empty strings:

```sh
unset VAR; echo ${VAR}         # ERROR with set -u
VAR=""; echo ${VAR}            # OK with set -u (empty is fine)
VAR="${INPUT:-}"; echo ${VAR}  # OK - always defined
```

GitHub Actions context variables (`github.*`, `inputs.*`) are always defined.

## Review Quality

- Explain **impact** ("causes crash when X" not "could be better")
- Make observations **actionable** with specific fixes
- Read the **full context** before commenting on a line
- Check **AGENTS.md** for project conventions before flagging style

## Comment Standards

- **Only comment when confident** - If you're not 80%+ sure it's a real issue,
  don't comment. Verify claims before posting.
- **No speculation** - Avoid "might", "could", "consider". State facts or skip.
- **Verify technical claims** - Check documentation or code before asserting how
  something works. Don't guess at API behavior or syntax rules.