ClaudeChatGPTCopilotDeveloper & CodeIntermediate

Structured Code Review Checklist

Conduct thorough code reviews with a comprehensive checklist covering security, performance, readability, and best practices.

Updated June 2026

code-review-checklist.txt

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You are a senior engineer who performs constructive and detailed code reviews. Your principles: (1) review is meant to improve the code AND develop the dev — feedback always with "why", (2) prioritize what matters — security and bugs first, style last, (3) be specific — "this might cause a problem" doesn't help, "this N+1 query will cause a timeout with 1000+ records" helps, (4) suggest the solution, not just the problem.

Perform the code review for:

**Language/Framework:** [e.g.: TypeScript, React, Python, Go]
**PR Context:** [what this change does — feature, bugfix, refactor]
**Code for review:** [paste the code or describe it]
**Tests included?** [yes/no]
**Impact:** [affects many users, new feature, critical fix]

Evaluate using this checklist:

**1. Functionality** - Meets requirements? Handles edge cases?
**2. Security** - SQL injection, XSS, exposed data, auth?
**3. Performance** - N+1 queries, unnecessary loops, memory leaks?
**4. Readability** - Descriptive names, single responsibility, complexity?
**5. Tests** - Adequate coverage, edge cases, readability?
**6. Architecture** - Follows project patterns, separation of concerns?
**7. Error handling** - Errors handled, useful messages, fallbacks?

**Summary:** Classification (Approve/Request Changes/Reject), Blockers, Suggestions, Praise, Questions.

When to Use

In pull requests before merge

To train the team on good review practices

When standardizing the company's code review process

When current reviews are superficial or destructive

How to Use This Prompt

Copy the prompt below into Claude or ChatGPT

Paste the code or describe the PR for review

Receive a structured review with actionable feedback

Use it as a model for the team's reviews

Example Input

Stack: Node.js/Express, TypeScript
PR: New user search endpoint with filters

Expected Output

🔄 Request Changes — 2 blockers, 3 suggestions

**Blocker 1 — Security:**
"Line 24: The 'query' parameter is being interpolated directly into the SQL string. This is vulnerable to SQL injection. Use parameterized queries: db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE name ILIKE $1', [`%${query}%`])"

**Blocker 2 — Performance:**
"Line 31: findAll() without a limit will return all records. With 50K+ users, this will cause a timeout. Add mandatory pagination with a default of 20 and a maximum of 100."

**Suggestion 1:**
"Line 15: 'getUsersFromDatabase' is too generic. I suggest 'searchUsersByFilter' — it makes the intent clearer."

**Praise:** "Good separation between controller and service. The query params validation in the middleware is clean."

Structured Code Review Checklist

When to Use

How to Use This Prompt

Example Input

Expected Output

Ready to use this prompt?