← All cheatsheets

AI prompts

AI code review — prompt templates that catch real bugs

Six prompts that consistently surface real issues during code review. Paste the patch or PR diff after the prompt.

## 1. Bug + edge-case scan
```
Read this patch and list every potential bug, edge case, or
off-by-one. Rank by severity (high/medium/low). For each,
quote the line and explain what fails.
```

## 2. Security review
```
Review this patch for security issues: injection, auth/authz,
data exposure, secrets, unsafe deserialization, SSRF, race
conditions. For each finding give the line, the threat, and
a one-line fix suggestion.
```

## 3. Test-coverage gap finder
```
List every behavior change in this patch that should have a
test but doesn't. Quote the line that introduces the behavior.
```

## 4. Naming + readability
```
Suggest renames for variables/functions in this patch that
would make intent clearer to a reviewer who hasn't seen this
file before. Show "before -> after" pairs only.
```

## 5. Performance + complexity
```
Flag any new code in this patch with worse than O(n) complexity
or that adds an extra DB/network round-trip. For each, propose
a cheaper alternative.
```

## 6. "What would a senior reviewer say?"
```
You are a senior engineer reviewing this patch in 5 minutes.
Write the top 3 review comments you'd leave, in the tone of
a constructive code review. No filler.
```

## Tip
Run prompts 1 + 2 + 3 together for high-risk PRs. Run 6 alone for fast review of small PRs.