review

review

Purpose

Code quality analysis. Review finds bugs, bad patterns, security issues, and untested code. It does NOT fix anything — it reports findings and delegates: bugs go to rune:fix, untested code goes to rune:test, security-critical code goes to rune:sentinel.

A review that says "LGTM" or "code looks good" without specific file:line references is NOT a review. Every review MUST cite at least one specific concern, suggestion, or explicit approval per file changed.

Triggers

• Called by cook Phase 5 REVIEW — after implementation complete
• Called by fix for self-review on complex fixes
• /rune review — manual code review
• Auto-trigger: when PR is created or significant code changes committed

Calls (outbound)

• scout (L2): find related code for fuller context during review
• test (L2): when untested edge cases found — write tests for them
• fix (L2): when bugs found during review — trigger fix
• sentinel (L2): when security-critical code detected (auth, input, crypto)
• docs-seeker (L3): verify API usage is current and correct
• hallucination-guard (L3): verify imports and API calls in reviewed code
• design (L2): when UI anti-patterns suggest missing design system — recommend design skill invocation
• perf (L2): when performance patterns detected in frontend diff
• review-intake (L2): structured intake for complex multi-file reviews
• sast (L3): static analysis security scan on reviewed code
• L4 extension packs: domain-specific review patterns when context matches (e.g., @rune/ui for frontend, @rune/security for auth code)
• neural-memory | After review complete | Capture code quality insight

Called By (inbound)

• cook (L1): Phase 5 REVIEW — post-implementation quality check
• fix (L2): complex fix requests self-review
• User: /rune review direct invocation
• surgeon (L2): review refactored code quality
• rescue (L1): review refactored code quality
• design (L2): review UI/design implementation quality
• graft (L2): review grafted code integration

Cross-Hub Connections

• review → test — untested edge case found → test writes it
• review → fix — bug found during review → fix applies correction
• review → scout — needs more context → scout finds related code
• review → improve-architecture — when reviewer flag mentions "shallow", "wrapper", "indirection", or pass-through pattern
• review ← fix — complex fix requests self-review
• review → sentinel — security-critical code → sentinel deep scan

Execution

Step 1: Scope

Determine what to review.

• If triggered by a commit or PR: use Bash with git diff main...HEAD or git diff HEAD~1 to see exactly what changed
• If triggered by a specific file or feature: use Read on each named file
• If context is unclear: use rune:scout to identify all files touched by the change
• List every file in scope before proceeding — do not review files outside the stated scope

Step 1.5: Blast Radius Assessment

For each modified function/class, estimate its blast radius before reviewing.

Use Grep to count direct callers/importers of each modified symbol:
  blast_radius = count(files importing or calling this symbol)

Blast Radius	Risk	Review Depth
1-5 callers	Low	Standard review
6-20 callers	Medium	Check all callers for compatibility
21-50 callers	High	Thorough review + regression test check
50+ callers	Critical	MUST escalate to adversarial analysis (rune:adversary) even in quick triage

Modifying a symbol with 50+ callers + HIGH severity change (logic, types, behavior) → adversarial analysis REQUIRED. Quick review is NOT sufficient for high-blast-radius changes.

Step 2: Logic Check (Production-Critical Focus)

Read each changed file. Prioritize bugs that pass CI but break production — these are the highest-value findings because linters and type checkers already catch the rest.

• Use Read on every file in scope
• Race conditions: async operations without proper sequencing, shared mutable state, missing locks
• State corruption: mutations that affect other consumers, cache invalidation gaps, stale closures
• Silent failures: caught errors that swallow context, empty catch blocks, promises without rejection handling
• Data loss paths: write operations without confirmation, delete without soft-delete, truncation without backup
• Edge cases: empty input, null/undefined, zero, negative numbers, empty arrays, Unicode, timezone boundaries
• Check for: logic errors, off-by-one errors, incorrect conditionals, broken async/await patterns
• Flag each finding with file path, line number, and severity

Common patterns to flag:

// BAD — missing await causes race condition
async function saveUser(data) {
  db.users.create(data); // caller proceeds before save completes
  return { success: true };
}
// GOOD
async function saveUser(data) {
  await db.users.create(data);
  return { success: true };
}

// BAD — null deref crash
function getUsername(user) {
  return user.profile.name.toUpperCase(); // crashes if profile or name is null
}
// GOOD — safe access
function getUsername(user) {
  return user?.profile?.name?.toUpperCase() ?? 'Anonymous';
}

Step 3: Pattern Check

Check consistency with project conventions.

• Compare naming against existing codebase patterns (use Grep to sample similar code)
• Check file structure: is it in the right layer/directory per project conventions?
• Check for mutations — all state changes should use immutable patterns
• Check for hardcoded values that should be constants or config
• Check TypeScript: no any, full type coverage, no non-null assertions without justification
• Flag inconsistencies as MEDIUM or LOW depending on impact

Common patterns to flag:

// BAD — mutation
function addItem(cart, item) {
  cart.items.push(item); // mutates in place
  return cart;
}
// GOOD — immutable
function addItem(cart, item) {
  return { ...cart, items: [...cart.items, item] };
}

// BAD — any defeats TypeScript's purpose
function process(data: any): any {
  return data.items.map((i: any) => i.value);
}
// GOOD — typed
function process(data: { items: Array<{ value: string }> }): string[] {
  return data.items.map(i => i.value);
}

Step 4: Security Check

Check for security-relevant issues.

• Scan for: hardcoded secrets, API keys, passwords in code or comments
• Scan for: unvalidated user input passed to queries, file paths, or shell commands
• Scan for: missing authentication checks on new routes or functions
• Scan for: XSS vectors (unsanitized HTML output), CSRF exposure, open redirects
• If any security-sensitive code found (auth logic, input handling, crypto, payment): call rune:sentinel for deep scan
• Sentinel escalation is mandatory — do not skip it for auth or crypto code

Step 4.5: API Pit-of-Success Check

For code that exposes APIs, shared utilities, or reusable interfaces, evaluate through 3 adversary personas:

Adversary	Mindset	What They Reveal
The Scoundrel	Malicious — controls config, crafts inputs, exploits edge cases	Security holes, privilege escalation, injection surfaces
The Lazy Developer	Copy-pastes from docs, skips error handling, uses defaults	Unsafe defaults, missing validation, footgun APIs
The Confused Developer	Misunderstands API semantics, passes wrong types, ignores return values	Ambiguous interfaces, poor naming, missing type safety

Pit-of-Success principle: Secure, correct usage should be the path of least resistance. If the API makes it EASIER to use it wrong than right → WARN.

Check: Does the API have sensible defaults? Does misuse fail loudly (not silently)? Is the happy path obvious from the signature?

Skip if: Code is internal-only (no external consumers), single-use utility, or test-only.

Step 4.7: API Contract / Breaking Change Check

For any change that modifies exported functions, REST endpoints, event schemas, or shared types, check for backward-compatibility violations before proceeding.

Breaking change signals — flag any of these as HIGH:

Signal	Example	Why it Breaks
Removed export	export function getUser deleted	Callers crash at import
Renamed parameter	id: string → userId: string	Named-argument callers break
Narrowed return type	User | null → User (null removed)	Callers that handle null crash
Required arg added	fn(a) → fn(a, b: string)	All existing callers missing b
Status code changed	200 → 204 on success	Clients checking for body break
Event schema changed	{ userId } → { user_id }	Consumers miss the field
Endpoint path renamed	/users/:id → /users/:userId	All client URLs broken

Versioning check:

1. Run git diff main...HEAD — list every changed exported symbol
2. For each changed export: check if old signature still exists as an alias or overload
3. If breaking and no version bump → WARN: "Breaking change detected in [symbol] — needs CHANGELOG entry and version bump"
4. If CHANGELOG.md found: check that breaking changes are documented in the current version entry

Skip if: Change is internal-only (no exports changed, no public API surface affected), or in test files only.

Step 5: Test Coverage

Identify gaps in test coverage.

• Use Bash to check if a test file exists for each changed file
• Use Glob to find test files: **/*.test.ts, **/*.spec.ts, **/__tests__/**
• Read the test file and verify: are the new functions covered? are edge cases tested?
• If untested code found: call rune:test with specific instructions on what to test
• Flag as HIGH if business logic is untested, MEDIUM if utility code is untested

Per-Function Test Gap Analysis

Go beyond "test file exists" — check coverage at function granularity:

1. Extract changed functions — from the diff, list every function/method that was added or modified (name + file:line)
2. Map to test assertions — for each changed function, Grep the test file for its name. Count distinct test cases (look for it(, test(, describe( blocks that reference the function)
3. Classify gap severity:

Function Type	0 tests	1 test	2+ tests
Business logic (money, auth, state)	BLOCK	WARN: "only happy path"	PASS
Data transform (parse, format, map)	HIGH	PASS	PASS
Event handler (onClick, onSubmit)	MEDIUM	PASS	PASS
Pure utility (string, math, date)	MEDIUM	PASS	PASS

4. Output per-function table in review report:

### Test Gap Analysis
| Function | File | Tests Found | Verdict |
|----------|------|-------------|---------|
| calculateTotal | src/billing.ts:42 | 3 (happy, zero, overflow) | PASS |
| processRefund | src/billing.ts:89 | 0 | BLOCK — business logic untested |
| formatCurrency | src/utils.ts:12 | 1 | PASS |

5. Flag untested edge cases — for functions with only 1 test, check if the test covers: empty/null input, boundary values, error path. If only happy path → WARN: "only happy path tested for {function}"

Skip if: Diff only touches config, docs, styles, or test files themselves.

Step 5.5: Two-Stage Review Gate

Separate spec compliance from code quality. Most reviews conflate both — this gate forces the distinction.

Stage 1 — Spec Compliance (check FIRST)

Before evaluating code quality, verify the implementation matches what was asked:

• Load the originating plan, task, ticket, or requirements.md if available
• Does the implementation cover every acceptance criterion? Check each one explicitly
• Is there under-engineering — requirements stated but not implemented?
• Is there over-engineering — abstractions, generalization, or features beyond scope?
• Does the file/function structure match what the plan specified?

Flag spec deviations as HIGH — clean code that misses requirements ships broken products.

# Spec Compliance Checklist
[ ] All acceptance criteria from plan/ticket covered
[ ] No stated requirements missing from implementation
[ ] No unrequested features added (scope creep)
[ ] API surface matches what was specified (signatures, endpoints, return types)
[ ] File structure matches plan (no renamed or relocated files without justification)

If spec violations found: document them separately from code quality findings in the report. Label as SPEC-MISS or SPEC-CREEP.

Stage 2 — Code Quality

Proceed to Step 6 only after Stage 1 passes. Code quality findings (bugs, patterns, security, coverage) are the existing Steps 2–5 above.

The review report MUST show both stages: spec compliance verdict first, then code quality findings.

Step 6: Report

Produce a structured severity-ranked report.

Before reporting, apply confidence filter:

• Only report findings with >80% confidence it is a real issue

• Consolidate similar issues: "8 functions missing error handling in src/services/" — not 8 separate findings

• Skip stylistic preferences unless they violate conventions found in .eslintrc, CLAUDE.md, or CONTRIBUTING.md

• Adapt to project type: a console.log in a CLI tool is fine; in a production API handler it is not

• Group findings by severity: CRITICAL → HIGH → MEDIUM → LOW

• Include file path and line number for every finding

• Include a Positive Notes section (good patterns observed)

• Include a Verdict: APPROVE | REQUEST CHANGES | NEEDS DISCUSSION

Step 6.5: Fix-First Triage

From gstack (garrytan/gstack, 50.9k★): "Reviews that produce 20 findings and delegate all to the user waste everyone's time."

Classify each finding as AUTO-FIX or ASK before reporting:

Category	Auto-Fix?	Examples
Dead imports, unused variables	AUTO-FIX	import { foo } from './bar' where foo is never used
Missing error handling on obvious paths	AUTO-FIX	await fetch() without try/catch in production code
Console.log in production code	AUTO-FIX	Remove console.log from non-CLI production files
Architectural concern, trade-off	ASK	"This bypasses the auth middleware — intentional?"
Ambiguous intent	ASK	"Is this fallback behavior correct for null users?"
Style/convention disagreement	ASK	"Project uses camelCase but this file uses snake_case"

After classification:

• Apply AUTO-FIX findings directly via rune:fix — include all in a single batch
• Collect ASK findings into ONE AskUserQuestion — not 5 separate questions
• Report both: "Auto-fixed 4 issues. 2 findings need your input: [...]"

Rationalization prevention: "This looks fine" is NOT acceptable without evidence. If you can't cite a specific file:line or convention that justifies the code, flag it as UNVERIFIED — don't rationalize away uncertainty.

Step 6.6: Scope Drift Detection

From gstack (garrytan/gstack, 50.9k★): "Intent vs diff catches scope creep that plan-based guards miss."

After reviewing code, compare stated intent vs actual diff:

1. Read the originating source: TODO list, PR description, commit messages, or plan file
2. Extract stated intent: "what was this change supposed to do?"
3. Run git diff --stat to see actual file changes
4. Compare:

Result	Meaning	Action
CLEAN	All changed files serve the stated intent	Note in report
DRIFT	1-2 files changed that don't relate to stated intent	WARN — "These files were modified but aren't mentioned in the task: [list]"
REQUIREMENTS_MISSING	Stated intent mentions files/features not in the diff	WARN — "Task mentions X but it's not in the diff"

This is informational, not blocking. Scope drift is common and sometimes intentional — but making it visible prevents silent creep.

After reporting:

• If any CRITICAL findings: call rune:fix immediately with the finding details
• If any HIGH findings: call rune:fix with the finding details
• If untested code: call rune:test with specific coverage gaps identified
• Call neural-memory (Capture Mode) to save any novel code quality patterns or recurring issues found.

Framework-Specific Checks

Apply only if the framework is detected in the changed files. Skip if not relevant.

React / Next.js (detect: import React or .tsx files)

• useEffect with missing dependencies (stale closure) → flag HIGH
• List items using index as key on reorderable lists: key={i} → flag MEDIUM
• Props drilled through 3+ levels without Context or composition → flag MEDIUM
• Client-side hooks (useState, useEffect) in Server Components (Next.js App Router) → flag HIGH

Node.js / Express (detect: import express or require('express'))

• Missing rate limiting on public endpoints → flag MEDIUM
• req.body passed directly to DB without validation schema → flag HIGH
• Synchronous operations blocking the event loop inside async handlers → flag HIGH

Python (detect: .py files with django, flask, or fastapi imports)

• except: bare catch without specific exception type → flag MEDIUM
• Mutable default arguments: def func(items=[]) → flag HIGH
• Missing type hints on public functions (if project uses mypy/pyright) → flag LOW

UI/UX Anti-Pattern Checks

Apply only when .tsx, .jsx, .svelte, .vue, or .html files are in the diff. Skip for backend-only changes.

These are the "AI UI signature" — patterns that make AI-generated frontends visually identifiable as non-human-designed. Flag each as MEDIUM severity.

Preamble — load design contract first: If .rune/design-system.md exists, read it first. Pull the project's Scale Minimums block (if authored by rune:design v0.5.0+) and apply those thresholds instead of the defaults below. Missing design-system.md → use defaults and add a LOW finding: "Project has no design-system.md — run rune design to lock visual decisions." Never enforce stale defaults against a project that has already declared stricter/looser minimums.

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Purple/indigo default accent with no domain justification:

// BAD: LLM default color bias — signals "AI-generated" to experienced designers
className="bg-indigo-600 text-white"  // every button/CTA is indigo
// GOOD: domain-appropriate — trading → neutral dark, healthcare → trust blue,
//        e-commerce → conversion-optimized warm. Purple is only appropriate for
//        AI-native tools and creative platforms.

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Card-grid monotony (every section is 3-col cards, zero layout variation):

// BAD: every section uses the same grid pattern
<div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-6">  // features
<div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-6">  // testimonials
<div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-6">  // pricing
// GOOD: mix layouts — split sections, bento grids, full-bleed hero, list+detail

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Centeritis (everything centered, no directional flow):

// BAD: no visual tension, no reading direction
<div className="text-center flex flex-col items-center">  // hero
<div className="text-center">  // every feature section
// GOOD: left-align body copy, use centering intentionally for hero/CTAs only

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Numeric/financial values in non-monospace font:

// BAD: prices, stats, metrics in Inter/Roboto
<span className="text-2xl font-bold">${price}</span>
// GOOD: monospace for all numbers that need alignment
<span className="font-mono text-2xl font-bold">${price}</span>

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Scale Minimum violations (AI boilerplate tell):

// BAD: body text at 14px (AI default) — primary content must be ≥16px
<p className="text-sm">Welcome to the dashboard.</p>

// BAD: hero/display text below 40px — reads as "section heading", not "hero"
<h1 className="text-3xl font-bold">Ship Faster</h1>  // 30px

// BAD: touch target below 44×44px on mobile
<button className="w-8 h-8"><XIcon /></button>  // 32px — WCAG 2.5.8 failure

// GOOD: hero ≥48px, body ≥16px, touch ≥44×44px
<h1 className="text-5xl md:text-6xl font-bold">Ship Faster</h1>   // 48-60px
<p className="text-base">Welcome to the dashboard.</p>             // 16px
<button className="w-11 h-11"><XIcon /></button>                   // 44px

Pull project-specific overrides from .rune/design-system.md § Scale Minimums.

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Hand-rolled SVG for standard iconography:

// BAD: custom <svg> for dashboard/menu/close/chevron — AI geometry almost always malformed
<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M3 3h18v18H3z M3 9h18 M9 3v18"/></svg>

// GOOD: Phosphor Icons (preferred) or Huge Icons
import { House, List, X } from '@phosphor-icons/react';
<House weight="bold" size={24} />

// GOOD: labeled placeholder when no icon library available yet
<span className="icon-placeholder" aria-label="Dashboard icon — design pass needed">
  [ ICON: dashboard ]
</span>

Exceptions: inline SVG for project-unique logos, data visualizations (charts/graphs), or decorative illustrations generated by a human designer — these are not "standard iconography."

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Manual hex shading for accent states (oklch() violation):

/* BAD: hand-darkened hex — breaks perceived lightness consistency */
--accent: #3b82f6;
--accent-hover: #2563eb;    /* guessed darker */
--accent-pressed: #1d4ed8;  /* guessed even darker */

/* GOOD: relative oklch() derivation */
--accent: oklch(62% 0.19 258);
--accent-hover:   oklch(from var(--accent) calc(l - 0.08) c h);
--accent-pressed: oklch(from var(--accent) calc(l - 0.15) c h);
--accent-subtle:  oklch(from var(--accent) calc(l + 0.3) calc(c * 0.4) h);

Flag any CSS file defining 2+ hover/pressed/active variants with sibling hex literals. Not a finding if accent uses a design-token library (Radix Colors, Tailwind palette) that already ships perceptually-tuned scales.

AI_ANTIPATTERN — Missing UI states (only happy path rendered):

// BAD: data rendering without empty/error/loading states
{data.map(item => <Card key={item.id} {...item} />)}
// GOOD: all 4 states covered
{isLoading && <CardSkeleton />}
{error && <ErrorState message={error.message} />}
{!data.length && <EmptyState />}
{data.map(item => <Card key={item.id} {...item} />)}

Accessibility — flag as HIGH (these are WCAG 2.2 failures):

// BAD: icon button with no accessible name
<button onClick={close}><XIcon /></button>
// GOOD
<button onClick={close} aria-label="Close dialog"><XIcon aria-hidden="true" /></button>

// BAD: placeholder as label
<input placeholder="Email address" type="email" />
// GOOD
<label htmlFor="email">Email address</label>
<input id="email" type="email" />

// BAD: removes focus ring without replacement
className="focus:outline-none"
// GOOD: must have focus-visible replacement
className="focus:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-blue-500"

// BAD: color as sole information conveyor
<span className="text-red-500">{errorMessage}</span>
// GOOD: icon + color + text
<span className="text-red-500 flex gap-1"><ErrorIcon aria-hidden />Error: {errorMessage}</span>

WCAG 2.2 New Rules — flag as MEDIUM:

• position: sticky or position: fixed header/footer without scroll-padding-top → Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11)
• Interactive elements with width < 24px or height < 24px without 8px spacing → Target Size (2.5.8)
• Multi-step form re-asking for previously entered data → Redundant Entry (3.3.7)

Platform-Specific — flag as MEDIUM when platform is detectable:

• iOS target: solid-background cards (iOS 26 Liquid Glass deprecates this visual language) — should use translucent/blur surfaces
• Android target: hardcoded hex colors instead of MaterialTheme.colorScheme tokens → not adaptive to dynamic color

Weighted Composite Scoring

When a review is part of a recurring quality-gate cycle (e.g., sprint review, pre-release gate), produce a composite quality score alongside the findings list. This makes review output numeric and comparable across runs.

Formula

Quality Score = (Correctness × 0.35) + (Security × 0.30) + (Test Coverage × 0.20) + (Conventions × 0.15)

Each dimension is scored 0–100 based on findings count and severity:

• 0 CRITICAL/HIGH findings → 100 for that dimension
• 1 CRITICAL → dimension capped at 40
• 1 HIGH → dimension capped at 70
• Each additional MEDIUM → subtract 5 (floor: 50)

Grade Thresholds

Score	Grade	Verdict
90–100	Excellent	APPROVE
75–89	Good	APPROVE with notes
60–74	Fair	REQUEST CHANGES (MEDIUM issues)
40–59	Poor	REQUEST CHANGES (HIGH issues present)
0–39	Critical	REQUEST CHANGES (CRITICAL present)

When to include: Only when mode: "scored" is passed by the caller, or when invoked by audit. Default review output uses the standard severity-ranked report without the score.

Severity Levels

CRITICAL  — security vulnerability, data loss risk, crash bug
HIGH      — logic error, missing validation, broken edge case
MEDIUM    — code smell, performance issue, missing error handling
LOW       — style inconsistency, naming suggestion, minor refactor opportunity

Output Format

## Code Review Report
- **Files Reviewed**: [count]
- **Findings**: [count by severity]
- **Review Commit**: [git hash at time of review]
- **Overall**: APPROVE | REQUEST CHANGES | NEEDS DISCUSSION

### Spec Compliance
- [PASS/FAIL]: [acceptance criteria coverage]

### CRITICAL
- `path/to/file.ts:42` — [description of critical issue]

### HIGH
- `path/to/file.ts:85` — [description of high-severity issue]

### MEDIUM
- `path/to/file.ts:120` — [description of medium issue]

### Blast Radius
- [High-impact symbols with caller counts]

### Positive Notes
- [good patterns observed]

### Verdict
[Summary and recommendation]

Review Staleness Detection

Track the git commit hash at review time. If code changes after review → review is STALE.

Review commit: abc123 → Code changed to def456 → Review is STALE, re-review required

When cook or ship checks review status: compare review commit hash with current HEAD. If different → WARN: "Review is stale — code changed since last review."

Constraints

1. MUST read the full diff — not just the files the user pointed at
2. MUST reference specific file:line for every finding
3. MUST NOT rubber-stamp with generic praise ("well-structured", "clean code") without evidence
4. MUST check: correctness, security, performance, conventions, test coverage
5. MUST categorize findings: CRITICAL (blocks commit) / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
6. MUST escalate to sentinel if auth/crypto/secrets code is touched
7. MUST flag untested code paths and recommend tests via rune:test

Returns

Artifact	Format	Location
Code review report	Markdown	inline (chat output)
Severity-ranked findings	Markdown table	inline
Spec compliance verdict	Markdown	inline
Composite quality score	Markdown table	inline (when mode: "scored")
Blast radius assessment	Markdown table	inline

Chain Metadata

Append to Code Review Report when invoked standalone. Suppress when called as sub-skill inside an L1 orchestrator (cook, team, etc.) — the orchestrator emits a consolidated block. See docs/references/chain-metadata.md.

chain_metadata:
  skill: "rune:review"
  version: "1.0.0"
  status: "[DONE | DONE_WITH_CONCERNS]"
  domain: "[area reviewed]"
  files_changed: []  # review doesn't change files
  exports:
    findings_count: { critical: [N], high: [N], medium: [N], low: [N] }
    findings:
      - { severity: "[level]", file: "[path]", line: [N], message: "[issue]" }
    verdict: "[APPROVE | REQUEST_CHANGES | NEEDS_DISCUSSION]"
    quality_score: [0-100]  # when mode: "scored"
  suggested_next:
    - skill: "rune:fix"
      reason: "[grounded in findings — e.g., '2 HIGH findings in api/users.ts need remediation']"
      consumes: ["findings"]

Sharp Edges

Failure Mode	Severity	Mitigation
Finding flood — 20+ findings overwhelm developer	MEDIUM	Confidence filter: only >80% confidence, consolidate similar issues per file
"LGTM" without file:line evidence	HIGH	HARD-GATE blocks this — cite at least one specific item per changed file
Expanding review scope beyond the diff	MEDIUM	Limit to git diff scope — do not creep into adjacent unchanged files
Security finding without sentinel escalation	HIGH	Any auth/crypto/payment code touched → MUST call rune:sentinel
Skipping UI anti-pattern checks for frontend changes	MEDIUM	Any .tsx/.jsx/.svelte/.vue in diff → MUST run UI/UX Anti-Pattern Checks section
Skipping spec compliance check (Step 5.5 Stage 1)	HIGH	Code quality without spec check ships clean code that does the wrong thing — always load the plan/ticket before reviewing quality
Treating purple/indigo accent as "just a color choice"	MEDIUM	It is a documented AI-generated UI signature — always flag for domain justification
Suggesting "add X" without checking if X is used	MEDIUM	YAGNI pushback: grep codebase for the suggested feature → if uncalled anywhere → respond "Not called anywhere. Remove? (YAGNI)". Valid pushback, not laziness
Adding abstractions "for future flexibility"	MEDIUM	Three similar lines > premature abstraction. Only abstract when there are 3+ concrete callers today
Missing cross-phase integration check at phase boundary	MEDIUM	When reviewing a phase completion: check orphaned exports, uncalled routes, auth gaps, E2E flow continuity. Delegate to completion-gate Step 4.5
Review loop exceeds 3 iterations without resolution	MEDIUM	Cap at 3 review loops. After 3rd iteration with unresolved findings → surface to user with "these findings persist after 3 fix attempts — needs human decision"
Auto-fixing something that should have been ASK	HIGH	When in doubt, ASK. AUTO-FIX only for mechanical issues (dead imports, console.log). Anything involving intent or trade-offs = ASK
Scope drift flagged on intentional refactoring	LOW	Scope drift is informational, not blocking. User can override with "intentional" — don't re-flag after override

Done When

• All changed files in the diff read and analyzed
• Every finding references specific file:line with severity label
• Security-critical code escalated to sentinel (or confirmed not present)
• Test coverage gaps identified and documented
• UI anti-pattern checks ran for any frontend files in diff (or confirmed not applicable)
• Structured report emitted with APPROVE / REQUEST CHANGES / NEEDS DISCUSSION verdict

Cost Profile

~3000-6000 tokens input, ~1000-2000 tokens output. Sonnet default, opus for security-critical reviews. Runs once per implementation cycle.