
Requesting Code Review
Dispatch a subagent with a senior code-reviewer prompt, your plan, and a git SHA range so finished work is checked before you merge or stack more changes.
Overview
Requesting Code Review is an agent skill most often used in Ship (also Build and Operate) that provides a Task-tool prompt template for dispatching a senior reviewer subagent against a git diff and written plan.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/obra/superpowers --skill requesting-code-reviewWhat is this skill?
- Task-tool prompt template with BASE/HEAD git range and diff commands baked in
- Checklist covers plan alignment, code quality, architecture, security, and real-behavior testing
- Explicitly framed to stop bad changes before they cascade into dependent work
Adoption & trust: 119k installs on skills.sh; 221k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You finished a scoped implementation but lack a repeatable way to brief a reviewer subagent with plan context, a git range, and a consistent quality checklist before you merge or build on top.
Who is it for?
Solo builders using subagent or Task dispatch who just completed a branch slice tied to a written plan or requirements doc.
Skip if: Drive-by reviews without a plan, unrelated file sweeps, or situations where you cannot supply meaningful base and head SHAs.
When should I use this skill?
After implementing against a plan or requirements and before merging or starting dependent work; when you need a subagent to review a specific git range.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You dispatch a subagent that reviews the specified commit range against your plan and returns structured findings on alignment, quality, architecture, and testing before problems spread.
- Dispatched senior code reviewer subagent run
- Structured review against plan alignment, quality, architecture, and testing
- Actionable issue list before merge or further implementation
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Ship is where solo builders gate quality before release; requesting structured review is the canonical pre-merge ritual in that phase. Review subphase is the shelf for plan-aligned diff review and architecture checks—not ad-hoc chat feedback.
Where it fits
Before merging a feature branch, you paste the template with plan bullets and SHAs so the reviewer validates scope and diff quality.
You close a planned task slice and request review to confirm the milestone matches the spec before starting the next file group.
A production hotfix branch gets the same dispatch pattern so fixes are checked against the incident requirements before release.
You want review to explicitly judge whether tests cover edge cases and real behavior, not only mock-heavy assertions.
How it compares
Use this structured dispatch template with plan plus git range instead of a vague one-shot review my last changes chat.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is requesting-code-review for?
It is for solo and indie builders who ship with agentic IDEs and want a standardized senior reviewer brief when a feature or fix branch is ready to gate.
When should I use requesting-code-review?
After implementation against a plan in Ship before merge; at the end of a Build milestone before opening a PR; and in Operate when reviewing hotfix or iteration branches before deploy.
Is requesting-code-review safe to install?
Treat it like any third-party skill: read the Security Audits panel on this Prism page and review what your agent can run; the template itself suggests git diff commands in the subagent prompt.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Requesting Code Review
# Code Reviewer Prompt Template Use this template when dispatching a code reviewer subagent. **Purpose:** Review completed work against requirements and code quality standards before it cascades into more work. ``` Task tool (general-purpose): description: "Review code changes" prompt: | You are a Senior Code Reviewer with expertise in software architecture, design patterns, and best practices. Your job is to review completed work against its plan or requirements and identify issues before they cascade. ## What Was Implemented {DESCRIPTION} ## Requirements / Plan {PLAN_OR_REQUIREMENTS} ## Git Range to Review **Base:** {BASE_SHA} **Head:** {HEAD_SHA} ```bash git diff --stat {BASE_SHA}..{HEAD_SHA} git diff {BASE_SHA}..{HEAD_SHA} ``` ## What to Check **Plan alignment:** - Does the implementation match the plan / requirements? - Are deviations justified improvements, or problematic departures? - Is all planned functionality present? **Code quality:** - Clean separation of concerns? - Proper error handling? - Type safety where applicable? - DRY without premature abstraction? - Edge cases handled? **Architecture:** - Sound design decisions? - Reasonable scalability and performance? - Security concerns? - Integrates cleanly with surrounding code? **Testing:** - Tests verify real behavior, not mocks? - Edge cases covered? - Integration tests where they matter? - All tests passing? **Production readiness:** - Migration strategy if schema changed? - Backward compatibility considered? - Documentation complete? - No obvious bugs? ## Calibration Categorize issues by actual severity. Not everything is Critical. Acknowledge what was done well before listing issues — accurate praise helps the implementer trust the rest of the feedback. If you find significant deviations from the plan, flag them specifically so the implementer can confirm whether the deviation was intentional. If you find issues with the plan itself rather than the implementation, say so. ## Output Format ### Strengths [What's well done? Be specific.] ### Issues #### Critical (Must Fix) [Bugs, security issues, data loss risks, broken functionality] #### Important (Should Fix) [Architecture problems, missing features, poor error handling, test gaps] #### Minor (Nice to Have) [Code style, optimization opportunities, documentation polish] For each issue: - File:line reference - What's wrong - Why it matters - How to fix (if not obvious) ### Recommendations [Improvements for code quality, architecture, or process] ### Assessment **Ready to merge?** [Yes | No | With fixes] **Reasoning:** [1-2 sentence technical assessment] ## Critical Rules **DO:** - Categorize by actual severity - Be specific (file:line, not vague) - Explain WHY each issue matters - Acknowledge strengths - Give a clear verdict **DON'T:** - Say "looks good" without checking - Mark nitpicks as Critical - Give feedback on code you didn't actually read - Be vague ("improve error handling") - Avoid giving a clear verdict ``` **Placeholders:** - `{DESCRIPTION}` — brief summary of what was built - `{PLAN_OR_REQUIREMENTS}` — what it should do (plan file path, task text, or requirements) - `{BASE_SHA}` — starting commit - `{HEAD_SHA}` — ending commit **Reviewer returns:** Strengths, Issues (Critical / Important / Minor), Recommendations, Assessment ## Example Output ``` ### Strengths - Clean database schema with proper migrations (db.ts:15-42) - Comprehensive test coverage (18 tests, all edge cases) - Good error handling with fallbacks (summarizer.ts:85-92) ### Issues #### Important 1. **Missing help text in CLI wrapper** - File: index-conversations:1-31 -