Review Changes

Systematic workflow for reviewing code changes against established standards.

When to Use

• Reviewing pull requests
• Evaluating commits or diffs
• Pre-merge code validation
• Refactoring assessment
• Architecture review

Review Process

1. Understand the Change

Read the changes completely before commenting:

• What problem does this solve?
• What is the scope of impact?
• Are tests included?

2. Type Safety Review

Check for:

• No any types (unless absolutely necessary with clear justification)
• Minimal use of as assertions
• Proper type inference usage
• e2e type-safety from API to UI

3. Code Organization

Verify:

• Named exports (no default exports unless required)
• No index files used only for re-exports
• Code proximity to usage (not prematurely abstracted)
• Single-file folders are flattened
• Proper file naming (kebab-case)

4. React-Specific Review

Check for:

• No constants/functions declared inside components
• Data fetching uses React Query (not useEffect)
• Minimal useEffect usage
• Proper use of use, useTransition, startTransition
• Cache tags use enums (no magic strings)
• Suspense boundaries with error boundaries

5. Naming & Clarity

Evaluate:

• Descriptive names (no abbreviations)
• Specific over vague (retryAfterMs vs timeout)
• No redundant terms (users vs userList)
• Proper nesting for context (config.public.ENV_NAME)
• No magic strings/numbers

6. Control Flow

Verify:

• Early returns (no if-else chains)
• Flat code (minimal indentation)
• Hash-lists instead of switch statements
• Proper async/await usage

7. Testing

Check for:

• Tests exist for new functionality
• Tests for bug fixes
• Behavior testing (not implementation)
• No "should" in test names (use 3rd person verbs)
• Good describe clause organization

8. Best Practices

Confirm:

• No premature optimization
• No over-engineering (KISS, YAGNI)
• No useless abstractions
• Comments converted to code
• Error monitoring/observability considered
• Accessibility (a11y) addressed
• Security (OWASP) followed

9. Git Hygiene

Check:

• Commit messages don't include "Claude Code"
• Clear, descriptive commit messages
• Logical commit organization

Review Output Format

Structure feedback as:

Required Changes (Blocking)

Critical issues that must be fixed:

• Type safety violations
• Security issues
• Breaking changes without migration path

Suggested Improvements (Non-blocking)

Recommendations for better code:

• Naming improvements
• Structural optimizations
• Readability enhancements

Positive Feedback

Highlight good practices:

• Excellent type safety
• Clear naming
• Good test coverage

Example Review Comments

Good:

❌ Line 45: Using `any` type removes type safety.
Suggestion: Define proper interface for user data.

💡 Line 67: Consider using early return here to reduce nesting.
Current indentation: 4 levels
Target: 2 levels or less

✅ Excellent use of React Query with proper cache invalidation!

Bad:

This code is bad.

Fix the types.

Priority Levels

1. Critical - Blocks merge: security, type-safety violations, breaking changes
2. High - Should fix before merge: maintainability issues, significant readability problems
3. Medium - Nice to have: naming improvements, minor refactoring
4. Low - Optional: style preferences, subjective improvements

Review Checklist

Quick validation before approval:

• No any types without justification
• Named exports used
• Early returns implemented
• No magic strings/numbers
• Tests included for new features/fixes
• React best practices followed
• Proper error handling
• Clear naming conventions
• No over-engineering
• Git commits are clean