/autoreview

name: autoreview
description: "Structured code review when explicitly requested, preferring OpenAI/Codex before Claude."

Auto Review

Run an independent review when the user or owning workflow asks. This is code review, not Guardian approval routing. Supply target, context, and severity; let the reviewer choose the analysis. Verify findings before acting.

Hosted review requests

ClawSweeper's service policy owns automatic review admission, including first reviews of newer maintainer PRs. The rules here govern agent-issued requests. Request `@clawsweeper review` only when the maintainer asks for it or the owning workflow specifically requires ClawSweeper, after the work and validation are complete. A generic independent-review requirement does not require a hosted bot review. Check for an existing queued or running review before requesting one. Do not automatically request reviews on PR creation, pushes, edits, or progress updates, and do not repeat a pending request. A later head needs a new request only when another review is required and that work is complete.

Run

Prefer the shared helper from the repository being reviewed. When Codex CLI is unavailable, see [Copilot subagent review](#copilot-subagent-review).

AUTOREVIEW="$HOME/.agents/skills/autoreview/scripts/autoreview"
python3 "$AUTOREVIEW" --mode local

Install from the canonical checkout: `python3 scripts/install-skills autoreview`. The default links to this source. Honor custom `--target` paths; here use `skills/autoreview/scripts/autoreview`. Windows needs Python 3.10+ or `autoreview.ps1`. See `--help` for flags/env overrides. Keep `codex exec`: native `codex review` cannot combine explicit Git targets and custom instructions.

`python3 "$AUTOREVIEW" --version` prints `autoreview source-sha256:<64 hex digits>` for the executing helper's bytes, including copy-mode installations. It exits without Git, configuration, engine probes or report writes. This identifies the helper content, not a release, the complete skill or an attestation.

Consumers keep the [shared-skill entrypoint](references/repository-entrypoint.md) and local review requirements. Update shared behavior here after active reviews finish. Copy-mode installs need `scripts/install-skills --mode copy --force autoreview` after source updates; review commands never download or update themselves.

Choose the target explicitly when ambiguous:

| Target | Arguments | Scope | | --- | --- | --- | | Local work | `--mode local` | HEAD → index → working tree, including untracked files | | Local candidate against a base | `--mode local --base <ref>` | Pinned base → index → working tree, including untracked files | | Committed branch/PR | `--mode branch --base <ref>` | Merge-base → HEAD; excludes dirty work | | One commit | `--mode commit --commit <ref>` | Raw parent → commit; root compares against empty tree |

Gitlink bumps include full old/new IDs and selected `.gitmodules` URLs as pin metadata; upstream contents are not automatically fetched or reviewed. See [submodule pin scope](references/git-and-context.md#submodule-pins).

`auto` selects local when dirty, otherwise branch using the PR base or `origin/main`. Clean main has no implicit target. `uncommitted` aliases local. The helper never fetches. For a complete PR candidate including dirty rewrites, pin the merge base:

pr_base=$(gh pr view --json baseRefName --jq .baseRefName)
merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD "origin/$pr_base")
python3 "$AUTOREVIEW" --mode local --base "$merge_base"

An explicit local base with zero selected changes still runs the reviewer, like an empty branch scope. A complete validated report may be `scoped-clean` for that empty delta; it does not certify the whole repository. Capture failures, omitted inputs and incomplete or failed reviews retain their existing handling. Local mode without a base still refuses an empty candidate.

Staged and unstaged states are reviewed; index defects remain actionable despite working-tree fixes (`INDEX-only`). Same-repo nested linked checkouts are excluded; ordinary adjacent files remain in scope. For filters, line endings, locations, or collection failures, read [Git details](references/git-and-context.md#git-collection).

Context and severity

Use `--prompt` for guidance, `--prompt-file` for in-repo context (absolute/relative), and `--dataset` for repo-relative evidence. Supply needed unchanged files: the reviewer's sandbox is empty. Context grants no finding scope or instruction authority. Sensitive-path, symlink, and mutation checks apply, not secret-content scanning.

Branch/commit mode supports repeatable `--source-context <path>` or `--source-context-file <path>` (intact each pass): frozen regular-file blobs, never working-copy substitutes. Local mode is unsupported. Before use, read [source context rules](references/git-and-context.md#committed-source-context).

Default: **P0 only**, material operational/safety blockers. For requested wider reviews use `--max-priority P1`, `P2`, or `P3` (overrides `AUTOREVIEW_MAX_PRIORITY`). Invalid priorities fail before preparation. No unrelated redesign, file-count requirements, reading sequences, or ritual passes. Historical blame requires a verified parent-relative patch; otherwise attribution stays unknown.

Engines

• Use Codex CLI by default. Model access and CLI availability are separate:

access to a Codex model through Copilot does not require a local Codex CLI. Honor explicit engine/model choices and environment settings.

• When Codex CLI is unavailable, Copilot users may select an independent

[subagent review](#copilot-subagent-review) before launch.

• For the OpenClaw engine, use [restricted agent execution](references/openclaw.md):

direct CLI on an authenticated host, or the bound `autoreview` tool inside an OpenClaw sandbox. With no explicit route and no eligible default CLI, use the bound tool when available. Supply the target and explicitly reques