Engineering Code Review

Engineering Code Review

Apache-2.0
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code-reviewsecurityperformancequality

Summary

Review pull requests against a real engineering practice — security, performance, testing, and design, in that order.

Features

  • Structured review across security, performance, and design
  • Checks test coverage alongside implementation
  • Derived from a large production engineering practice

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# Sentry Code Review

Follow these guidelines when reviewing code for Sentry projects.

## Review Checklist

### Identifying Problems

Look for these issues in code changes:

- **Runtime errors**: Potential exceptions, null pointer issues, out-of-bounds access
- **Performance**: Unbounded O(n²) operations, N+1 queries, unnecessary allocations
- **Side effects**: Unintended behavioral changes affecting other components
- **Backwards compatibility**: Breaking API changes without migration path
- **ORM queries**: Complex Django ORM with unexpected query performance
- **Security vulnerabilities**: Injection, XSS, access control gaps, secrets exposure

### Design Assessment

- Do component interactions make logical sense?
- Does the change align with existing project architecture?
- Are there conflicts with current requirements or goals?

### Test Coverage

Every PR should have appropriate test coverage:

- Functional tests for business logic
- Integration tests for component interactions
- End-to-end tests for critical user paths

Verify tests cover actual requirements and edge cases. Avoid excessive branching or looping in test code.

### Long-Term Impact

Flag for senior engineer review when changes involve:

- Database schema modifications
- API contract changes
- New framework or library adoption
- Performance-critical code paths
- Security-sensitive functionality

## Feedback Guidelines

### Tone

- Be polite and empathetic
- Provide actionable suggestions, not vague criticism
- Phrase as questions when uncertain: "Have you considered...?"

### Approval

- Approve when only minor issues remain
- Don't block PRs for stylistic preferences
- Remember: the goal is risk reduction, not perfect code

## Common Patterns to Flag

### Python/Django

```python
# Bad: N+1 query
for user in users:
    print(user.profile.name)  # Separate query per user

# Good: Prefetch related
users = User.objects.prefetch_related('profile')
```

### TypeScript/React

```typescript
// Bad: Missing dependency in useEffect
useEffect(() => {
  fetchData(userId);
}, []);  // userId not in deps

// Good: Include all dependencies
useEffect(() => {
  fetchData(userId);
}, [userId]);
```

### Security

```python
# Bad: SQL injection risk
cursor.execute(f"SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {user_id}")

# Good: Parameterized query
cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = %s", [user_id])
```

## References

- [Sentry Code Review Guidelines](https://develop.sentry.dev/engineering-practices/code-review/)

Description

Sentry's official code review skill, encoding how a large engineering organisation actually reviews changes rather than a generic checklist.

It structures a review across the dimensions that matter: security implications of the change, performance characteristics under production load, whether the tests actually cover the new behaviour, and whether the design fits the surrounding system or fights it.

The ordering is deliberate — style comments come last, because a review that opens with formatting nits buries the finding that matters. Useful as a first-pass review before a human looks, and as a template for teams defining their own standard. Published by Sentry.

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