@dbaida/pi-interactive-code-review

Pi extension for reviewing code produced by an AI coding agent before you accept it. It opens a local browser UI where you can inspect diffs, leave comments, ask the agent follow-up questions, track responses, and approve the review when satisfied.

This package is designed for local AI-agent review workflows. It is not a replacement for hosted pull requests; it gives you a lightweight review loop while working inside Pi.

When to use it

Use this extension when you want to:

• review code generated by a Pi agent before accepting it;
• leave line comments and whole-review comments in a browser UI;
• ask the agent to clarify or fix one comment immediately;
• submit a batch of review comments back to the agent;
• keep local review history for approved and abandoned reviews.

It may be unnecessary if you only want to inspect a small diff once in the terminal, or if your team already requires all review activity to happen in a hosted pull request system.

Requirements

• Pi coding agent.
• A project inside a git repository.

Diffs are generated against git HEAD. Untracked files are shown as added files.

Install

Install from npm:

pi install npm:@dbaida/pi-interactive-code-review

Or test from a local checkout:

pi -e ./path/to/pi-interactive-review

Quick start

1. Open a git project in Pi.

2. Let the agent make code changes.

3. Start a review:

   /code-review

4. Pi opens, or prints, a local browser URL for the review.

5. Review files on the Files changed page.

6. Add line comments or a general comment.

7. Use Ask for one immediate question/fix, or Finish review to submit all draft comments as one batch.

8. After the agent responds, review the updated diff.

9. Approve when satisfied.

10. Use /reviews in the browser to inspect review history.

Browser UI

The browser UI has three main areas:

• /reviews — list of all persisted review records for the current project.
• /review/<id>/conversation — review-level timeline with comments, agent responses, and lifecycle events.
• /review/<id>/files — file tree and diff view for reviewing changed files.

Only the active review is interactable. Approved and abandoned reviews are readonly history.

Commands

/code-review [--all|--staged|--unstaged|--touched]
/code-review settings

File scopes:

• --all — default; reviews staged, unstaged, and untracked files.
• --staged — reviews only staged changes.
• --unstaged — reviews unstaged tracked changes plus untracked files.
• --touched — reviews files edited by the agent during the last request.

Use --touched when you want to focus on the last agent turn. If it shows no changes, use /code-review --all; touched files are tracked only for the recent agent activity in the current session.

Ask vs Submit Review

| Action | Use when | Result | | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Ask | You want an immediate answer or fix for one comment | Sends that comment to the agent right away. | | Add comment / Finish review | You want to collect multiple comments first | Sends all drafts as one review batch. | | Approve | You are satisfied with the changes | Marks the review approved and readonly. |

Settings

Run:

/code-review settings

Settings are stored project-locally in .review/config.json.

• autoAskReview: when true, Pi starts a review automatically after agent changes; when false, Pi asks first.
• autoOpenBrowser: when true, the browser opens as soon as review starts; when false, Pi shows the URL and asks before opening.
• diffView: browser diff layout, either split or unified.

Review lifecycle

A review can be:

• awaiting-review — ready for you to inspect in the browser.
• awaiting-agent — comments were submitted and the agent is expected to respond.
• approved — finished and readonly.
• abandoned — old unfinished review kept as readonly history.

Starting a new review may abandon an old pending review if it already has discussion history. Empty pending reviews may be deleted during cleanup.

Data storage and privacy

The extension runs a local browser server bound to localhost while Pi is active.

Project-local review data is stored under .review/:

• .review/config.json — settings.
• .review/reviews/*.json — review records.

You decide whether .review/ should be committed, ignored, backed up, or deleted for your project.

Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Suggested fix | | ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | “Interactive code review requires a git repository.” | Pi is not running inside a git work tree. | Open Pi inside a git repository. | | “No git changes found to review.” | No changes exist for the selected scope. | Use /code-review --all, or make/stage changes first. | | Browser did not open. | autoOpenBrowser=false or OS browser opening failed. | Copy the URL printed by Pi into your browser. | | /code-review --touched is empty. | No agent-touched files were tracked for the last request. | Use /code-review --all or /code-review --unstaged. | | Approved or abandoned review cannot be edited. | This is expected readonly history behavior. | Open the active review or start a new one. | | Old browser tab stopped updating. | The local review server stopped or belongs to an old Pi session. | Run /code-review again to restart/reopen the review server. | | Local extension changes are not visible. | Pi is still using an old installed package/build. | Rebuild/reinstall the package or restart Pi. |

Development

yarn install
yarn validate

Build only the browser UI:

yarn build:web

dist-web/ is generated and ignored by git. npm pack / npm publish run prepack, which builds the browser assets before packaging.