Local Merge Request

GitLab-style merge request reviews in VS Code, on local commits you have not pushed. Comment any commit range in native diff editors, track versions as the branch moves, and let Claude Code read and answer your comments through a small CLI.

Nothing leaves your machine: reviews are stored inside the repository's .git directory, never committed, never pushed.

Features

• Any range: review from..to, where both are any git ref (branch, remote branch, tag, SHA, HEAD~3…). The diff starts at the merge-base, like a merge request.
• Versions: each time to (or from) moves, a frozen version is recorded. A marker tells you when a new version is waiting.
• Views: full diff of any version, since vN (interdiff), between any two versions, and in progress (latest version + uncommitted changes, with the right side editable).
• Comment threads in the native diff editor: single lines or ranges, either side, Markdown, severity (blocking, suggestion, question), status (open → addressed → resolved), replies, edit/delete your messages, general comments on the review.
• Outdated detection: threads follow their lines across versions and uncommitted edits; when the commented lines change, the thread becomes outdated and keeps the original snippet.
• Suggestions: a ```suggestion block proposes replacement code, applied to the working tree in one click when the commented lines are unchanged. Nothing is staged or committed.
• Viewed files checkboxes (reset when the file changes in a later version), per-file thread counts, open all files in the multi-diff editor, live refresh when threads change on disk.
• Claude Code integration: the lreview CLI and a Claude Code skill let Claude list your threads, fix the code, reply and mark threads addressed. Only you can resolve a thread.
• English and French user interface.

Getting started

1. Open a folder containing one or more git repositories.
2. In the Source Control side bar, find the Local Merge Requests view and click +.
3. Pick the base (from, defaults to the target of origin/HEAD), the ref to review (to, defaults to the current branch) and a title.
4. Expand the review, open a file, click + in the gutter and comment. Choose a severity after clicking Comment.

Use the view line under the review (or the versions icon) to switch between versions and the in-progress view.

Working with Claude Code

Run once, from the view's … menu or the Command Palette:

• Local Merge Request: Install the lreview Command-Line Tool – installs lreview (default ~/.local/bin). It runs with node when available, otherwise with VS Code's own runtime, and is kept up to date with the extension.
• Local Merge Request: Install the Claude Code Skill – installs the skill in ~/.claude/skills/local-merge-request.

Then, in a repository with open threads, ask Claude Code to process the review. Claude reads the threads with their current location, fixes blocking and suggestion threads (or applies your suggestions), answers questions, replies when it disagrees, and marks what it fixed as addressed. It does not commit. Review its changes in the in progress view, then resolve or reopen each thread.

CLI

lreview list [--all]                                  open reviews and thread counts
lreview show [review] [--status <status>]...          threads with their working-tree location
lreview create --from <ref> --to <ref> [--title <t>]
lreview reply <thread> [message|-]                     "-" reads stdin
lreview address <thread> [message|-]                   reply, then mark addressed
lreview status <thread> <open|addressed|resolved> [--as user]
lreview apply-suggestion <thread>
lreview close|reopen [review]
lreview delete <review> --yes

Global options: --repo <path>, --json. Ids accept a unique prefix. The CLI acts as claude unless --as user is given, and claude can only move a thread from open to addressed.

Storage

<git common dir>/local-reviews/<review>/: review.json, one threads/<thread>.json per thread, and snapshots/ for comments made on uncommitted content. It is outside the working tree, shared by all worktrees of the repository, and written atomically under a lock so the extension and the CLI can work at the same time.

Requirements and limitations

• git on the PATH, VS Code 1.90 or later, the built-in Git extension enabled.
• Binary files, submodules and untracked files are not commented.
• Comment threads may not render inside the multi-diff editor ("open all files"): comment in single-file diffs.
• Tested on Linux. macOS should work; Windows is untested.

Development

npm install
npm test          # vitest against temporary git repositories
npm run typecheck
npm run package   # local-merge-request.vsix
./install.sh      # development install (extension + CLI and skill symlinked to this checkout)

src/core holds the model, storage, anchoring and suggestions (no vscode dependency), src/cli the CLI, src/extension the VS Code extension. Specifications live in openspec/.

License

MIT