Auto Review

Run the bundled structured review helper as a closeout check. This is code review, not Guardian auto_review approval routing.

Use when:

• user asks for Codex review / Claude review / autoreview / second-model review
• after non-trivial code edits and builder verification, when a tool-backed second-model closeout is wanted
• reviewing a local branch or PR branch after fixes

Boundaries

• Require completed builder guardrails and real-surface proof before starting; cite the existing evidence or report the missing prerequisite.
• Report advisory findings and closeout cleanliness. Do not turn this pass into an independent ship decision or invoke additional reviewer workflows.

Contract

• Treat review output as advisory: verify every finding against real code, adjacent files, and dependency docs/types when relevant.
• Reject speculative or over-broad findings; fix accepted issues with the smallest change at the right ownership boundary.
• When a finding exposes a repeated bug class, inspect the current PR scope for sibling instances before fixing.
• Keep review-triggered fixes inside the original task scope.
• If a review-triggered fix changes code, rerun focused proof plus autoreview until the helper exits cleanly; stop there.
• Honor the requested engine/model, do not invoke nested reviewers, and use review panels only when explicitly requested or risk justifies them.
• Treat the validated bundle as the reviewer's only repository input. The helper must fail closed on sensitive, incomplete, binary, gitlink, or unsafe linked input rather than widening filesystem access.
• Split oversized changes into coherent review targets when the helper refuses a bundle; independent chunks cannot safely prove cross-file or cross-chunk contracts.
• If the source tree changes after bundle creation, discard the result and rerun against the updated tree.
• Do not push just to review. Push only when the user requested push, ship, or PR update.

Use references/troubleshooting.md for heartbeat patience, Gitcrawl repair, regression provenance, security-suppression, and conscious-rejection rules.

Scope And Release Guardrails

Use references/scope.md before accepting a fix that could expand the task, touch release process, or start a third review-triggered patch cycle.

Core Workflow

1. Set AUTOREVIEW and AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS once for the active skill location.
2. Pick the real target: dirty local work, branch/PR base, or a single commit.
3. Run the helper with Codex by default, or Claude when requested.
4. Verify each finding against the code and reject weak findings explicitly.
5. Fix accepted findings at the right ownership boundary.
6. Rerun focused tests plus autoreview when fixes change code.
7. Stop after the helper exits 0 with no accepted/actionable findings and report that exact clean run.

Skill Path (set once)

Set the skill script paths once, then use "$AUTOREVIEW" and "$AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS" in the examples below.

Choose one:

# Project-local skill in the current repo:
export AUTOREVIEW=".agents/skills/autoreview/scripts/autoreview"
export AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS=".agents/skills/autoreview/scripts/test-review-harness"

# Source checkout of openclaw/agent-skills:
export AUTOREVIEW="skills/autoreview/scripts/autoreview"
export AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS="skills/autoreview/scripts/test-review-harness"

# Global skill:
export AGENTS_HOME="${AGENTS_HOME:-$HOME/.agents}"
export AUTOREVIEW="$AGENTS_HOME/skills/autoreview/scripts/autoreview"
export AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS="$AGENTS_HOME/skills/autoreview/scripts/test-review-harness"

When using Claude Code, set AGENTS_HOME="$HOME/.claude" for global skills. Project-local skills live under .claude/skills/ in the current repo.

Pick Target

Dirty local work:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --mode local

Use this only when the patch is actually unstaged/staged/untracked in the current checkout. --mode uncommitted is accepted as an alias for --mode local. For committed, pushed, or PR work, point the helper at the commit or branch diff instead; do not force dirty modes just because the helper docs mention dirty work first. A clean local review only proves there is no local patch.

Branch/PR work:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --mode branch --base origin/main

Optional review context is first-class. Prompt files and datasets must be repo-relative so review bundles cannot pull arbitrary host files:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --mode branch --base origin/main --prompt-file review-notes.md --dataset evidence.json

If an open PR exists, use its actual base:

base=$(gh pr view --json baseRefName --jq .baseRefName)
"$AUTOREVIEW" --mode branch --base "origin/$base"

Committed single change:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --mode commit --commit HEAD

Use commit review for already-landed or already-pushed work on main. Reviewing clean main against origin/main is usually an empty diff after push. For a small stack, review each commit explicitly or review the branch before merging with --base.

Large Review Bundles

The helper scans the full patch before checking its aggregate prompt limit. It fails closed when the complete bundle does not fit one review pass, because independent chunks can miss defects that span files or chunks. Split the change into coherent targets and review each target explicitly.

Parallel Closeout

Format first if formatting can change line locations. Then it is OK to run tests and review in parallel:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --parallel-tests "<focused test command>"

Parallel tests receive a temporary home and a sanitized environment. The helper also fingerprints the source tree before and after review, so test mutations invalidate the result instead of silently producing a stale clean verdict.

Review Panels

Run multiple reviewers against one frozen bundle:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --reviewers codex,claude

--panel is shorthand for Codex plus Claude unless --engine changes the first reviewer:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --panel

Set reviewer models and thinking/effort explicitly:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --reviewers codex,claude --model codex=gpt-5.6-sol --thinking codex=high --model claude=claude-fable-5 --thinking claude=max

Inline syntax is also supported for simple model IDs:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --reviewers codex:gpt-5.6-sol:high,claude:claude-fable-5:max

Codex maps thinking to model_reasoning_effort and accepts none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh, or max. Claude maps thinking to --effort and accepts low, medium, high, xhigh, or max.

For models with slashes or extra colons, prefer keyed form:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --reviewers codex,claude --model codex=gpt-5.6-sol --model claude=claude-fable-5

Engine Details

Use references/engine-details.md for model defaults, preferred model lists, environment overrides, and Codex/Claude isolation details.

Context Efficiency

Run the helper directly so target selection, engine choice, structured validation, and exit status all stay in one path. If output is noisy, summarize the completed helper output after it returns; do not ask another agent or reviewer to rerun the review.

Helper

After setting AUTOREVIEW and AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS above:

"$AUTOREVIEW" --help

The smoke harness has thin shell wrappers over a shared Python implementation:

"$AUTOREVIEW_HARNESS" --fixture benign --engine codex

Final Report

Include:

• review command used
• tests/proof run
• findings accepted/rejected, briefly why
• the clean review result from the final helper/review run, or why a remaining finding was consciously rejected

Do not run another review solely to improve the final report wording. If the final helper run exited 0 and produced no accepted/actionable findings, report that exact run as clean.

References

• references/troubleshooting.md - security-audit suppression and other edge-case closeout notes
• references/scope.md - scope governor and release-branch freeze rules
• references/engine-details.md - model defaults, preferred model lists, environment overrides, and engine isolation details
• references/upstream.md - OpenClaw upstream provenance and local packaging notes