Code Block Review

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Code Block Review is a VS Code extension that turns working tree changes into structured review sessions, so you can inspect edits as blocks instead of raw file diffs.

It works well for:

• AI-assisted edits
• tool-generated edits
• manual follow-up edits
• mixed sessions where AI and human changes happen together

Why It Exists

Modern coding tools can change multiple files quickly, but the resulting edits often land in the working tree as ordinary file modifications. That makes review harder than it should be.

Code Block Review adds a lightweight review layer on top of your workspace:

• group changes into a review session
• highlight added, deleted, and replaced blocks inline
• review by block, file, or all remaining files
• keep new edits inside the same session while review is still active

Features

• Manual review sessions with Code Block Review: Start Review Session
• Automatic capture for large or bursty edit sessions
• Block-based review instead of file-only diff review
• Explorer sidebar that groups pending changes by file and block
• Inline block badges for ADDED, REPLACED, and DELETED changes
• Editor-first review actions under each pending block:
  • Accept
  • Reject
  • Prev Block
  • Next Block
  • Review
• Dedicated review panel with:
  • previous / next navigation
  • accept / reject block
  • accept / reject current file
  • accept / reject all remaining files
• Ignore rules for lockfiles, generated files, snapshots, and other noisy outputs

Demo

An interactive demo page is included in this repo: code-block-review-demo.html.

Open it in a browser to walk through the manual review flow and the automatic capture flow visually.

How It Works

Manual flow

1. Run Code Block Review: Start Review Session
2. Make edits or let your AI tool edit code
3. Run Code Block Review: Stop Capture And Review
4. Review pending blocks directly in the editor, from the Explorer view, or in the review panel

In-editor review flow

Each pending block is highlighted inline and gets a compact action row under the code block:

• Accept keeps the current block and jumps to the next pending block
• Reject restores the baseline version and jumps to the next pending block
• Prev Block / Next Block move between pending blocks without leaving the editor
• Review opens the dedicated side panel for a larger block-by-block comparison

Automatic flow

When auto capture is enabled, the extension watches for edit bursts that look more like AI or tool output than ordinary typing.

After capture goes idle:

• the status bar switches to a Ready state
• the notification action starts review and jumps to the first pending block
• you can still open the dedicated review panel at any time
• or let the session expire and silently merge into the new baseline

Auto-capture heuristics

Auto capture uses a short observation window instead of trying to classify every single edit event in isolation.

• observationWindowSeconds Controls how long the extension watches the first burst of edits before deciding.
• largeChangeLines / largeChangeChars A single large edit can trigger capture immediately.
• multiFileMinFiles + multiFileMinLines Cross-file edits are treated as more suspicious than ordinary typing.
• burstMinLines Counts unique touched lines inside the observation window, so repeated edits on the same line do not keep inflating the score.
• burstEventWindowMilliseconds + burstMinEvents A rapid-event assist signal. High event density no longer triggers capture by itself; it only slightly relaxes nearby multi-file or burst-line thresholds.

In practice, the extension decides in this order:

Configuration

The extension currently supports configuration for:

• ignored file globs
• always-on auto capture
• baseline refresh triggers
• idle timing before review becomes available
• review offer timeout
• burst-detection thresholds

Open the extension settings panel for the full list.

Local Development

1. Open this folder in VS Code
2. Press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host

Quick validation:

npm run check

Status

Code Block Review is already usable and under active iteration. The current version focuses on making review sessions practical for real AI-assisted coding workflows.

Links

• Repository: https://github.com/LiYuAsam/Code-Block-Review
• Issues: https://github.com/LiYuAsam/Code-Block-Review/issues