reviewing-code

name	reviewing-code
description	Reviews implemented code for security, quality, performance, and test coverage using specialized review agents with clear accountability. Use when task file is in review/ directory. Launches Security Gatekeeper, Quality Guardian, and Test Auditor in parallel.

Review

Given task file path .plans/<project>/review/NNN-task.md:

Review Agents

Launch 3 specialized agents in parallel (FULL review only):

• Security Gatekeeper (security-reviewer): OWASP Top 10, injection, auth, secrets
• Quality Guardian (quality-guardian): Error handling, edge cases, maintainability
• Test Auditor (test-coverage-analyzer): Coverage gaps, test quality, behavioral coverage

Each agent has full instructions in its agent file. They are accountable for their domain.

---

Review Triage

FIRST, read **implementation_metadata:** from task file and determine review tier.

FULL Review Triggers

Route to FULL review (all 3 agents) if ANY of these are true:

Severity-based:

• severity_indicators contains: auth, password, token, session, jwt, crypto, encrypt, secret, payment, billing, migration, permission, api_key

Complexity-based:

• complexity_indicators contains: state-machine, external-api, async-patterns, database-migration

History-based:

• was_stuck: true
• research_agents_used is not empty/none

Quantitative (supporting):

• files_changed >= 10
• lines_changed >= 500

LIGHTWEIGHT Review Triggers

Route to LIGHTWEIGHT review (quick scan, no agents) if ALL of these are true:

• No severity_indicators present
• No complexity_indicators present
• was_stuck: false
• research_agents_used: none
• files_changed < 10
• lines_changed < 500

Report triage decision:

Review tier: [LIGHTWEIGHT | FULL]
Reason: [why this tier was selected]

---

LIGHTWEIGHT Review Process

Quick validation without launching specialized agents. Faster but catches obvious issues.

0. Load Critical Patterns (if exists):

   • Check for .plans/<project>/critical-patterns.md
   • If exists, check implementation against ALL patterns
   • Any violation = CRITICAL finding → escalate to FULL review

1. Baseline checks:

   • Run git diff on Files listed
   • Run tests to verify passing
   • Check Validation checkboxes marked [x]
   • Score (0-100 each): Security, Quality, Performance, Tests

2. Quick scan for obvious issues:

   • Empty catch blocks: catch \(.*\) \{\s*\}
   • Hardcoded secrets: password\s*=\s*["'], api_key\s*=\s*["'], secret\s*=\s*["']
   • Console.log in production code (not in tests)
   • Missing error handling on critical paths (try without catch, Promise without .catch)
   • Magic numbers/strings without explanation in business logic

3. Escalation check:

   • If any HIGH or CRITICAL issues found → Escalate to FULL review
   • Report: ⚠️ Escalating to FULL review: [reason]
   • Then proceed to FULL Review Process below

4. LIGHTWEIGHT Approval/Rejection:

   • If no HIGH/CRITICAL issues → APPROVE
   • Update status and append notes (see LIGHTWEIGHT formats below)
   • Report: ✅ Review complete (LIGHTWEIGHT). Status: [STATUS]

LIGHTWEIGHT Approval Format

**review (LIGHTWEIGHT):**
Security: [N]/100 | Quality: [N]/100 | Performance: [N]/100 | Tests: [N]/100

Review tier: LIGHTWEIGHT
Reason: [No severity/complexity indicators, small scope]

Working Result verified: ✓ [description]
Validation: [N]/[N] passing
Full test suite: [M]/[M] passing
Diff: [N] lines

Quick scan: PASSED
- No empty catch blocks
- No hardcoded secrets
- No console.log in production code
- Error handling present

APPROVED → completed

LIGHTWEIGHT Rejection Format (Escalates to FULL)

If LIGHTWEIGHT finds issues, it escalates to FULL review rather than rejecting directly.

---

FULL Review Process

Launch all 3 specialized agents for comprehensive review. Use for security-sensitive, complex, or high-risk changes.

0. Load Critical Patterns (if exists):

   • Check for .plans/<project>/critical-patterns.md
   • If exists, verify implementation follows ALL patterns
   • Any violation = CRITICAL finding (blocks approval)
   • Include pattern violations in agent context for thorough review

1. Initial Review:

   • Run git diff on Files listed
   • Read test files
   • Run tests to verify passing
   • Check Validation checkboxes marked [x]
   • Score (0-100 each): Security, Quality, Performance, Tests

2. Specialized Review (Parallel Agents): Launch all 3 agents in parallel. Each must:

   • Make a clear APPROVE or REJECT decision for their domain
   • Sign their decision: "I, [Role], certify this code is [APPROVED/REJECTED] because..."
   • Provide specific findings with file:line references
   • Rate severity: CRITICAL (blocks) / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
   • Rate confidence: 0-100%
   • Suggest fixes for each finding

3. Consolidate Findings:

   • Combine initial review with agent findings
   • Filter by confidence/severity:
     • CRITICAL: Security 90-100 confidence, Quality CRITICAL, Test gaps 9-10
     • HIGH: Security 70-89, Quality HIGH, Test gaps 7-8
     • MEDIUM: Security 50-69, Quality MEDIUM, Test gaps 5-6
   • Drop low-confidence issues (<50)

4. Overall Decision:

   • APPROVE requires: All 3 reviewers APPROVE (no CRITICAL findings)
   • REJECT if: Any reviewer REJECTS OR any CRITICAL findings exist

5. Update task status using Edit tool:

   • If approved: Find **Status:** [current status] → Replace **Status:** APPROVED
   • If rejected: Find **Status:** [current status] → Replace **Status:** REJECTED

6. Append notes (see formats below)

7. Track findings in project-level log (see below)

8. Report completion

Invoking Specialized Agents

After initial review, invoke all three agents in parallel using the Task tool.

Required output format (all agents):

• Decision: APPROVE or REJECT
• Signed: "I, [Role], certify this code is [APPROVED/REJECTED] because..."
• Findings: file:line, Severity/Criticality, Confidence, Description, Fix

Task(
  description: "Security review",
  prompt: "Task file: [path] | Files: [list] | Use standard output format.",
  subagent_type: "experimental:review:security-reviewer"
)

Task(
  description: "Quality review",
  prompt: "Task file: [path] | Files: [list] | Use standard output format.",
  subagent_type: "experimental:review:quality-guardian"
)

Task(
  description: "Test coverage review",
  prompt: "Task file: [path] | Test files: [list] | Impl files: [list] | Use standard output format.",
  subagent_type: "experimental:review:test-coverage-analyzer"
)

Call all three Task invocations in a single message to run them in parallel.

FULL Approval Format

**review:**
Security: 90/100 | Quality: 95/100 | Performance: 95/100 | Tests: 90/100

Working Result verified: ✓ [description]
Validation: 4/4 passing
Full test suite: [M]/[M] passing
Diff: [N] lines

**Reviewer Decisions:**
- Security Gatekeeper: APPROVED - "I, Security Gatekeeper, certify this code is APPROVED because [reason]"
- Quality Guardian: APPROVED - "I, Quality Guardian, certify this code is APPROVED because [reason]"
- Test Auditor: APPROVED - "I, Test Auditor, certify this code is APPROVED because [reason]"

**Findings (for tracking):**
- [Any HIGH/MEDIUM findings that don't block but should be tracked]

APPROVED → completed

FULL Rejection Format

**review:**
Security: 65/100 | Quality: 85/100 | Performance: 90/100 | Tests: 75/100

**Reviewer Decisions:**
- Security Gatekeeper: REJECTED - "I, Security Gatekeeper, certify this code is REJECTED because [reason]"
- Quality Guardian: APPROVED - "I, Quality Guardian, certify this code is APPROVED because [reason]"
- Test Auditor: REJECTED - "I, Test Auditor, certify this code is REJECTED because [reason]"

**CRITICAL Issues (must fix):**
1. [Security/Quality/Test] - [Description] - [file:line] - [Confidence/Severity]
2. [Security/Quality/Test] - [Description] - [file:line] - [Confidence/Severity]

**HIGH Issues (should fix):**
1. [Security/Quality/Test] - [Description] - [file:line] - [Confidence/Severity]

**Required actions:**
- [Action 1 - address CRITICAL findings]
- [Action 2 - address blocking issues]
- [Action 3 - consider HIGH findings]

REJECTED → implementation

Review Findings Log

After review, append to .plans/<project>/review-findings.md:

## [Task NNN] - [timestamp]

**Decision:** [APPROVED/REJECTED]

**Reviewer Decisions:**
- Security Gatekeeper: [APPROVED/REJECTED]
- Quality Guardian: [APPROVED/REJECTED]
- Test Auditor: [APPROVED/REJECTED]

**Findings:**
- [FIXED/DEFERRED]: [finding] - [resolution or reason for deferral]

This creates a permanent record of all review findings across the project.

Blocking Thresholds

Must REJECT if any:

• Any reviewer REJECTS
• Security score <80
• Any CRITICAL findings (Security 90-100 confidence, Quality CRITICAL, Test gaps 9-10)
• Tests failing
• Validation incomplete
• Working Result not achieved

Can APPROVE with HIGH findings if:

• All 3 reviewers APPROVE
• Security score ≥80
• No CRITICAL findings
• HIGH findings include justification why acceptable
• All tests passing
• Validation complete

Completion

When review is complete (status updated to APPROVED or REJECTED):

• LIGHTWEIGHT: Report ✅ Review complete (LIGHTWEIGHT). Status: [STATUS]
• FULL: Report ✅ Review complete (FULL). Status: [STATUS]