Reviewing Code
Systematically evaluate code changes for security, correctness, performance, and spec alignment. Use when reviewing PRs, assessing code quality, or verifying implementation against requirements.
Best use case
Reviewing Code is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Systematically evaluate code changes for security, correctness, performance, and spec alignment. Use when reviewing PRs, assessing code quality, or verifying implementation against requirements.
Teams using Reviewing Code should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/reviewing-code/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How Reviewing Code Compares
| Feature / Agent | Reviewing Code | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Systematically evaluate code changes for security, correctness, performance, and spec alignment. Use when reviewing PRs, assessing code quality, or verifying implementation against requirements.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
Related Guides
AI Agents for Coding
Browse AI agent skills for coding, debugging, testing, refactoring, code review, and developer workflows across Claude, Cursor, and Codex.
Best AI Skills for Claude
Explore the best AI skills for Claude and Claude Code across coding, research, workflow automation, documentation, and agent operations.
Cursor vs Codex for AI Workflows
Compare Cursor and Codex for AI coding workflows, repository assistance, debugging, refactoring, and reusable developer skills.
SKILL.md Source
# Reviewing Code Evaluate code changes across security, correctness, spec alignment, performance, and maintainability. Apply sequential or parallel review based on scope. ## Quick Start **Sequential (small PRs, <5 files):** 1. Gather context from feature specs and acceptance criteria 2. Review sequentially through focus areas 3. Report findings by priority 4. Recommend approval/revision/rework **Parallel (large PRs, >5 files):** 1. Identify independent review aspects (security, API, UI, data) 2. Spawn specialist agents for each dimension 3. Consolidate findings 4. Report aggregate assessment ## Context Gathering **Read documentation:** - `docs/feature-spec/F-##-*.md` — Technical design and requirements - `docs/user-stories/US-###-*.md` — Acceptance criteria - `docs/api-contracts.yaml` — Expected API signatures - `docs/data-plan.md` — Event tracking requirements (if applicable) - `docs/design-spec.md` — UI/UX requirements (if applicable) - `docs/system-design.md` — Architecture patterns (if available) - `docs/plans/<slug>/plan.md` — Original implementation plan (if available) **Determine scope:** - Files changed and features affected (F-## IDs) - Stories implemented (US-### IDs) - API, database, or schema changes ## Quality Dimensions **Security (/25)** - Input validation and sanitization - Authentication/authorization checks - Sensitive data handling - Injection vulnerabilities (SQL, XSS, etc.) **Correctness (/25)** - Logic matches acceptance criteria - Edge cases handled properly - Error handling complete - Null/undefined checks present **Spec Alignment (/20)** - APIs match `docs/api-contracts.yaml` - Data events match `docs/data-plan.md` - UI matches `docs/design-spec.md` - Implementation follows feature spec **Performance (/15)** - Algorithm efficiency - Database query optimization - Resource usage (memory, network) **Maintainability (/15)** - Code clarity and readability - Consistent with codebase patterns - Appropriate abstraction levels - Comments where needed **Total: /100** ## Finding Priority ### 🔴 CRITICAL (Must fix before merge) - Security vulnerabilities - Broken functionality - Spec violations (API contract breaks) - Data corruption risks **Format:** ``` Location: file.ts:123 Problem: [Description] Impact: [Risk/consequence] Fix: [Specific change needed] Spec reference: [docs/api-contracts.yaml line X] ``` ### 🟡 IMPORTANT (Should fix) - Logic bugs in edge cases - Missing error handling - Performance issues - Missing analytics events - Accessibility violations ### 🟢 NICE-TO-HAVE (Optional) - Code style improvements - Better abstractions - Enhanced documentation ### ✅ GOOD PRACTICES Highlight what was done well for learning ## Review Strategies ### Single-Agent Review Best for <5 files, single concern: 1. Review sequentially through focus areas 2. Concentrate on 1-2 most impacted areas 3. Generate unified report ### Parallel Multi-Agent Review Best for >5 files, multiple concerns: 1. Spawn specialized agents: - **Security:** `senior-engineer` for vulnerability assessment - **Architecture:** `Explore` for pattern compliance - **API Contracts:** `programmer` for endpoint validation - **Frontend:** `programmer` for UI/UX and accessibility - **Documentation:** `documentor` for comment quality and docs 2. Each agent reviews specific quality dimension 3. Consolidate findings into single report ## Report Structure ``` # Code Review: [Feature/PR] ## Summary **Quality Score:** [X/100] **Issues:** Critical: [N], Important: [N], Nice-to-have: [N] **Assessment:** [APPROVE / NEEDS REVISION / MAJOR REWORK] ## Spec Compliance - [ ] APIs match `docs/api-contracts.yaml` - [ ] Events match `docs/data-plan.md` - [ ] UI matches `docs/design-spec.md` - [ ] Logic satisfies story AC ## Findings ### Critical Issues [Issues with fix recommendations] ### Important Issues [Issues that should be addressed] ### Nice-to-Have Suggestions [Optional improvements] ### Good Practices [What worked well] ## Recommendations [Next steps: approval, revision needed, etc.] ``` ## Fix Implementation **Offer options:** 1. Fix critical + important issues 2. Fix only critical (minimum for safety) 3. Provide detailed explanation for learning 4. Review only (no changes) **Parallel fixes for large revisions:** - Spawn agents for independent fix areas - Coordinate on shared dependencies - Document each fix with location, change, and verification method **Document format:** ``` ✅ FIXED: [Issue name] File: [path:line] Change: [what changed] Verification: [how to test] ``` ## Documentation Updates **Check if specs need updates:** - Feature spec "Decisions" or "Deviations" if implementation differs - Design spec if UI changed - API contracts if endpoints modified (requires approval) - Data plan if events changed **Always flag for user approval before modifying specs.** ## Key Points - Read all context documents before starting - Focus on most impacted areas first - Be thorough with security-sensitive code, API changes, and critical user flows - Use scoring framework for comprehensive reviews - Parallel review scales to large PRs - Flag spec deviations for user decision
Related Skills
reviewing-pr
Use when reviewing pull requests with comprehensive code analysis, incremental or full review options, and constructive feedback - provides thorough code reviews with severity ratings
reviewing-changes
Android-specific code review workflow additions for Bitwarden Android. Provides change type refinements, checklist loading, and reference material organization. Complements bitwarden-code-reviewer agent's base review standards.
zapier-workflows
Manage and trigger pre-built Zapier workflows and MCP tool orchestration. Use when user mentions workflows, Zaps, automations, daily digest, research, search, lead tracking, expenses, or asks to "run" any process. Also handles Perplexity-based research and Google Sheets data tracking.
writing-skills
Create and manage Claude Code skills in HASH repository following Anthropic best practices. Use when creating new skills, modifying skill-rules.json, understanding trigger patterns, working with hooks, debugging skill activation, or implementing progressive disclosure. Covers skill structure, YAML frontmatter, trigger types (keywords, intent patterns), UserPromptSubmit hook, and the 500-line rule. Includes validation and debugging with SKILL_DEBUG. Examples include rust-error-stack, cargo-dependencies, and rust-documentation skills.
writing-plans
Use when design is complete and you need detailed implementation tasks for engineers with zero codebase context - creates comprehensive implementation plans with exact file paths, complete code examples, and verification steps assuming engineer has minimal domain knowledge
workflow-orchestration-patterns
Design durable workflows with Temporal for distributed systems. Covers workflow vs activity separation, saga patterns, state management, and determinism constraints. Use when building long-running processes, distributed transactions, or microservice orchestration.
workflow-management
Create, debug, or modify QStash workflows for data updates and social media posting in the API service. Use when adding new automated jobs, fixing workflow errors, or updating scheduling logic.
workflow-interactive-dev
用于开发 FastGPT 工作流中的交互响应。详细说明了交互节点的架构、开发流程和需要修改的文件。
woocommerce-dev-cycle
Run tests, linting, and quality checks for WooCommerce development. Use when running tests, fixing code style, or following the development workflow.
woocommerce-code-review
Review WooCommerce code changes for coding standards compliance. Use when reviewing code locally, performing automated PR reviews, or checking code quality.
Wheels Migration Generator
Generate database-agnostic Wheels migrations for creating tables, altering schemas, and managing database changes. Use when creating or modifying database schema, adding tables, columns, indexes, or foreign keys. Prevents database-specific SQL and ensures cross-database compatibility.
webapp-testing
Toolkit for interacting with and testing local web applications using Playwright. Supports verifying frontend functionality, debugging UI behavior, capturing browser screenshots, and viewing browser logs.