code-review

name	code-review
description	Review C code changes for correctness, safety, and style. Use this when you want to review C code changes or PRs.

C Code Review

Review C code changes for memory safety, thread safety, Redis Module API correctness, and project conventions.

Arguments

The input specifies what to review. Exactly one of the following forms:

Changesets:

• <commit> or <commit1>..<commit2>: Git commit(s) — uses git diff / git show.
• pr:<number>: GitHub pull request — fetches the PR diff.

Source files or directories:

• <path>: Path to a C file or directory.
• <path1> <path2>: Multiple files or directories.

If a path doesn't include src/, assume it to be in the src/ directory. E.g. concurrent_ctx becomes src/concurrent_ctx. If a path points to a directory, review all .c and .h files in that directory (recursively).

No argument: default to reviewing uncommitted working-tree changes (git diff).

Optional flags:

• --include-nits: include minor style, formatting, naming, and preference comments as non-blocking suggestions. Nits must still be actionable, non-duplicate, and grouped by root cause when the same pattern appears in multiple places.

Instructions

0. Avoid duplicate PR comments

When reviewing a GitHub PR:

• First inspect existing PR comments, review threads, and prior bot comments when available.
• Treat an issue as already reported if an existing comment identifies the same root cause, even if it points to a different line.
• Do not post or include duplicate findings for issues that were already raised.
• If a previous comment is still accurate, do not restate it. Only mention it again if the new diff changes the issue, invalidates the previous fix, or introduces materially new evidence.
• If the same issue appears in multiple places, report it once on the clearest example and state that the same pattern may apply elsewhere.

1. Collect the code to review

When reviewing a changeset (commits or PR), obtain the full diff of C files:

# Single commit
git show <commit> -- '*.c' '*.h'

# Commit range
git diff <commit1>..<commit2> -- '*.c' '*.h'

For a GitHub PR (pr:<number>):

git fetch origin refs/pull/<number>/head
git diff origin/master...FETCH_HEAD -- '*.c' '*.h'

Read the full source of every C file that was added or significantly modified so that you have complete context (not just the diff hunks).

When reviewing source files or directories, read the full source of every .c and .h file and review them in their entirety.

2. Review checklist

Run every check below on the changed C code. For each violation found, record:

• File and line (or line range)
• Rule that is violated
• Explanation of the issue
• Suggested fix

2a. Memory safety

• Every rm_malloc / rm_calloc / rm_realloc has a matching rm_free on all code paths, including error paths.
• The goto cleanup pattern is used correctly: all resources allocated before the goto are freed in the cleanup label, and resources not yet allocated are initialized to NULL so that rm_free(NULL) is safe.
• No use-after-free: freed pointers are not accessed afterward.
• No double-free: pointers are set to NULL after free if they might be freed again in cleanup.
• Buffer operations (Buffer_Write, Buffer_Read) check capacity before writing.
• Return values of allocation functions are checked (non-NULL).

2b. Thread safety

• Shared mutable state is accessed under appropriate locks.
• ConcurrentSearchCtx / ConcurrentCTX is used correctly for thread handoff.
• No TOCTOU (time-of-check-time-of-use) races on index state.
• GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) assumptions are documented when relevant.
• Atomic operations are used for lock-free counters where appropriate.

2c. Redis Module API usage

• RedisModule_* functions must be called with the Redis global lock (GIL) held. The GIL can be acquired via RedisModule_ThreadSafeContextLock (blocking) or RedisModule_ThreadSafeContextTryLock (non-blocking; must check return value and skip the API call on failure). Code running on worker threads (after ConcurrentSearchCtx releases the lock) must not call Redis Module API functions until the GIL is re-acquired.
• RedisModuleCtx is not used after the command handler returns or after the blocked client is freed.
• RedisModule_AutoMemory scope is understood: auto-freed objects must not be manually freed (and vice versa).
• RedisModule_ReplyWith* calls match the expected RESP protocol for the command.
• Blocked client callbacks (RedisModule_BlockClient / UnblockClient) correctly handle client disconnection (the disconnect callback must clean up resources).
• RedisModule_CreateString / RedisModule_FreeString are paired correctly, accounting for AutoMemory.

2d. Error handling

• All error paths clean up resources before returning.
• Functions returning int use REDISMODULE_OK / REDISMODULE_ERR consistently.
• Error messages passed to RedisModule_ReplyWithError are descriptive.
• No silent failures (errors are either propagated or logged).

2e. Serialization and RDB compatibility

Only applies when changes touch src/rdb.c or serialization logic:

• New fields are added behind a version check (if (version >= X)).
• The encoding version is bumped when the format changes.
• Deserialization handles both old and new formats.
• No breaking changes to existing serialized data.

2f. Integer safety

• Casts between size_t, int, t_docId (uint64_t), t_fieldId (uint16_t) are checked for truncation or sign issues.
• Loop counters use appropriate types for the range of iteration.
• Arithmetic that might overflow is guarded.

2g. Null pointer safety

• Pointers from Redis API calls (RedisModule_OpenKey, RedisModule_CallReplyStringPtr, etc.) are checked for NULL before use.
• Function parameters documented as nullable are checked.
• Struct member access through pointers validates the pointer first.

2h. Style and conventions

• By default, only report style and convention issues when they violate an explicit project rule and would block maintainability. If --include-nits is requested, minor style, formatting, naming, or preference issues may be reported as non-blocking suggestions.
• Code follows .clang-format conventions (2-space indent, 100-col limit, attached braces).
• Public functions use ModuleName_FunctionName naming.
• License header is present on new files.
• No commented-out code left in the diff.
• No TODO or FIXME comments without a tracking issue reference.

2i. Security impact

Treat security-sensitive C issues as in scope for automated review. Prioritize findings that can lead to crashes, memory corruption, data exposure, unauthorized access, or denial of service.

Check especially for:

• Memory ownership and lifetime bugs, including use-after-free, double-free, leaks on error paths, and raw buffer overflows.
• NULL pointer dereferences, missing NULL checks, and missing documentation for any non-NULL pointer preconditions that callers must uphold.
• Uninitialized memory reads, especially when a pointer to uninitialized storage is passed to another function that may not always write before the value is read.
• Redis Module API misuse, especially calls without the GIL, stale RedisModuleCtx usage, and blocked-client/context lifetime bugs.
• Allocation-size arithmetic overflow, integer truncation or sign bugs, and unchecked casts before allocation, indexing, or serialization.
• Missing input bound validation for user-controlled query, schema, vector, geoshape, and RDB input.
• Data exposure, ACL/auth bypass, concurrency races, and unbounded allocation, loops, or recursion that can cause denial of service.

For any security-sensitive finding, state the concrete impact and the input or code path that can trigger it.

2j. PR description

Only applies when reviewing a PR (not files or commits directly):

• Exactly one release notes checkbox is checked (This PR requires release notes or This PR does not require release notes). CI will fail if neither or both are checked.
• If the PR has user-facing impact (new commands, changed behavior, bug fixes affecting users), it should check "requires release notes."

3. Emit the report

Report only actionable, non-duplicate findings.

For each finding include:

• Severity: blocking or suggestion
• File and line/range
• Rule violated
• Why it matters
• Suggested fix

Omit checklist sections with no findings. Do not include "No issues found" for every section.

At the end, provide a short summary:

• Total blocking findings
• Total suggestions
• Whether the change is ready to merge or needs revision