Use when the user asks to review pull requests, analyze code changes, check for security issues in PRs, or assess code quality of diffs.
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Tier: POWERFUL Category: Engineering Domain: Code Review / Quality Assurance
Structured, systematic code review for GitHub PRs and GitLab MRs. Goes beyond style nits — this skill performs blast radius analysis, security scanning, breaking change detection, and test coverage delta calculation. Produces a reviewer-ready report with a 30+ item checklist and prioritized findings.
# View diff in terminal
gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER>
# Get PR metadata (title, body, labels, linked issues)
gh pr view <PR_NUMBER> --json title,body,labels,assignees,milestone
# List files changed
gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER> --name-only
# Check CI status
gh pr checks <PR_NUMBER>
# Download diff to file for analysis
gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER> > /tmp/pr-<PR_NUMBER>.diff# View MR diff
glab mr diff <MR_IID>
# MR details as JSON
glab mr view <MR_IID> --output json
# List changed files
glab mr diff <MR_IID> --name-only
# Download diff
glab mr diff <MR_IID> > /tmp/mr-<MR_IID>.diffPR=123
gh pr view $PR --json title,body,labels,milestone,assignees | jq .
gh pr diff $PR --name-only
gh pr diff $PR > /tmp/pr-$PR.diffFor each changed file, identify:
# Find all files importing a changed module
grep -r "from ['\"].*changed-module['\"]" src/ --include="*.ts" -l
grep -r "require(['\"].*changed-module" src/ --include="*.js" -l
# Python
grep -r "from changed_module import\|import changed_module" . --include="*.py" -l# Check if changed files span multiple services (monorepo)
gh pr diff $PR --name-only | cut -d/ -f1-2 | sort -ugh pr diff $PR --name-only | grep -E "types/|interfaces/|schemas/|models/"Blast radius severity:
DIFF=/tmp/pr-$PR.diff
# SQL Injection — raw query string interpolation
grep -n "query\|execute\|raw(" $DIFF | grep -E '\$\{|f"|%s|format\('
# Hardcoded secrets
grep -nE "(password|secret|api_key|token|private_key)\s*=\s*['\"][^'\"]{8,}" $DIFF
# AWS key pattern
grep -nE "AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}" $DIFF
# JWT secret in code
grep -nE "jwt\.sign\(.*['\"][^'\"]{20,}['\"]" $DIFF
# XSS vectors
grep -n "dangerouslySetInnerHTML\|innerHTML\s*=" $DIFF
# Auth bypass patterns
grep -n "bypass\|skip.*auth\|noauth\|TODO.*auth" $DIFF
# Insecure hash algorithms
grep -nE "md5\(|sha1\(|createHash\(['\"]md5|createHash\(['\"]sha1" $DIFF
# eval / exec
grep -nE "\beval\(|\bexec\(|\bsubprocess\.call\(" $DIFF
# Prototype pollution
grep -n "__proto__\|constructor\[" $DIFF
# Path traversal risk
grep -nE "path\.join\(.*req\.|readFile\(.*req\." $DIFF# Count source vs test files changed
CHANGED_SRC=$(gh pr diff $PR --name-only | grep -vE "\.test\.|\.spec\.|__tests__")
CHANGED_TESTS=$(gh pr diff $PR --name-only | grep -E "\.test\.|\.spec\.|__tests__")
echo "Source files changed: $(echo "$CHANGED_SRC" | wc -w)"
echo "Test files changed: $(echo "$CHANGED_TESTS" | wc -w)"
# Lines of new logic vs new test lines
LOGIC_LINES=$(grep "^+" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -v "^+++" | wc -l)
echo "New lines added: $LOGIC_LINES"
# Run coverage locally
npm test -- --coverage --changedSince=main 2>/dev/null | tail -20
pytest --cov --cov-report=term-missing 2>/dev/null | tail -20Coverage delta rules:
# OpenAPI/Swagger spec changes
grep -n "openapi\|swagger" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | head -20
# REST route removals or renames
grep "^-" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -E "router\.(get|post|put|delete|patch)\("
# GraphQL schema removals
grep "^-" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -E "^-\s*(type |field |Query |Mutation )"
# TypeScript interface removals
grep "^-" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -E "^-\s*(export\s+)?(interface|type) "# Migration files added
gh pr diff $PR --name-only | grep -E "migrations?/|alembic/|knex/"
# Destructive operations
grep -E "DROP TABLE|DROP COLUMN|ALTER.*NOT NULL|TRUNCATE" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff
# Index removals (perf regression risk)
grep "DROP INDEX\|remove_index" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff# New env vars referenced in code (might be missing in prod)
grep "^+" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -oE "process\.env\.[A-Z_]+" | sort -u
# Removed env vars (could break running instances)
grep "^-" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -oE "process\.env\.[A-Z_]+" | sort -u# N+1 query patterns (DB calls inside loops)
grep -n "\.find\|\.findOne\|\.query\|db\." /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep "^+" | head -20
# Then check surrounding context for forEach/map/for loops
# Heavy new dependencies
grep "^+" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep -E '"[a-z@].*":\s*"[0-9^~]' | head -20
# Unbounded loops
grep -n "while (true\|while(true" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep "^+"
# Missing await (accidentally sequential promises)
grep -n "await.*await" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep "^+" | head -10
# Large in-memory allocations
grep -n "new Array([0-9]\{4,\}\|Buffer\.alloc" /tmp/pr-$PR.diff | grep "^+"# Extract ticket references from PR body
gh pr view $PR --json body | jq -r '.body' | \
grep -oE "(PROJ-[0-9]+|[A-Z]+-[0-9]+|https://linear\.app/[^)\"]+)" | sort -u
# Verify Jira ticket exists (requires JIRA_API_TOKEN to be SET in the environment).
# Credentials are fed to curl via a config read from stdin (-K -) so the token
# never appears in argv — `ps aux` / /proc/*/cmdline can't see it, and nothing
# secret lands in shell history. Never paste the raw token on the command line.
TICKET="PROJ-123"
: "${JIRA_API_TOKEN:?JIRA_API_TOKEN must be set}"
curl -s -K - "https://your-org.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/issue/$TICKET" <<EOF | \
jq '{key, summary: .fields.summary, status: .fields.status.name}'
user = "user@company.com:$JIRA_API_TOKEN"
EOF
# Linear ticket — same pattern: the Authorization header goes through the
# stdin config, not a -H flag, to keep the key out of the process list.
LINEAR_ID="abc-123"
: "${LINEAR_API_KEY:?LINEAR_API_KEY must be set}"
curl -s -K - -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data "{\"query\": \"{ issue(id: \\\"$LINEAR_ID\\\") { title state { name } } }\"}" \
https://api.linear.app/graphql <<EOF | jq .
header = "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY"
EOFSecurity note: for repeated Jira use, prefer a
~/.netrcentry (machine your-org.atlassian.net login user@company.com password <token>,chmod 600 ~/.netrc) and callcurl -s --netrc …— no secret material in the command at all.
## Code Review Checklist
### Scope & Context
- [ ] PR title accurately describes the change
- [ ] PR description explains WHY, not just WHAT
- [ ] Linked Jira/Linear ticket exists and matches scope
- [ ] No unrelated changes (scope creep)
- [ ] Breaking changes documented in PR body
### Blast Radius
- [ ] Identified all files importing changed modules
- [ ] Cross-service dependencies checked
- [ ] Shared types/interfaces/schemas reviewed for breakage
- [ ] New env vars documented in .env.example
- [ ] DB migrations are reversible (have down() / rollback)
### Security
- [ ] No hardcoded secrets or API keys
- [ ] SQL queries use parameterized inputs (no string interpolation)
- [ ] User inputs validated/sanitized before use
- [ ] Auth/authorization checks on all new endpoints
- [ ] No XSS vectors (innerHTML, dangerouslySetInnerHTML)
- [ ] New dependencies checked for known CVEs
- [ ] No sensitive data in logs (PII, tokens, passwords)
- [ ] File uploads validated (type, size, content-type)
- [ ] CORS configured correctly for new endpoints
### Testing
- [ ] New public functions have unit tests
- [ ] Edge cases covered (empty, null, max values)
- [ ] Error paths tested (not just happy path)
- [ ] Integration tests for API endpoint changes
- [ ] No tests deleted without clear reason
- [ ] Test names clearly describe what they verify
### Breaking Changes
- [ ] No API endpoints removed without deprecation notice
- [ ] No required fields added to existing API responses
- [ ] No DB columns removed without two-phase migration plan
- [ ] No env vars removed that may be set in production
- [ ] Backward-compatible for external API consumers
### Performance
- [ ] No N+1 query patterns introduced
- [ ] DB indexes added for new query patterns
- [ ] No unbounded loops on potentially large datasets
- [ ] No heavy new dependencies without justification
- [ ] Async operations correctly awaited
- [ ] Caching considered for expensive repeated operations
### Code Quality
- [ ] No dead code or unused imports
- [ ] Error handling present (no bare empty catch blocks)
- [ ] Consistent with existing patterns and conventions
- [ ] Complex logic has explanatory comments
- [ ] No unresolved TODOs (or tracked in ticket)Structure your review comment as:
## PR Review: [PR Title] (#NUMBER)
Blast Radius: HIGH — changes lib/auth used by 5 services
Security: 1 finding (medium severity)
Tests: Coverage delta +2%
Breaking Changes: None detected
--- MUST FIX (Blocking) ---
1. SQL Injection risk in src/db/users.ts:42
Raw string interpolation in WHERE clause.
Fix: db.query("SELECT * WHERE id = $1", [userId])
--- SHOULD FIX (Non-blocking) ---
2. Missing auth check on POST /api/admin/reset
No role verification before destructive operation.
--- SUGGESTIONS ---
3. N+1 pattern in src/services/reports.ts:88
findUser() called inside results.map() — batch with findManyUsers(ids)
--- LOOKS GOOD ---
- Test coverage for new auth flow is thorough
- DB migration has proper down() rollback method
- Error handling consistent with rest of codebase19392f7
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since Aug 28, 2026
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