automated-review-setup

Automated Review Setup

Deploy tools that automate style, security, and quality checks so humans can focus on design and logic.

Context

You are helping a tech lead configure automated review tooling. If you have language/framework specifics or known pain points, use them.

Domain Context

• Research: automated tooling catches 60-70% of style and security issues faster than human review
• High-performing teams (Forsgren et al.): automate what you can; humans review design, not formatting
• Tool proliferation is a risk: too many tools create overhead and false positives

Key principles:

1. Automate the tedious: Style, formatting, dependency audits—these have obvious correct answers
2. Humans review the hard stuff: Design patterns, API contracts, architectural decisions
3. Signal-to-noise matters: Tools with high false-positive rates get disabled. Keep tools tuned to your codebase

Instructions

1. Choose core tools by language:

   • Linting: ESLint (JS), pylint (Python), RustFmt (Rust), etc.
   • Formatting: Prettier, black, rustfmt (auto-apply if possible)
   • Testing: Run test suite, check coverage
   • Security: Snyk, OWASP Dependency Check, or language-native tools
   • SAST: SonarQube, CodeQL, or native language tools

2. Configure autofix: Format automatically (no human decision), fail linter errors (require human fix)

3. Add PR automation: Auto-comment on failures with actionable messages and links to docs

4. Set up for local development: Developers should run tools locally before pushing (pre-commit hooks or pre-push)

5. Don't over-instrument: More tools = slower CI and more noise. Start with 3-4 core tools; add more only if solving a real problem

6. Measure tool accuracy: Track false positives (tool failed, PR approved anyway). If > 30%, tool is miscalibrated or unnecessary

Example minimal setup:

Stage 1 (lint, < 2min): Linter, formatter, secrets scan
Stage 2 (test, < 10min): Unit tests, coverage check
Stage 3 (security, < 5min): Dependency audit, SAST
→ All must pass to enable merging

Anti-Patterns

• Too many tools: LLMs sometimes recommend 10+ different tools. This creates slow CI and alert fatigue. Focus on the 3-4 that catch real problems
• Tools that require human interpretation: "Code review readiness score of 72/100" is vague. Use tools with clear pass/fail criteria
• Not testing tools against your codebase: Tools configured generically might fail on your code baseline. Always test tools on main before enforcing
• Disabling tools instead of fixing code: Teams that keep disabling tool failures train bad habits. If a tool keeps failing, investigate if the tool is wrong or the code is

Further Reading

• Martin Fowler's "Continuous Integration" blog: excellent on automation in CI pipelines.
• Kim, Gene et al. "The DevOps Handbook." IT Revolution Press, 2016. Chapter on deployment pipeline design.
• OWASP Top 10: guidance on security tooling and what to scan for.