Code Review

Code Review

Two-axis review of the diff between HEAD and a fixed point the user supplies:

• Standards — does the code conform to this repo's + project's documented standards?
• Spec — does the code faithfully implement the originating issue / PRD / spec?

Both axes run as parallel sub-agents so they don't pollute each other's context, then this skill aggregates their findings.

Process

1. Resolve the project

Determine the project name (in order):

1. An explicit argument the user passed.
2. The current working directory — if under a repo associated with a project, or if pwd ends in projects/<name>.
3. Ask the user which project if ambiguous.

Read, if present:

• projects/<name>/PROJECT.md — overview, repos, conventions.
• projects/<name>/CONTEXT.md — domain glossary, project-specific terms.

2. Pin the fixed point

Whatever the user said is the fixed point — a commit SHA, branch, tag, main, HEAD~5, etc. Pass it through; don't be opinionated. If they didn't specify one, ask: "Review against what — a branch, a commit, or main?" Don't proceed until you have it.

Validate it as a git ref before using it in any command. The fixed point is user-supplied and gets interpolated into shell commands, so confirm it resolves first: run git rev-parse --verify --quiet "<fixed-point>^{commit}". If that prints nothing (non-zero exit), the ref is invalid — stop and ask the user to clarify. Never pass an unvalidated or shell-unsafe string (spaces, ;, |, $(...), backticks) into the diff/log commands.

Capture once: git diff <fixed-point>...HEAD (three-dot, against the merge-base) and the commit list via git log <fixed-point>..HEAD --oneline.

3. Identify the standards sources

Collect every file that documents how code should be written for this project:

• projects/<name>/qa/REVIEW_RULES.md — project-specific review rules (conventions, preferred libraries, patterns, anti-patterns). Primary source.
• projects/<name>/PROJECT.md, projects/<name>/CONTEXT.md.
• Repo-level CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, STYLE.md / STANDARDS.md / STYLEGUIDE.md.
• docs/adr/ (architectural decisions are standards).
• .editorconfig, eslint.config.*, biome.json, prettier.config.*, tsconfig.json — machine-enforced; note them but don't re-check what tooling already enforces.

4. Identify the spec source (optional)

Look for the originating spec, in order:

1. Issue references in commit messages (#123, Closes #45, GitLab !67).
2. A path the user passed as an argument.
3. A PRD/spec/plan under docs/, specs/, or projects/<name>/plans/ matching the branch/feature.
4. If nothing is found, ask the user. If they say there is none, the Spec sub-agent is skipped and the report notes "no spec available".

5. Spawn both sub-agents in parallel

Send a single message with two Agent tool calls (general-purpose subagent for both).

Standards sub-agent prompt — include:

• The full diff command and commit list.
• The list of standards-source files from step 3.
• The brief: "Read the standards docs (especially qa/REVIEW_RULES.md). Then read the diff. Report — per file/hunk where relevant — every place the diff violates a documented standard. Cite the standard (file + rule). Distinguish hard violations from judgement calls. Skip anything tooling enforces. Under 400 words."

Spec sub-agent prompt — include:

• The diff command and commit list.
• The path or fetched contents of the spec.
• The brief: "Read the spec. Then read the diff. Report: (a) requirements asked for but missing/partial; (b) behaviour not asked for (scope creep); (c) requirements implemented but apparently wrong. Quote the spec line per finding. Under 400 words."

If the spec is missing, skip the Spec sub-agent and note it.

6. Aggregate

Present the two reports under ## Standards and ## Spec headings, verbatim or lightly cleaned. Do not merge or rerank — the two axes are deliberately separate. End with a one-line summary: total findings per axis, and the single worst issue flagged.

Why two axes

A change can pass one axis and fail the other:

• Follows every standard but implements the wrong thing → Standards pass, Spec fail.
• Does exactly what the issue asked but breaks conventions → Spec pass, Standards fail.

Reporting them separately stops one axis from masking the other.

Source: gmotyl/pavilio — distributed by TomeVault.