@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.