requesting-code-review

name	requesting-code-review
description	Use when completing tasks, implementing major features, or before merging to verify work meets requirements

Self Code Review

Perform systematic self-review to catch issues before they cascade.

Core principle: Review early, review often. Be your own harshest critic.

When to Review

Mandatory:

• After each task completion
• After completing major feature
• Before merge to main

Optional but valuable:

• When stuck (forces fresh perspective)
• Before refactoring (baseline check)
• After fixing complex bug

The Review Process

1. Prepare Review Context

# Get the diff range
BASE_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD~1)  # or origin/main
HEAD_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

# View all changes
git diff $BASE_SHA $HEAD_SHA

2. Self-Review Checklist

Go through each category systematically:

Spec Compliance

• Does implementation match requirements?
• All acceptance criteria met?
• No scope creep (extra features not requested)?

Code Quality

• Clean, readable code?
• Follows project conventions?
• No obvious code smells?
• DRY - no copy-paste code?

Error Handling

• Edge cases handled?
• Errors fail gracefully?
• Meaningful error messages?

Testing

• Tests cover new functionality?
• Tests actually test the right thing?
• All tests passing?

Security (if applicable)

• No hardcoded secrets?
• Input validation present?
• No obvious vulnerabilities?

3. Document Findings

## Self-Review: [Feature Name]

**Changes:** [Brief summary]
**SHA Range:** BASE_SHA..HEAD_SHA

### Strengths
- [What's good about this code]

### Issues Found
- **Critical:** [Blocks deployment]
- **Important:** [Should fix before proceeding]
- **Minor:** [Nice to have, can defer]

### Assessment
[ ] Ready to proceed
[ ] Needs fixes first

4. Fix Issues

Priority order:

1. Fix Critical issues immediately
2. Fix Important issues before proceeding
3. Note Minor issues for later (create TODO or issue)

Example

[Just completed: Add user authentication]

## Self-Review: User Authentication

**Changes:** JWT middleware, login/logout endpoints, tests
**SHA Range:** a7981ec..3df7661

### Strengths
- Clean separation of auth logic
- Good test coverage (85%)
- Follows existing patterns

### Issues Found
- **Important:** Missing rate limiting on login endpoint
- **Minor:** Magic number for token expiry (should be config)

### Assessment
[x] Needs fixes first

[Fix rate limiting]
[Commit fix]
[Continue to next task]

Integration with Workflows

Sequential Task Execution:

• Review after EACH task
• Catch issues before they compound
• Fix before moving to next task

Executing Plans (batch mode):

• Review after each batch (3 tasks)
• Aggregate findings, fix, continue

Ad-Hoc Development:

• Review before merge
• Review when stuck

Red Flags

Never:

• Skip review because "it's simple"
• Ignore Critical issues
• Proceed with unfixed Important issues
• Rush through checklist

Common Blind Spots:

• Error handling paths
• Edge cases with null/empty data
• Concurrent access issues
• Security implications

Tips for Effective Self-Review

1. Take a break first - Fresh eyes catch more
2. Read code as if someone else wrote it - Be objective
3. Question everything - "Why is this here?"
4. Check the diff, not just the new code - What changed?
5. Run the tests, don't assume - Actually verify