Signal	Load	Why
Reviewing Go code	`references/go-review-patterns.md`	Exports, concurrency, resources, metrics, tests
Dispatching Architecture reviewer in parallel mode	`references/architecture-smell-baseline.md`	12 Fowler smells with language counter-examples and severity cap
Writing full-repo report	`references/report-template.md`	Report structure and field definitions
Dispatching full-repo wave agents	`references/audit-playbook.md`	8-category checklists with evidence requirements
Disproving findings before report (Systematic Phase 3.5, Parallel Step 3)	`references/disprove-pass.md`	Refuter dispatch, drop rule, fail-open cases, model choice
Receiving review feedback	`references/receiving-feedback.md`	Feedback-handling patterns

Severity Classification

Shared across all modes. When in doubt, classify UP.

Level	Scope	Examples
BLOCKING	Security, correctness, reliability	Auth bypass, race condition, resource leak, logic error, test failure
SHOULD FIX	Material quality, patterns, tests	Missing tests, unhelpful errors, pattern violations, N+1 in hot paths
SUGGESTION	Optional, stylistic	Naming preferences, comments, micro-optimizations

Decision: security/correctness/reliability risk? -> BLOCKING. Violates patterns or creates maintenance burden? -> SHOULD FIX. Purely stylistic? -> SUGGESTION.

Verdict Rules

Condition	Verdict
Any BLOCKING finding	REQUEST-CHANGES (or BLOCK)
SHOULD FIX findings, no BLOCKING	FIX before merge
Only SUGGESTION or clean	APPROVE

Omit empty severity sections. Include review scope, evidence, and limitations. Validate output:

python3 scripts/validate-review-output.py --type systematic /tmp/review-output.md

Exit 0 = valid; 1 = schema errors; 2 = unparseable; 3 = missing jsonschema.

Mode 1: Systematic Review (default)

Single-reviewer, 4-phase review of a named file, diff, or PR.

Phase 1: UNDERSTAND

Read repository instructions and the complete diff. Read surrounding code to understand each changed path and its consumers. When signatures change, find all callers and interface implementations. Trace parameters to their source: query params may hold any user string; tokens may be server-issued IDs; enums have bounded values. Check validation at each caller.

Gate: Every changed path accounted for, callers traced where needed.

Phase 2: VERIFY

Run relevant tests and required repository checks. Reuse prior results only when they cover current code and environment. Check material claims in comments and PR description against code and tests. Missing tools, skipped checks, and inferred outcomes are not passes.

Gate: Claims have supporting evidence; required checks passed or the gap is recorded.

Phase 3: ASSESS

Assess risks: security (auth, validation, injection, secrets), performance (N+1, unbounded work, allocations on hot paths), architecture (conventions, compatibility, scope, unnecessary abstractions). For extracted helpers, recheck contract and callers.

Gate: Relevant risks and remaining uncertainty are explicit.

Phase 3.5: VERIFY FINDINGS

Before reporting, check each finding's input sequence, existing guards, and proposed fix. Drop unreachable or already-handled claims. Deduplicate when combining reviews; resolve severity from evidence. Then run the disprove pass in references/disprove-pass.md: it drops findings refuted by quoted code and keeps the rest.

Phase 4: DOCUMENT

Review Summary:
  Files Reviewed: N | Lines Changed: +X/-Y
  Test Status: PASS | FAIL | SKIPPED
  Risk Level: LOW | MEDIUM | HIGH | CRITICAL

BLOCKING:
  1. Issue and consequence — path/file.ext:42
SHOULD FIX:
  1. Issue and consequence — path/file.ext:52
SUGGESTIONS:
  1. Optional improvement — path/file.ext:62

Verdict: APPROVE | REQUEST-CHANGES | NEEDS-DISCUSSION
Rationale: Evidence, scope, and limitations.

Mode 2: Parallel Review

Three concurrent reviewers, then aggregate.

Step 1: Scope

Identify the diff or files. Record the reviewed revision.

git diff --name-only HEAD
gh pr view --json files -q '.files[].path'

Select Architecture reviewer by language: Go -> golang-general-engineer; Python -> python-general-engineer; TypeScript -> typescript-frontend-engineer; mixed -> Explore.

Step 2: Dispatch

Dispatch three reviewers together. Read-only; no code edits.

Reviewer	Focus
Security	Auth, authorization, input validation, secrets, OWASP
Business Logic	Requirements, edge cases, state transitions, failure modes
Architecture	Design, structure, performance, maintainability, scope

Pass references/architecture-smell-baseline.md verbatim to the Architecture reviewer. Require [Reviewer] file:line format with severity and consequence.

Step 3: Aggregate and Verdict

Deduplicate findings, resolve severity disagreements from evidence. Run the disprove pass in references/disprove-pass.md on the merged list. Apply shared verdict rules. Output a single combined report with severity matrix, combined findings, and recommendation.

Gate: Every reviewer returned, or missing coverage is explicitly stated without claiming approval.

Mode 3: Full-Repo Review

All source files through a 4-wave comprehensive review. Produces a prioritized backlog, not auto-fixes. Use for quarterly health checks, post-refactor audits, or new codebase onboarding.

Options: --directory [dir] (scope to one dir), --skip-precheck, --min-severity [level].

Step 1: Discover and Pre-check

Scan all source files (scripts/, hooks/, skills/, agents/, docs/). Never fall back to git diff.

python3 ~/.claude/scripts/score-component.py --all-agents --all-skills --json

Save scores as triage context. A score alone never determines severity.

Step 2: Run Comprehensive Review

Call comprehensive-review with --review-only and the full file list. Run all 4 waves (0-3). Load references/audit-playbook.md as prompt context for wave agents.

Step 3: Report

Merge deterministic scores with LLM findings. Identify systemic patterns (3+ files). Write full-repo-review-report.md using references/report-template.md.

Gate: Report exists with severity sections and deterministic scores.

Error Handling

Error	Solution
Reviewer times out or returns nothing	Report partial findings, note gap, retry on reduced scope
Disprove pass fails or returns unparseable output	Keep all findings, note the gap in the verdict
Validator script missing	Run review without validation, note gap in verdict
score-component.py fails	Proceed with LLM review only, note gap in report
Too many files for single session	Split by directory: scripts/, hooks/, agents/, skills/

Request matches	Mode
Review a file, diff, or PR	Systematic (default)
"parallel review", "multi-reviewer", "3-reviewer"	Parallel
"full repo review", "codebase audit", "repo health", review ALL files	Full-repo

review

Review

Deep References