What is code-review-checklist?

This Claude skill provides a comprehensive framework for systematic code reviews, utilizing quality gates, SOLID principles, and test coverage analysis to ensure high-quality, maintainable software. It delivers structured feedback with clear severity levels, helping developers identify critical blockers, architectural anti-patterns, and documentation gaps before code is merged into production.

When should I use code-review-checklist?

code-review-checklist is useful in the following scenarios: • Pull Request Validation: Automatically evaluate code changes against predefined quality gates and SOLID principles to maintain high engineering standards. • Technical Debt Identification: Detect architectural violations and code smells, such as functions with multiple responsibilities or improper dependency management. • Error Handling Audit: Scan codebases for dangerous anti-patterns like bare except blocks and ensure robust exception handling in critical paths. • Test Coverage Enforcement: Verify that new features meet required unit and integration test thresholds while checking for test quality and edge case coverage. • Documentation Compliance: Ensure that all new functions, API endpoints, and complex logic are accompanied by clear docstrings and updated README files.

name	code-review-checklist
description	Systematic code review using quality gates, SOLID principles, error handling patterns, and test coverage analysis. Provides structured feedback with severity levels and actionable improvements.

Code Review Checklist Skill

When to Use

Use this skill when:

Reviewing pull requests
Validating code quality before merge
Checking test coverage
Ensuring SOLID principles
Validating error handling
Reviewing documentation
Checking for anti-patterns

Review Framework

1. Code Quality Gates

✅ Must Pass:
- [ ] No linting errors (flake8/ESLint)
- [ ] Type checking passes (mypy/tsc)
- [ ] Tests pass (pytest/jest)
- [ ] Coverage ≥ 80%
- [ ] No security vulnerabilities
- [ ] Documentation updated

2. SOLID Principles

S - Single Responsibility
    ❌ Function does multiple unrelated things
    ✅ Function has one clear purpose

O - Open/Closed
    ❌ Modifying existing code for new features
    ✅ Extending via inheritance/composition

L - Liskov Substitution
    ❌ Subclass changes parent behavior
    ✅ Subclass is drop-in replacement

I - Interface Segregation
    ❌ Large interfaces with unused methods
    ✅ Small, focused interfaces

D - Dependency Inversion
    ❌ High-level depends on low-level
    ✅ Both depend on abstractions

3. Error Handling Patterns

# ✅ Proper error handling
from fastapi import HTTPException

async def get_user(user_id: int) -> User:
    user = await user_repository.get(user_id)
    if not user:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="User not found")
    return user

# ❌ Anti-patterns
async def get_user(user_id: int):
    try:
        return await user_repository.get(user_id)
    except:  # Never bare except!
        return None  # Hiding errors

4. Test Coverage Analysis

✅ Required Coverage:
- Unit tests: ≥ 80%
- Integration tests: Critical paths
- E2E tests: User journeys

✅ Test Quality:
- [ ] Tests are independent
- [ ] Tests have clear assertions
- [ ] Edge cases covered
- [ ] Error paths tested
- [ ] No flaky tests

5. Documentation Check

✅ Required Docs:
- [ ] Function docstrings (purpose, params, returns)
- [ ] Complex logic explained
- [ ] API endpoints documented
- [ ] README updated if needed
- [ ] CHANGELOG updated

Review Severity Levels

🔴 BLOCKER - Must fix before merge
   - Security vulnerability
   - Breaking change
   - Test failure
   - Data loss risk

🟠 MAJOR - Should fix before merge
   - Missing error handling
   - Poor performance
   - Missing tests
   - Unclear logic

🟡 MINOR - Nice to fix
   - Style issues
   - Minor refactoring
   - Documentation gaps
   - Code duplication

🟢 SUGGESTION - Optional improvement
   - Alternative approach
   - Future optimization
   - Best practice tip

Output Format

## Code Review Summary

### Overview
- Files reviewed: X
- Lines changed: +X / -X
- Test coverage: X%

### Quality Gates
- ✅ Linting: Passed
- ✅ Type checking: Passed
- ⚠️ Tests: 2 failures
- ❌ Coverage: 65% (target: 80%)

### Findings

#### 🔴 [BLOCKER] Missing input validation
- **File**: `services/user_service.py:45`
- **Issue**: User input not sanitized
- **Fix**: Add Pydantic validation

#### 🟠 [MAJOR] N+1 query in get_orders
- **File**: `repositories/order_repo.py:23`
- **Issue**: Eager loading missing
- **Fix**: Use `selectinload()`

### Verdict
- ✅ APPROVE (with suggestions)
- ⚠️ REQUEST CHANGES (blockers found)

Example Usage

@reviewer Review the PR for user authentication feature
@reviewer Check test coverage on the new endpoints
@reviewer Validate error handling in payment service
@reviewer Analyze code for SOLID violations

code-review-checklist

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases