/code-review

name: code-review
description: Multi-agent code review with parallel specialized reviewers, architecture validation, challenge validation, and durable handling of previously decided findings. Use `rq` to request a review of diffs (defaults to main branch), `rs` to respond to findings and record intentional non-fix decisions beside the relevant code. Triggers on "review this", "review my code", "code review", "check for bugs", "audit this", when examining PRs, pull requests, branches, or diffs. Always asks user before applying fixes or adding decision comments.
argument-hint: "rq [branch] | rs"
user-invocable: true

Code Review Skill

Multi-agent code analysis with a simplicity gate, focused reviewers, and challenge validation.

Uses explicit subagent dispatch patterns from [code-subagents](../code-subagents/SKILL.md).

Prerequisites

• **Required**: git

Arguments

Command Routing

| Invocation | Behavior | |------------|----------| | *(no arguments)* | Review diff to main branch | | `rq` | Review diff to main branch | | `rq main` | Review diff to main branch | | `rq develop` | Review diff to develop branch | | `feat/foo` | Review diff to feat/foo (bare branch = rq) | | `rs` | Respond to review findings (interview mode) |

Subagent Architecture

Use these concrete harness subagent types. If an exact match is unavailable, use the most correct available subagent based on the harness-provided descriptions.

| `subagent_type` | Purpose | |-----------------|---------| | `sentinel` | Triage only: changed-file analysis, context retrieval, reviewer selection | | `oracle` | Reviewer personas, evidence-based critique, failure-mode analysis, challenge validation | | `architect` | Architecture, design-boundary, data-model, and API-contract review |

Reviewer names such as `Security`, `Correctness`, `Maintainability`, and `PerformanceOperator` are prompt personas, not subagent types. Do not use `general`; it is not a harness agent.

`Simplicity` is a mandatory reviewer persona for migrations, refactors, and architectural changes. Run it before the other reviewers; do not include it in the parallel reviewer batch.

Review Priority

Review in this order:

1. User goal and prior behavior 2. Necessity and deletion 3. Correctness and security 4. Architecture 5. SDD compliance

Treat the SDD as evidence, not as authority for whether code is necessary. A finding that would expand behavior or infrastructure requires user approval. Never apply it as an ordinary review fix.

rq (Request Review) Subagents

| Step | Parallel | Purpose | |------|----------|---------| | 1. Triage | No | Detect context, select reviewers, identify relevant skills to look for | | 2. Simplicity | No | Mandatory necessity and deletion review for migrations, refactors, and architectural changes | | 3. Reviewers | Yes (per reviewer) | Correctness, security, and other specialty analysis | | 4. Synthesis | No | Deduplicate findings inline | | 5. Architect | No | Architecture review | | 6. SDD + Challenge | No | Check SDD compliance last, then validate findings |

rs (Respond to Review)

No subagents. Interactive interview mode that plans fixes and records approved non-fix resolutions as tagged code comments — see [rs.md](./references/rs.md).

Dispatch Patterns

Follows [code-subagents](../code-subagents/SKILL.md) patterns:

• **Parallel dispatch** for independent reviewers
• **Sequential dispatch** for dependent steps
• **Fresh subagent per task** — no context pollution
• **Relevant skill search pre-step** before each analysis phase
• **Error handling**: Log failures, continue with partial results

Agent Dispatch

| Agent | Used In Step | |-------|--------------| | `sentinel` | Triage only (context retrieval, file analysis) | | `oracle` | Reviewers and challenge validation | | `architect` | Architect (architecture review) |

Synthesis is performed inline by the main agent.

References

| Reference | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | [rq.md](./references/rq.md) | Request review workflow - detailed steps with prompts | | [rs.md](./references/rs.md) | Respond to review workflow - interview mode | | [reviewers.md](./references/reviewers.md) | Reviewer definitions and prompts | | [output.md](./references/output.md) | Output format specification |

Workflow Routing

• No arguments, `rq`, or bare branch → [rq.md](./references/rq.md)
• `rs` → [rs.md](./references/rs.md)