Code Review

Review code from multiple angles before merging. This workflow covers requesting reviews, running automated analysis, and iteratively refining code based on findings.

When to Use This

• You have completed implementation and want to review before merging.
• You want a comprehensive review covering bugs, architecture, tests, and style.
• You received review feedback and need to address it systematically.
• You want to improve existing code quality without adding new features.

What You'll Use

Walkthrough

Scenario: Review code before merging a feature branch.

Step 1: Run a Full Review

Run /full-review on your changes:

"Review the changes on this branch before we merge."

The unified-review skill analyzes the codebase and selects the most relevant review dimensions. For example, if your changes include shell scripts, the shell-review skill also activates.

Step 2: Review Findings

The code-reviewer agent produces structured findings grouped by:

• Bugs — Potential runtime errors, logic mistakes, edge cases
• Architecture — Layering violations, dependency issues, pattern compliance
• Tests — Missing coverage, fragile assertions, test quality
• Style — Naming, formatting, code organization
• Security — Input validation, auth checks, data exposure

Each finding includes the file, line number, issue description, severity, and a suggested fix.

Step 3: Refine the Code

For issues that need fixing, run /refine-code:

"Refine the code based on the review findings."

The code-refiner agent works through findings iteratively, applying fixes across 6 quality dimensions. Run it multiple times for progressive improvement.

Step 4: Domain-Specific Reviews

If you need deeper review in a specific area, use specialized commands:

• /architecture-review — For system design concerns
• /api-review — For API contract and design issues
• /bug-review — For focused bug hunting
• /test-review — For test suite quality
• /shell-review — For shell script safety and portability

Quick Reference

Tips

• Start with /full-review — it automatically selects the right specialized skills. Only use domain-specific reviews when you want to go deeper.
• /refine-code is iterative. Each run improves the code further. Two or three passes are often more effective than one.
• The requesting-code-review skill (superpowers) activates when you prepare code for review, helping you self-review before asking others.
• The receiving-code-review skill activates when you process feedback, helping you address comments systematically.
• Combine pensive reviews with imbue's /structured-review for evidence-based review documentation.

See Also

• pensive plugin — Full plugin documentation
• Implementing workflow — Previous step: implement the feature
• PR Workflow — Next step: commit and open a PR