| name | n8n:human-like-code-review |
| description | Reviews a GitHub pull request like a thoughtful human reviewer and writes the feedback to a markdown file. Prioritizes bugs, behavioral regressions, security issues, and missing tests, ordered by severity. Use when given a PR URL to review, or when the user says /human-like-code-review. |
| allowed-tools | Bash(gh:*), Bash(git:*), Read, Glob, Grep |
Human-Like Code Review
Review a GitHub pull request with a code-review mindset and produce a copy/paste-friendly
markdown file of feedback. Findings are the primary focus: prioritize bugs, behavioral
regressions, security issues, and missing tests, ordered by severity. Do not make code
changes unless the user explicitly asks for them.
Input
The user must provide a GitHub pull request URL (e.g. https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/pull/1234).
If not provided, ask for it before proceeding.
Extract the PR number and repository from the URL and use the gh CLI to fetch the PR diff and metadata.
Workflow
- Parse the PR URL to get owner, repo, and PR number.
- Fetch the PR diff:
gh pr diff <number> --repo <owner>/<repo>
- Fetch PR metadata:
gh pr view <number> --repo <owner>/<repo>
- Fetch existing review comments:
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/pulls/<number>/comments
- Review the diff thoroughly with a critical, code-review mindset.
- Produce a new
.md file named review-<repo>-<number>.md inside the repo's gitignored tmp/ folder, so it is never committed (the tmp folder is listed in .gitignore). Create the folder if needed (mkdir -p tmp) and write to tmp/review-<repo>-<number>.md. Print the path to the file when done so the user can open it.
- If a point was already raised in existing PR comments, check whether it's still valid - if resolved, confirm it's fixed; if still open, expand on it or add context instead of repeating it.
- Before finishing, clean up any scratch files created during review. The only
file that should remain in
tmp/ from this skill run is the final
tmp/review-<repo>-<number>.md review file.
Temporary file hygiene
Prefer reading gh output directly instead of writing extra files. If you need
scratch files for a complex review (for example, a saved diff or extracted file
contents), remove them before you finish. Do not leave tmp/pr-*.diff,
extracted source files, or empty temporary files behind.
What to prioritize
Findings must be the primary focus, ordered by severity (most severe first):
- Bugs - logic errors, off-by-one, null/undefined handling, incorrect conditions.
- Behavioral regressions - changes that break or alter existing behavior.
- Security issues - injection, auth/authorization gaps, unsafe input handling, secret exposure.
- Missing tests - the actual change isn't covered, or edge cases are untested.
Style, naming, and minor nits come last, and only if they genuinely matter.
Backward compatibility
Especially when nodes are changed, check that the change does not break backward
compatibility for existing users' workflows (renamed/removed parameters, changed
defaults, altered output shape, different behavior for the same input).
If there's a risk of broken backward compatibility, consider node versioning and
leave this inside the comments - point out the risk and suggest a new node version
(or a versioned default) rather than changing existing behavior in place.
Output format
The markdown file must contain:
- A header with the PR title, URL, and date of review.
- A
## Hints for a reviewer section (see below).
- A
## General section (see below).
- A
## Comments section with a list of review comments in this format:
file name + line number + comment
Comments should be easy to copy/paste. Do not quote comments using > - just write them directly.
It's totally okay to have no line comments. Do not force findings or point out
minor things just to have something to say. In those cases, prefer an empty
comments list and a short positive ## General comment.
When a comment suggests something different, be precise about it. Either propose the actual code change (a short snippet or suggestion block the author can apply directly) or, if a full snippet isn't practical, state the concrete direction (which function/value/approach to use) rather than a vague hint. Avoid comments like "this could be cleaner" with no actionable next step.
Hints for a reviewer
Right after the header, include a ## Hints for a reviewer section to orient the
human reviewer before they read the diff:
- A short reason why the PR was created (the problem it solves or the goal).
- A few basic words explaining the solution, without overcomplication.
- If it's a community PR, mention it briefly. You can usually spot this from
authorAssociation or a fork-prefixed branch like random-fork-owner:fix-node-option.
Keep it to a couple of sentences. It's about saving the reviewer time, not a
detailed write-up.
General summary comment
Before the line-by-line comments, include a ## General section that can be
pasted as the review summary. Make it sound human and natural - it is okay to
start with something short and friendly like "Hey, nice job on this" when the
change deserves it. Then add any top-level, PR-wide feedback that doesn't belong
on a single line - e.g. design or architecture concerns, an implicit/type-unsafe
contract between files, repeated patterns, scope, or missing test coverage of
the actual change.
- Keep it short and conversational. Don't repeat or summarize the individual line comments here.
- The exception is a big design issue with the overall solution: when the whole approach is wrong or has a structural problem, explain the overall idea here rather than scattering it across individual comments.
- If there's genuinely nothing PR-wide to raise, write a short positive review
summary and move on - do not pad it.
Line number rules
Line numbers MUST be the actual line numbers in the file on the PR branch (the new/right side of the diff), NOT the position within the diff hunk.
To get the correct line number: look at the @@ hunk header (e.g. @@ -19,10 +19,9 @@). The +19 means the new file starts at line 19. Count down from there for each line that is a context line ( ) or an added line (+). Skip removed lines (-) - they don't exist in the new file.
Example: if a hunk says @@ -10,5 +10,6 @@ and you want to comment on the 3rd non-removed line in that hunk, the line number is 10 + 2 = 12.
Never guess line numbers. Always compute them from the hunk headers.
Consistency validation
Before suggesting a change to a pattern (naming, structure, style), check whether the same pattern is used elsewhere in the codebase or in similar nodes/files. If it is an established convention, do NOT flag it. Only comment if something genuinely deviates from existing patterns.
Formatting rules
- Never use long dashes or em-dashes. Use
- instead.
- Keep comments as short as possible. One sentence is ideal.
- For line comments, avoid filler like "Nice work!", "Looks great!", or "Good job here." - keep them actionable or questioning.
Tone
Write review comments naturally, like a friendly human reviewer.
Feel free to use phrases like:
- How about...
- I wonder if...
- WDYT?
You can also insert an emoji from time to time 🙂
Keep comments friendly, short, and collaborative. Avoid judgmental wording like "you made a mistake" or anything overly critical.
Important
Do not make code changes unless the user explicitly asks for them. This skill produces a review, not a patch.
The very last sentence of your reply must be a clickable Markdown link to the
review file, so the user can open it from the agent chat immediately. Use this
format: [tmp/review-<repo>-<number>.md](tmp/review-<repo>-<number>.md).
Nothing should come after the link.
