# go-code-review

Review Go diffs, packages, or an entire codebase against a structured checklist. Use it to catch issues before merging changes.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 83
- Author: eduardo-sl
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/(code-quality)/go-code-review/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-15
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/eduardo-sl-go-code-review

## What it does

The skill checks Go code for correctness, error handling, nil safety, concurrency, API design, idioms, package structure, tests, documentation, and dependencies. Choose a diff review, a review of named files or packages, or a full audit. Large codebases are handled in focused passes by concern.

It starts with available checks such as `go build ./...`, `go vet ./...`, `golangci-lint run`, and `go test -race ./...`, then reports findings with severity and file-and-line references. The skill is read-only: it reports issues but does not edit code. The Go toolchain is required; unavailable tools are skipped and noted in the report.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --skill go-code-review -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/go-code-review/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/go-code-review/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --skill go-code-review -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/go-code-review/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --skill go-code-review -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/go-code-review/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills go-code-review
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/go-code-review/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --skill go-code-review -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --path 'skills/(code-quality)/go-code-review'
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/go-code-review/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills --skill go-code-review -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/(code-quality)/go-code-review/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- review a Go diff before merging
- spot unchecked errors and nil-related risks
- assess Go API and package structure
- check tests and documentation
- organize a full-codebase audit by concern

## Example prompts
- Review this Go diff before I merge it.
- Check `handler.go` and its related tests.
- Audit the Go codebase and group findings by severity.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 21fd143f20d12f39.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 21fd143f20d12f39
````text
---
name: go-code-review
description: >
  Comprehensive code review checklist for Go projects. Evaluates code
  quality, idiomatic patterns, error handling, naming, package structure,
  and test coverage. Use when reviewing Go code, PRs, or before merging
  changes. Trigger examples: "review this code", "check this PR", "code
  review", "review Go file".
  Not for: security audits (go-security-audit), performance analysis
  (go-performance-review).
user-invocable: true
license: MIT
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code or similar AI coding agents working on Go projects. Requires the Go toolchain. Read-only: this skill reports findings, it does not edit code.
allowed-tools: Read Glob Grep Bash(go:*) Bash(gofmt:*) Bash(golangci-lint:*)
metadata:
  author: eduardo-sl
  version: "1.4.0"
---

# Go Code Review

Structured code review process for Go. Reviews should be constructive, specific,
and cite the relevant principle behind each finding.

## Operating Modes

Pick the mode that matches the request before starting:

- **Diff review** (default) — review only the changed lines plus enough
  surrounding context to judge them. Use for PRs and working-tree changes.
- **File/package review** — review the named files or packages in full,
  including their tests.
- **Full audit** — sweep the entire codebase. Use the strategy in
  "Auditing Large Codebases" below and aggregate everything into one report.

## Review Process

Execute these steps in order. For each finding, classify severity:
- 🔴 **BLOCKER** — Must fix before merge. Correctness, data loss, security.
- 🟡 **WARNING** — Should fix. Maintainability, idiomatic Go, clarity.
- 🟢 **SUGGESTION** — Consider improving. Style, naming, documentation.

## 0. Run the Toolchain First

Before reading code manually, let the tools catch the mechanical issues
(skip any tool that is not installed and note it in the report):

```bash
go build ./...          # it must compile
go vet ./...            # suspicious constructs
golangci-lint run       # if the repo has a config
go test -race ./...     # tests pass, no data races
```

Report tool findings alongside manual findings — a failing `go vet` is
an automatic 🔴 BLOCKER. Never report an issue a tool already proves
absent.

## Verify Before Reporting

A finding that is wrong costs the author time and the reviewer trust.
Before writing one up:

- **Follow the diff outward.** Read the callers of a changed function and
  the callees it now relies on (the go-semantic-tools skill finds them by
  type, not by name). A bug can live outside the diff yet be triggered by
  it — and a "bug" inside it can be unreachable because a caller already
  guarantees the precondition.
- **Lower severity for upstream guarantees, don't drop the finding.** A
  nil dereference behind a constructor that never returns nil is a
  🟢 SUGGESTION to make that contract explicit, not a 🔴 BLOCKER.
- **Ask when intent is unclear** rather than asserting a bug — "is
  `retries` meant to include the first attempt?" beats a wrong fix.
- **Propose a check, not just an opinion.** Where a linter, a vet analyzer
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 21fd143f20d12f39

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 21fd143f20d12f39 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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