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Code review best practices

This page lists best practices for performing code reviews with CodeRabbit.

For more information about working with CodeRabbit through chat, see Control and manage code reviews.

For a CodeRabbit command reference, see Code review command reference.

  • Start with @coderabbitai review for checking new changes.
  • Use @coderabbitai full review when major changes require a fresh perspective.
  • Generate summaries after significant updates using @coderabbitai summary.

Managing large changes​

  • Use @coderabbitai pause before making multiple commits.
  • Resume reviews with @coderabbitai resume when ready.
  • Consider @coderabbitai full review after substantial changes.

Documentation flow​

  • Run @coderabbitai generate docstrings after finalizing function implementations.
  • Learn more about docstring generation.

Overall tips​

  • Commands are case-insensitive (@coderabbitai REVIEW works the same as @coderabbitai review).
  • Commands can be issued by anyone with write access to the repository.
  • Multiple commands can be used in sequence as needed.
  • Use @coderabbitai configuration to export your settings before making changes.

Command response time​

  • Most commands (pause, resume, ignore) take effect immediately.
  • Review commands typically complete within a few minutes, depending on PR size.
  • Docstring generation time varies based on the number of functions.