ReviewStack
Automatic AI code reviews for every git commit — saved as searchable project history under .reviewstack/.
git commit -m "Add payment API"
↓
AI reviews the commit diff
↓
.reviewstack/commits/<hash>/review.md
↓
Sidebar → Commit History
Features
- Auto-review on commit — runs after
git commit while VS Code is open
- Commit History sidebar — browse past reviews with status icons
- On-disk history — each review is a markdown file you can open anytime
- Diff-only reviews — sends the commit changes, not your whole repository
- Enable / Disable — turn automatic reviews on or off without uninstalling
Branch switches, checkouts, merges, and rebases do not trigger auto-review.
Requirements
- VS Code 1.90 or later (or a compatible editor with the Language Model API)
- A Language Model provider, typically GitHub Copilot Chat, signed in
- A git repository folder open as your workspace
Getting started
- Install ReviewStack from the Extensions view.
- Open a git repo folder in VS Code.
- Make sure Copilot Chat (or another LM provider) works in that window.
- Click the ReviewStack icon in the Activity Bar.
- Either:
- Commit your changes (
git commit -m "…"), or
- Run ReviewStack: Review Last Commit from the Command Palette
- Allow Language Model access if prompted.
- Open the review from Commit History, or from
.reviewstack/commits/<hash>/review.md.
Commands
| Command |
Description |
| ReviewStack: Review Last Commit |
Review the current HEAD commit now |
| ReviewStack: Open Reviews Folder |
Reveal the .reviewstack folder on disk |
| ReviewStack: Enable |
Turn reviews on |
| ReviewStack: Disable |
Turn reviews off |
Where reviews are stored
.reviewstack/
config.json
index.json
commits/
a1b2c3d/
metadata.json
review.md
Settings (.reviewstack/config.json)
{
"enabled": true,
"autoOpenReview": true,
"maxDiffBytes": 200000
}
| Setting |
Meaning |
enabled |
Master switch for reviews |
autoOpenReview |
Automatically open review.md after an auto-review |
maxDiffBytes |
Max diff size sent to the model (larger diffs are truncated) |
Privacy
- Only the commit diff and commit metadata (message, author, hash) are sent to the Language Model — not your entire repo.
- Review files are written locally under
.reviewstack/. Commit or gitignore that folder based on your team’s preference.
Troubleshooting
| Problem |
What to try |
| “No language model available” |
Install/enable GitHub Copilot Chat, sign in, and send a message in Chat once |
| Auto-review did nothing |
Keep VS Code open; use git commit (not checkout); check enabled in config.json |
| Can’t open a review |
Wait until status is completed; pending/failed items have no review.md yet |
| Extension doesn’t seem active |
Open a folder workspace (not a single file) |
License
MIT
| |