Over the years, I've realized just how much good code reviews can shape a team, not just in the quality of the code, but in how people grow. A great code review isn't only about catching bugs or nitpicking variable names. It's about building trust, sharing knowledge, and helping everyone, including yourself, get a little better each time.
So here's what I've learned about both sides of a pull request: how I feel you make a good one, and how to perhaps give a solid review without driving anyone crazy.
Making a Great Pull Request
1. Clarity Is Everything
A pull request shouldn't be a mystery novel. Be clear about what you changed and why. Add context, link to the issue, explain the motivation, maybe mention a design doc if it helps. The goal is to make it easy for someone else to jump in and understand your thinking.
2. Keep It Small
If you drop massive PRs and wonder why reviews take forever? Turns out, people don't like reading 500-line diffs (go figure). Smaller, focused PRs are faster to review, easier to reason about, and far less painful for everyone involved.
3. Explain Your Decisions
When something is not obvious, leave a note in the PR. “I went with this approach because…” can save so much back and forth. It shows you have thought things through and helps teammates learn from your reasoning.
4. Review Your Own Work First
Before hitting “Create Pull Request”, take a quick pass through your code as if you were the reviewer. Clean up small stuff, run tests, and make sure it follows your team's conventions. It saves everyone time, especially you.
Reviewing with Empathy and Precision
1. Respect First, Always
When reviewing, your tone matters as much as your feedback. The goal isn't to “win”, it's to help. Ask questions, suggest alternatives, and assume positive intent. A simple “Can you walk me through your thinking here?” goes a long way.
2. Talk About the Code, Not the Coder
It's never “you did this wrong.” It's “this function could be simplified.” Keeping it about the work helps create a space where people feel safe to share ideas and take feedback openly.
3. Be Thorough, but Keep Perspective
Not every issue needs to block a merge. Focus on what matters, things that impact functionality, performance, or maintainability. Leave nitpicks for optional comments. The goal is progress, not perfection.
4. Start Conversations
If something is unclear, ask. Code reviews are a great place to discuss trade offs, patterns, and even teach each other better ways to solve problems. The best reviews feel like a conversation, not a checklist.
Finding the Balance: Learning vs. Shipping
1. Use Reviews to Learn
Code reviews are one of the most natural ways to keep learning on the job. When you spot something clever or elegant, call it out. Sharing what we learn through our reviews helps the whole team level up.
2. Have Clear Guidelines
Every team benefits from having a shared understanding of what “good” looks like. Document your code review expectations, what to focus on, what to ignore, how to comment. It saves time and reduces confusion.
3. Automate the Boring Stuff
Let tools handle linting, formatting, and test checks. Automation catches the low-hanging fruit so humans can focus on logic, design, and readability — the stuff that actually matters. (I wrote more about this in my post on Ensuring Code Quality with GitHub Actions).
Final Notes
If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: good code reviews aren't just about better code, they are about better teams.
When you bring clarity, empathy, and curiosity into the process, code reviews stop feeling like chores and start feeling like what they truly are: one of the best opportunities to grow as a developer.