Structuring Code Review Prompts

The quality of AI code review depends heavily on how you ask. A good prompt tells AI what language, what framework, what to focus on, and what your code does.

The Review Prompt Template

Context Matters

Compare these two prompts:

Bad: No Context

"Review this code"

function process(data) {
  return data.filter(x => x > 0).map(x => x * 2);
}

AI has no idea what this does or what matters.

Good: With Context

Specifying Focus Areas

Different reviews need different focuses:

Review Type	Focus Areas
Security	Input validation, SQL injection, XSS, auth checks
Performance	Time complexity, memory usage, unnecessary operations
Readability	Naming, comments, function length, complexity
Bugs	Edge cases, null handling, type errors
Best Practices	Design patterns, framework conventions

Key Takeaway

Always provide: the language, the purpose, who uses it, and what you want the review to focus on. The more context you give, the more useful the review.