Code Review

GitHub Code Review Skill

This skill provides code review operations for pull requests, including approving, requesting changes, commenting on code, and managing review workflows.

Available Operations

1. Approve Pull Request

Approve a PR indicating the changes look good.

2. Request Changes

Request changes on a PR with specific feedback.

3. Comment on Pull Request

Add general comments or review feedback without approving/rejecting.

4. Add Line Comments

Comment on specific lines or ranges of code.

5. View Reviews

See all reviews submitted on a PR.

6. Dismiss Review

Dismiss a stale or incorrect review.

Usage Examples

Approve Pull Request

Simple approval:

gh pr review 123 --approve --repo owner/repo-name

Approval with comment:

gh pr review 123 --approve --repo owner/repo-name --body "LGTM! Great work on this feature."

Approve after testing:

gh pr checkout 123 --repo owner/repo-name
# Run tests
npm test
# If tests pass
gh pr review 123 --approve --body "Tested locally. All tests pass."

Request Changes

Request changes with feedback:

gh pr review 123 --request-changes --repo owner/repo-name --body "Please address the following issues:
- Add error handling in auth.js
- Update unit tests
- Fix typo in README"

Request changes with specific concerns:

gh pr review 123 --request-changes --repo owner/repo-name --body "Security concern: The API key is exposed in the client code. Please move it to environment variables."

Comment on Pull Request

General comment:

gh pr review 123 --comment --repo owner/repo-name --body "This looks good overall, but I have a few questions before approving."

Comment without formal review:

gh pr comment 123 --repo owner/repo-name --body "Have you considered using async/await instead of promises here?"

Ask for clarification:

gh pr comment 123 --repo owner/repo-name --body "Can you explain the rationale behind the new caching strategy?"

Add Line Comments

Comment on specific line (interactive):

gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name --web
# Use web interface to add inline comments

Comment on code via API:

# First, get the PR diff to find the position
gh pr diff 123 --repo owner/repo-name

# Add review comment at specific position
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews \
  -f body="Review comments" \
  -f event="COMMENT" \
  -f 'comments[][path]=src/main.js' \
  -f 'comments[][position]=10' \
  -f 'comments[][body]=Consider adding error handling here'

Multiple inline comments:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews \
  -f body="Found several issues" \
  -f event="REQUEST_CHANGES" \
  -f 'comments[][path]=src/auth.js' \
  -f 'comments[][line]=25' \
  -f 'comments[][body]=This function needs error handling' \
  -f 'comments[][path]=src/utils.js' \
  -f 'comments[][line]=45' \
  -f 'comments[][body]=Add input validation'

View Reviews

List all reviews:

gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name --json reviews

View reviews with details:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews --jq '.[] | {reviewer: .user.login, state: .state, body: .body}'

Check review decision:

gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name --json reviewDecision --jq '.reviewDecision'
# Returns: APPROVED, CHANGES_REQUESTED, REVIEW_REQUIRED, or null

See who approved:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews --jq '.[] | select(.state=="APPROVED") | .user.login'

See who requested changes:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews --jq '.[] | select(.state=="CHANGES_REQUESTED") | {reviewer: .user.login, feedback: .body}'

Dismiss Review

Dismiss a review:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews/<review-id>/dismissals \
  -X PUT \
  -f message="Addressed in latest commit"

Find and dismiss outdated reviews:

# Get review ID
REVIEW_ID=$(gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews --jq '.[0].id')

# Dismiss it
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/reviews/$REVIEW_ID/dismissals \
  -X PUT \
  -f message="Code has been updated per feedback"

Common Patterns

Complete Review Workflow

# 1. Get list of PRs needing review
gh pr list --search "review-requested:@me" --repo owner/repo-name

# 2. View PR details
gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name

# 3. Check out PR locally for testing
gh pr checkout 123 --repo owner/repo-name

# 4. Review the code
git log --oneline -5
git diff main..HEAD

# 5. Run tests
npm test

# 6. Check code quality
npm run lint

# 7. Submit review
gh pr review 123 --approve --body "Reviewed and tested. Looks good!"

Thorough Code Review Process

# 1. Start review
gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name --comments

# 2. Check changed files
gh pr diff 123 --repo owner/repo-name --name-only

# 3. Review each file
gh pr diff 123 --repo owner/repo-name -- src/component.js

# 4. Test locally
gh pr checkout 123
npm install
npm test
npm run build

# 5. Add feedback
gh pr review 123 --comment --body "Tested locally. A few suggestions:
- Add JSDoc comments to public methods
- Consider extracting the validation logic
- Tests look good!"

# 6. Follow up after changes
gh pr review 123 --approve --body "Thanks for addressing the feedback!"

Reviewer Requesting Changes

# 1. Review the PR
gh pr view 123 --repo owner/repo-name

# 2. Identify issues
gh pr diff 123 --repo owner/repo-name

# 3. Request changes with specific feedback
gh pr review 123 --request-changes --body "Please address:

**Security:**
- [ ] Move API keys to environment variables
- [ ] Add input sanitization

**Testing:**
- [ ] Add unit tests for new functions
- [ ] Update integration tests

**Documentation:**
- [ ] Update README with new API usage
- [ ] Add inline comments for complex logic"

# 4. Wait for updates
gh pr view 123 --json commits --jq '.commits | length'

# 5. Re-review after changes
gh pr review 123 --approve --body "All concerns addressed. Thanks!"

Team Review Coordination

# Request reviews from specific people
gh pr edit 123 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --add-reviewer security-expert,frontend-lead,qa-engineer

# Check review status
gh pr view 123 --json reviews --jq '.reviews[] | {reviewer: .author.login, status: .state}'

# Remind reviewers
gh pr comment 123 --body "@security-expert @frontend-lead Friendly reminder to review when you have time"

# Check if all required reviews are complete
gh pr view 123 --json reviewDecision

Handling Review Feedback

# View feedback as PR author
gh pr view 123 --comments

# Address each comment
git commit -m "fix: address review feedback"
git push

# Comment on resolution
gh pr comment 123 --body "Updated per review feedback:
- Added error handling
- Improved test coverage
- Updated documentation"

# Request re-review
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/pulls/123/requested_reviewers \
  -f 'reviewers[]=reviewer-username'

Review Templates

Security Review Template

gh pr review 123 --comment --body "## Security Review Checklist

- [ ] Input validation present
- [ ] Authentication checks in place
- [ ] Authorization verified
- [ ] No sensitive data in logs
- [ ] SQL injection prevention
- [ ] XSS prevention
- [ ] CSRF protection
- [ ] Dependencies up to date

Please confirm these are addressed."

Performance Review Template

gh pr review 123 --comment --body "## Performance Review

- [ ] No N+1 queries
- [ ] Appropriate caching
- [ ] Database indexes present
- [ ] No blocking operations in main thread
- [ ] Pagination for large datasets
- [ ] Efficient algorithms used

Please verify performance implications."

Code Quality Template

gh pr review 123 --comment --body "## Code Quality Checklist

- [ ] Follows project style guide
- [ ] No code duplication
- [ ] Proper error handling
- [ ] Meaningful variable names
- [ ] Functions are single-purpose
- [ ] Comments explain why, not what
- [ ] Tests added/updated

Overall structure looks good!"

Best Practices

1. Be constructive: Focus on the code, not the person
2. Be specific: Point to exact lines and suggest alternatives
3. Explain reasoning: Help others learn from your feedback
4. Prioritize issues: Distinguish between critical and nice-to-have
5. Test locally: Check out and run the code when possible
6. Be timely: Review PRs promptly to unblock others
7. Use checklists: Ensure consistent review criteria
8. Ask questions: Seek to understand before criticizing
9. Acknowledge good work: Call out clever solutions
10. Follow up: Verify that feedback was properly addressed

Review States

COMMENTED    - General feedback without approval/rejection
APPROVED     - Changes approved
CHANGES_REQUESTED - Changes needed before merge
DISMISSED    - Review no longer relevant

Integration with Other Skills

• Use pull-request-management to view PR details before reviewing
• Use commit-operations to review commit history
• Use issue-management to reference related issues
• Use repository-management to check file history

Keyboard Shortcuts (Web UI)

When reviewing in browser:

• r - Start a review
• c - Comment on line
• e - Edit comment
• ctrl+enter - Submit comment

References

• GitHub CLI Review Documentation
• GitHub Code Review Guide
• Best Practices for Code Review