mav-bp-code-review

Code Review Standards

Ensure all code changes are reviewed before merging; in Maverick the reviewer is agent-code-reviewer running in-session, backed by branch-protection gates.

Maverick's Rules

• No unreviewed merges: at least one approval on protected branches; no self-approval; stale approvals are dismissed when new commits are pushed; all CI checks must pass. Never disable or skip a check to merge faster — fix the check or the code.
• Security is out of scope for PR review — it runs as a separate pre-push gate via do-cybersecurity-review (update mode against the diff and impact set) before the PR is opened. By review time, security findings are already surfaced and folded into the PR body.
• Review scope: correctness, maintainability, test coverage, documentation. Style and formatting are the linter's job — do not comment on them. Do not review generated code (codegen, lockfiles) line by line, and do not request changes to correct-but-different approaches on personal preference.
• Verdict discipline: distinguish blocking findings from non-blocking (prefix "nit:" or "optional:"); demonstrate understanding of the change rather than rubber-stamping; approve once the code is correct, tested, and maintainable — do not hold changes hostage for perfection. AI review findings require judgement — dismiss false positives with reasoning, never silently.
• Automated checks pass before review begins — do not review code that fails lint, type checks, or tests.

PR Size

Size	Lines changed	Review quality	Recommendation
Small	< 100	Excellent	Ideal. Aim for this size.
Medium	100 - 400	Good	Acceptable for most feature work.
Large	400 - 800	Declining	Split if possible. Flag to reviewers.
Too large	> 800	Poor	Must split. Reviewers cannot effectively review this.

Split strategies: by layer (backend vs frontend), by feature slice (one endpoint/component per PR), by phase (refactor PR before feature PR), or by dependency (extract shared utilities/models into a preparatory PR).

Detecting Code Review Anti-Patterns

Pattern	Issue	Fix
PR merged without any review	No review gate	Enable branch protection requiring approvals
PR with 1000+ lines changed	Too large to review effectively	Split into smaller, focused PRs
All review comments are style nits	Wasted review effort	Configure linters to catch style; focus on logic
Reviewer approves without comments on large PR	Rubber-stamp review	Reviewers must demonstrate understanding of the change
Author pushes "fix review" commits without context	Lost review trail	Explain what was changed in response to which comment
Self-approval on protected branch	Missing review gate	Configure branch protection to disallow self-approval
Skipping CI to merge faster	Bypassing quality gates	CI must pass; fix failures, do not skip them