Code Review 4r

Code Review 4R — autonomous review loop

Run a finished PR through a self-correcting review loop so the human reviewer only spends time on what actually matters. You are the orchestrator running in the main session. Each phase is done by a fresh subagent with clean context — you hand it only file paths, never your own history. This is deliberate: the reviewer must judge the code on its own, and the planner must work from the written review, not from your reasoning.

The loop:

collect diff ─▶ Review (Opus) ─▶ approved? ──yes──▶ Finalize ─▶ PR comment
                   ▲                  │no
                   │                  ▼
                   └── Implement ◀── Plan (Opus)
                       (Sonnet) + auto-commit

0. Resolve target & prepare workspace

Run scripts/collect_diff.sh to capture what to review:

• Current branch (default): scripts/collect_diff.sh — diffs the checked-out branch against its merge-base with the base branch (develop if it exists, else main).
• A specific PR: scripts/collect_diff.sh --pr <number> — runs gh pr checkout <number> first so the branch is local and auto-commit works, then diffs.

The script writes everything under docs/code-review-4r/<id>/ (<id> = sanitized branch name, or pr-<number>): diff.patch and meta.json (title, base, head, total diff stats, and production application LOC). Read meta.json — note the PR number (if any) for the final comment and use only app_added_loc + app_removed_loc for the rubric's size budget. Never use total LOC, tests, documentation, generated files, configuration, assets, dependencies, build output, or auxiliary content for a size finding.

Repository merge-policy override

Before starting the loop, inspect the repository's trusted review policy when present (for example .github/codex/prompts/code-review-4r.md). If it explicitly declares the exact-head tests/coverage quality gate as the only mandatory merge gate:

• record merge_policy: "coverage-only" and the exact-head quality-gate evidence in meta.json;
• run a single report-only review — do not enter Plan/Implement, modify files, or auto-commit;
• keep 4R findings as advisory;
• mark the PR approved when that exact-head quality gate passed, even when advisory P0/P1 or blocking/major findings are reported;
• request changes only when the mandatory test/coverage gate is missing or failed.

Set MAX_ITERATIONS=4. The loop is bounded so a non-converging review can never run forever.

1. Review (clean-context Opus)

For iteration N (starting at 1), spawn one subagent with the Agent tool, model: "opus", subagent_type: general-purpose. Build its prompt from reference/reviewer-agent.md, and pass it only these paths (it reads them itself — do not paste contents into your own context):

• the diff: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/diff.patch
• the rubric: <skill-dir>/reference/4r-rubric.md
• the repository review policy, when present
• where to write: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/iteration-<N>/review.md and .../verdict.json

When it returns, read only verdict.json — not review.md. Keeping the reviewer's prose out of your context is what makes the next review independent.

verdict.json contract (defined in the rubric):

{ "approved": false,
  "findings": [ {"r":"Risk","severity":"blocking","file":"db.py","line":42,"summary":"..."} ] }

2. Gate

• merge_policy == "coverage-only" → do not run Plan/Implement. Finalize after the single report-only review; exact-head quality-gate status controls approval.
• approved == true (no blocking or major findings remain) → go to Finalize (§5).
• Otherwise, if N == MAX_ITERATIONS → go to Finalize and clearly mark the unresolved findings as residual (do not loop past the cap).
• Otherwise → continue to Plan.

3. Plan the fixes (clean-context Opus)

Spawn a subagent with the Agent tool, model: "opus", subagent_type: general-purpose, prompt from reference/planner-agent.md. Pass it only:

• the review: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/iteration-<N>/review.md
• where to write: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/iteration-<N>/fix-plan.md

The plan addresses every blocking/major finding (and minor when cheap) as small, ordered, test-first steps.

4. Implement (clean-context Sonnet) + auto-commit

Spawn implementer subagent(s) with the Agent tool, model: "sonnet", subagent_type: general-purpose, prompt from reference/implementer-agent.md. Pass only:

• the plan: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/iteration-<N>/fix-plan.md
• where to write its report: docs/code-review-4r/<id>/iteration-<N>/impl-report.md

The implementer modifies the working tree following TDD (failing test first, then the fix). Run several in parallel only when the plan's steps touch disjoint files; if they could collide, run one. Use isolation: "worktree" only when parallel implementers would otherwise conflict.

When implementers finish, you commit (they don't), so commit scope stays controlled — one commit per iteration, no push (push/merge stays a human decision):

git add -A && git commit -m "fix(review-4r): iteration <N> — <one-line summary of what was fixed>"

Then increment N and go back to §1 (Review) with a fresh reviewer.

5. Finalize

Aggregate every iteration into docs/code-review-4r/<id>/summary.md. ALWAYS use this structure:

# Code Review 4R — <id>

**Verdict:** ✅ Approved after N iteration(s)   <!-- or: ⚠️ N findings unresolved (hit iteration cap) -->

## TL;DR for the human reviewer
<2–4 sentences: what the loop already handled, and the 1–2 spots — if any — that still need human judgment>

## Findings & resolution
| # | R | Severity | File:line | Finding | Status |
|---|---|----------|-----------|---------|--------|
| 1 | Risk | blocking | db.py:42 | SQL built by string interpolation | ✅ Fixed (iter 1) |
...

## What changed
- <commit subject per iteration, + one line each>

## Residual / needs human judgment
- <anything left, or "None — all blocking/major findings resolved.">

Then post it on the PR:

scripts/post_github_summary.sh <id>            # uses the current branch's PR
scripts/post_github_summary.sh <id> --pr <n>   # explicit PR number

If no PR exists yet, the script says so — tell the user the summary is ready locally and they can open the PR and re-run the post step.

Finally, report to the user in chat (keep it short — detail lives in summary.md): the verdict, iterations run, count of findings fixed by R, and any residual that needs them.

Notes

• Why clean context per phase. Reusing one agent across review/plan/fix lets the writer grade its own work. Fresh subagents that see only the handed-off file are the same principle as a separate reviewer with no stake in the code.
• The gate is objective on purpose. "Approved" = zero blocking/major in verdict.json. Without a binary gate an AI loop can oscillate; MAX_ITERATIONS is the backstop.
• Validate the flow before trusting it. dataset/ holds synthetic PRs with known issues and scripts/eval_runner.py scores whether the reviewer catches them. See evals/assertions.md.