review-cycle

name	review-cycle
description	Use when a PR needs review and you want to iteratively find and fix issues until clean. Accepts a PR number as argument.

Automated review-fix-push loop for pull requests. Reads the PR diff, spawns a team of specialist review agents in parallel (security, performance, validation, etc. — chosen dynamically based on the diff), merges their findings, fixes what's actionable, pushes, and repeats until the reviews come back clean — or hits the safety cap.

Workflow

digraph review_cycle {
    rankdir=TB;
    start [label="Get PR number" shape=box];
    analyze [label="Read diff\nselect specialist domains" shape=box];
    specialists [label="Parallel specialist agents\n(opus, one per domain)" shape=box];
    merge [label="Merge & deduplicate\nfindings" shape=box];
    issues [label="Actionable issues?" shape=diamond];
    fix [label="Spawn fix agents\n(parallel when independent)" shape=box];
    build [label="Build verification" shape=box];
    commit [label="Commit + push" shape=box];
    cap [label="Iteration < max?" shape=diamond];
    done [label="Done — PR is clean" shape=doublecircle];
    capped [label="Stop — hit safety cap\nreport remaining items" shape=doublecircle];

    start -> analyze;
    analyze -> specialists;
    specialists -> merge;
    merge -> issues;
    issues -> done [label="no"];
    issues -> fix [label="yes"];
    fix -> build;
    build -> commit;
    commit -> cap;
    cap -> analyze [label="yes"];
    cap -> capped [label="no"];
}

1. Get PR Number

Use $ARGUMENTS if provided (e.g., /review-cycle 203). Otherwise auto-detect:

gh pr view --json number --jq '.number'

Fail clearly if no PR is found.

2. Diff Analysis & Agent Selection

Read the PR metadata and diff:

gh pr view <number>
gh pr diff <number>

Analyze what's changing — which files, what domains are touched (API routes, database queries, UI components, auth logic, config changes, etc.) — and decide which specialist agents to spawn.

Selecting specialist domains:

• Pick domains where deep focused attention adds value for this specific diff (e.g., "security", "performance", "input validation", "error handling", "accessibility", "correctness", "data integrity")
• Each specialist should cover something the others won't — avoid overlapping mandates
• Scale the number of agents to the PR's complexity — typically 2-4 specialists for most PRs, rarely more than 5. A one-file typo fix needs fewer specialists than a PR touching auth middleware across 20 files
• There is no fixed menu — use your judgment based on what the diff actually contains

Write a focused prompt for each specialist that includes:

• The specific domain/lens to review through
• Concrete examples of what to look for in that domain
• The PR number so the agent can fetch the diff itself
• Instructions to categorize findings as "actionable" (fix before merge) vs "informational" (awareness only)
• For round 2+, a summary of what was fixed in prior rounds so the agent doesn't re-flag resolved items

3. Parallel Specialist Reviews

Spawn all specialist agents in parallel. Each specialist fetches the diff independently rather than receiving it in its prompt — this avoids prompt size limits on large PRs. Each agent is an opus agent that:

1. Fetches the PR diff via gh pr diff <number>
2. Reviews the entire diff exclusively through its assigned lens
3. Returns findings in this format:

## [Domain] Review

### Actionable
- **[file:line]** — Description of the issue and why it matters

### Informational
- **[file:line]** — Observation (no fix needed)

Include these constraints in each specialist's prompt:

• Stay in your lane — a security agent should not flag naming conventions, a performance agent should not suggest style changes
• Be specific — cite file paths, line numbers, and what's wrong
• Actionable means "fix before merge"; informational means "be aware"
• Don't suggest refactors or style changes unless genuinely in-domain (e.g., a performance agent flagging an O(n²) loop is in-domain; suggesting a variable rename is not)

4. Merge, Deduplicate & Triage

After all specialist agents return:

1. Merge all findings into a single list
2. Deduplicate — if two agents flag the same location for related reasons (e.g., security agent flags unsanitized input, validation agent flags missing input check on the same line), combine into one finding that preserves rationales from both agents, keeping the most severe categorization
3. Triage the merged list:

• Fix — genuine issues worth addressing
• Skip — style preferences, informational notes, or things that aren't worth the churn

If nothing is actionable, stop. The PR is clean.

5. Implement Fixes

Group fixes by independence:

• Independent changes (different files, no shared state): spawn parallel agents
• Dependent changes (shared types, cascading edits): single agent or sequential agents

Each implementation agent prompt must include:

• Exact file paths and line numbers
• What to change and why
• The build command to use for verification (see step 6 for detection)
• Instruction to actually execute (not just plan)

Shell quoting: Paths with parentheses (e.g., (auth), (dashboard)) must be double-quoted in git and bash commands:

# Wrong — glob expansion breaks this
git diff apps/web/src/app/(auth)/callback/route.ts

# Right
git diff -- "apps/web/src/app/(auth)/callback/route.ts"

6. Build Verification

After all fix agents complete, verify the build passes. Detect the project's build system and run the appropriate command:

Indicator	Build command
Makefile	make build (or make if no build target)
Cargo.toml	cargo build
go.mod	go build ./...
build.gradle / build.gradle.kts	./gradlew build
pom.xml	mvn compile
package.json with build script	Use the repo's package manager (npm run build, pnpm build, yarn build, bun run build)
turbo.json	Prefer turbo build scoped to affected packages
CMakeLists.txt	cmake --build build
None of the above	Check CLAUDE.md or project docs for build instructions; if nothing found, skip build verification and warn the user

If multiple build systems are present, prefer the one closest to the changed files. When in doubt, check the repo's CLAUDE.md or contributing docs for the canonical build command.

If the build fails, fix the errors before proceeding. Do not push broken code.

7. Commit and Push

Stage only the files that were changed. Write a concise commit message summarizing the fixes. Push to the PR branch.

8. Loop or Stop

• If iteration count < 5 (safety cap), go back to step 2 with a fresh analysis. Fixes in one area can introduce issues in another, so the specialist mix may change between rounds.
• If at the cap, stop and report any remaining items to the user.

The loop should converge quickly — most PRs are clean after 2-3 rounds.

Key Design Decisions

Decision	Rationale
Dynamic specialist selection	No fixed menu — the LLM picks review domains based on what the diff actually contains. A config PR gets different specialists than an auth middleware PR.
Opus for specialist agents	Reviews require judgment about what matters — Opus catches subtler issues like missing disabled props, misleading pricing text, timing side-channels
Parallel specialist execution	All specialists run concurrently — each gets the full diff but reviews through a single focused lens. Faster than sequential.
Merged findings, single triage	All specialist output is combined and deduplicated before triaging once. Avoids duplicate fixes when two agents flag the same code.
Full re-selection each round	Every iteration re-analyzes the full current diff and re-picks specialists. Fixes in one domain may introduce issues in another.
Fresh holistic view each round	Each round re-reads the complete PR diff (including all prior changes), preventing anchoring on prior findings
Parallel fix agents	Independent changes don't need to wait for each other
Build gate before push	Never push code that doesn't compile
Max 5 iterations	Prevents infinite loops if review keeps finding new things from its own fixes
Triage step	Not every review finding is worth fixing — human judgment applies

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Unquoted paths with parens in shell	Always double-quote paths containing ( or ) in git/bash commands
Pushing without build verification	Always run the build after fixes, before pushing
Re-reviewing without pushing first	The specialist agents read gh pr diff — changes must be pushed to be visible to the next round's agents
Passing prior review context to new agent	Fresh agent = fresh context. Only pass "what was fixed" summary, not the old findings
Fixing informational/style items	Only fix actionable issues — style preferences create unnecessary churn
Overlapping specialist mandates	Each specialist should have a distinct domain — if two agents both flag style issues, the mandates overlap. One agent per concern.
Too many specialists for a simple PR	Scale agent count to PR complexity. A one-file typo fix doesn't need 5 specialists.
Specialists drifting out of lane	A security agent shouldn't flag naming conventions. Prompt each specialist to stay in its domain.