I wanted to share some insights into how I review code, learning from others, helping others, and getting a better overview of the code base which ultimately allows me to write better1 code. This post is inspired by a recent tweet, a similar blog post (by Angie Jones) and a talk on the topic (by April Wensel) from 2018’s try! Swift NYC (which you should totally attend if you get the chance).

  • I point out the good things. This goes for anything really; not just code reviews. If there’s something you like or learned, let the author know. I believe this will make a big difference in how a review is perceived, and is a win-win all around.
    This is what I believe to be the single most important part of a review.
  • I assume the best intentions. I’ve written questionable code before, or have overlooked mistakes. That happens. Always be kind and approach a review positively.
  • I read the pull request’s description and ticket. Yes, also the ticket. This makes the time of everyone involved a lot more valuable. Seldom does this not help gain a better understanding of the code. And understanding is key. If something in the description or ticket is unclear, I try to reach out to the author before continuing a review.
  • I provide context. For instance, if I come across a struct that only serves as a namespace, I wouldn’t only suggest to use a caseless enum instead, but explain why I think that is the case (no pun intended): a caseless enum has a non-accessible init by default, while a struct can still be initialized without a private init.
  • I provide references. Whether it’s a blog post, piece of code, or documentation I reference, I link it. In the example on context above, I would link to a blog post explaining the advantages (of a caseless enum). This allows the author to dig deeper into the topic if they want, and might be helpful for those who read the comment(s) in the future.
  • I take the time to try and understand the code. When I feel like I’m having a hard time grasping some of the decisions that have been made, or the code itself, I often feel asking about it in writing is difficult. If this happens, I either take a step away from the computer and try again later, or ask to go over it in person (face-to-face or in a video call, not a phone call. Being able to see each other aids understanding).
    An exception to this would be a pull request I feel is introducing too many concepts at once, in which case I’ll either ask if we could break up the pull request in more bite-sized pieces, offering to help do so in person if need be.
  • I ask questions. I would call myself a curious person. If I see something I don’t know about, or want to know more about (e.g. a piece of code, business logic), I ask. If the review already has many comments, I might do this outside the review itself.
    Also, if I see code that appears to be copied, where I feel improvements can be made, I ask if this is something that has been considered/if this is something for us to consider in a follow-up pull request.
  • I re-read a review before I submit it. I don’t always do this, but I know it helps. I’ve seen the author ask about comments I wrote, not (fully) understanding what I meant. Though communication is hard, I feel this has been happening less over time.
  • I feel responsible for the code I review, meaning I use “we”, not “you”. “We could consider adding a comment explaining why we need to ignore X”, not “you”.
  • I review my own code. Especially in larger pull requests, I look through the code before assigning a reviewer, asking open questions to the reviewer, making notes and/or making some changes. Seeing the “bigger” picture often helps catch issues/improvements to be made early, hopefully making the code review more enjoyable in the process.
  • I don’t use words like “easily”, “simply”, or other downplaying words. The fact something would be any of those is always an assumption to whoever is reading it, and serves no purpose.

Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a bunch of the principles I try to keep in mind while reviewing, and there’s still so much to learn. If you have any thoughts on this post, like guidelines that you’re using that I’ve missed here, I’d love to hear about them!

Bonus: I’m a big fan of a tool we built at work to get a random reviewer for your code. It’s called lotto, and picks a random reviewer outside of your team. It’s great.

On Non-Code Reviews

Oh, and most of this also applies to reviewing other things, like blog posts and documentation. For those in particular, I prefer printing the documents (so it is easy to make both corrections and remarks). That also gives me an opportunity to find another place to work, away from my computer. Natural light helps!

If possible, I always discuss it in person afterward.

Further Reading

If you’re interesting in reading more on this topic, I can wholeheartedly recommend Google’s code review practices, as well as Babylon Health’s Code Review Etiquette.

I also gave a presentation on this topic, that is now available as a video.


If you’re interested in having me do code review or proofread a document, I’m more than happy to help out. Just send a direct message on Twitter.2

Thanks so much to João, Barbie, Kristaps and Donny for proofreading!

  1. I suppose “better” is always subjective here, but I can take the learnings from these reviews and the insights of the current code base to help make certain decisions. 

  2. I find it frustrating that asking for these things myself is arguably one of my weaker points. 🤷‍♂️