Best Code Review Skills for Claude Code and OpenClaw

Code review is one of the most popular categories in the SKILL.md ecosystem, and for good reason. A good code review skill catches bugs, security issues, and style problems that slip past tired eyes at the end of a long day. Unlike a human reviewer, it applies the same checklist every single time.

But not all code review skills are equal. Some focus on security, others on style, and some try to do everything. Here's a breakdown of the best options available for Claude Code, OpenClaw, and other AI coding agents.

What makes a good code review skill

Before comparing specific skills, it helps to know what separates a useful code review skill from a mediocre one.

A good code review skill reads the actual diff, not just individual files. It understands what changed and why, which means it can catch issues like "you removed the null check but didn't update the callers."

It organizes findings by severity. Critical issues (security vulnerabilities, data loss) should be separated from warnings (potential performance issues) and suggestions (style improvements). A flat list of problems with no priority is hard to act on.

It gives actionable feedback. "This is bad" is not helpful. "This SQL query is vulnerable to injection; use parameterized queries like this: [example]" is helpful.

It handles context. Reviewing a quick fix on a Friday afternoon is different from reviewing a major refactor. Good skills adapt their depth to the scope of changes.

Code Reviewer by Agensi

The code-reviewer skill on Agensi is one of the most downloaded skills in the marketplace. It runs a structured review that checks for security vulnerabilities, logic errors, edge cases, performance issues, and style violations. Findings are grouped by severity: Critical, Warning, and Suggestion.

What sets it apart is the systematic approach. It follows a defined checklist rather than free-form analysis, which means it catches the same categories of issues every time. It's particularly strong on security: SQL injection, XSS, authentication bypasses, and insecure data handling are all on its radar.

It works with Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex CLI, and Cursor. Free to download.

Using /review in Claude Code

Claude Code has a built-in review capability that you can invoke with natural language: "review my recent changes" or "check this file for issues." This doesn't require installing any skill — it's part of Claude's base capabilities.

The advantage is zero setup. The disadvantage is inconsistency. Without a skill to guide it, Claude's review depth varies based on how you phrase your request and what's in context. Some reviews are thorough, others skim the surface.

A dedicated code review skill gives Claude a consistent framework to follow, which generally produces more reliable results.

Building your own code review skill

If your team has specific coding standards, building a custom code review skill is straightforward. Create a SKILL.md that includes your style guide, common patterns to flag, and the output format you want.

---
name: team-code-reviewer
description: Reviews code against our team standards. Use when 
  the user asks for a code review, mentions reviewing changes, 
  or opens a PR review request.
---

# Team Code Reviewer

Review code changes against these standards:

## Security (Critical)
- No hardcoded secrets or API keys
- All user input must be validated and sanitized
- Database queries must use parameterized statements
- Authentication checks on every protected endpoint

## Architecture (Warning)
- Follow the repository pattern for data access
- Business logic stays in service layer, not controllers
- No direct database calls from route handlers

## Style (Suggestion)
- Functions under 30 lines
- Meaningful variable names (no single letters except loops)
- Comments explain why, not what

## Output Format
Group findings by file, then by severity.
For each finding: file, line number, severity, issue, suggested fix.

The key is being specific about what your team considers critical versus nice-to-have. The more detailed your checklist, the more consistent the reviews.

Combining code review with other skills

Code review works best as part of a broader quality workflow. Consider pairing it with:

A git-commit-writer skill that ensures commit messages are descriptive enough for reviewers to understand intent.

A pr-description-writer skill that generates context for the review — what changed, why, and what to test.

A migration-auditor skill if your changes include database migrations, which need specialized review for table locking and data safety.

These skills work independently but together they create a quality pipeline: write good commits, generate clear PR descriptions, review the code, and audit any migrations.

Which one should you use?

If you want a ready-to-use, security-focused review skill with zero setup, grab the code-reviewer from Agensi. It's free and works across agents.

If your team has specific standards that generic skills don't cover, build your own SKILL.md using the template above. It takes about 15 minutes.

If you want the quickest possible path, just ask Claude to "review my changes" without any skill installed. The results won't be as consistent, but it works for quick checks.

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Browse all code review skills on the Agensi marketplace.