Implementation Review

Overview

Verify implementation is complete, correct, and safe to merge. This is the merge readiness gate.

Core principle: Catch issues before merge, not after.

Announce at start: "I'm using the implementation-review skill to audit this implementation."

Plan location: plans/active/{plan-name}/

The Process

Step 1: Load Context

1. Read original plan from plans/active/{plan-name}/
2. Get current branch name
3. Find base branch (main/master)

git branch --show-current
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master

Step 2: Gather Implementation Data

Get all commits since diverging from base:

git log --oneline $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD

Get all changed files:

git diff --name-only $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD

Step 3: Evaluate Against Criteria

Correctness:

• Implementation matches plan intent?
• Any drift from plan (features added/removed)?
• All tasks from plan completed?

Completeness:

• Success criteria from plan met?
• All expected files exist?
• Nothing half-done or TODO'd?

Quality:

• Code follows project patterns?
• No obvious bugs?
• Error handling present where needed?

Safety:

• Tests passing?
• No regressions in existing tests?
• No security issues introduced?
• No debug code left (console.log, print, etc.)?

Step 4: Run Checks

Run test suite:

# Detect and run appropriate test command
npm test || cargo test || pytest || go test ./...

Check for debug code:

git diff $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD | grep -E "(console\.log|print\(|debugger|TODO|FIXME)" || echo "None found"

Step 5: Produce Verdict

Output this format:

## Implementation Review: {plan-name}

### Verdict: MERGE READY | NEEDS FIXES | MAJOR ISSUES

### Plan Compliance
- [X] Task 1: [Description] - Implemented correctly
- [X] Task 2: [Description] - Implemented correctly
- [ ] Task 3: [Description] - Partial/Missing [reason]

### Test Results
- Suite: {X}/{Y} passing
- Coverage: {Z}% (if available)

### Quality Checks
- [X] No debug code (console.log, print, etc.)
- [X] Follows project patterns
- [X] Error handling present

### Issues Found
- **[Severity: blocker|major|minor]**: [Description]
  - Location: [file:line]
  - Suggested fix: [How to address]

### Recommendation
[Ready to merge / Fix these N issues first]

Verdict Meanings

Issue Severity

Red Flags

Never:

• Approve with failing tests
• Skip debug code check
• Ignore plan drift without noting it

Always:

• Run actual test suite
• Compare against original plan
• Check for leftover debug artifacts

Integration

Invoked by:

• gremlins:worktree-workflow (audit phase) - Post-implementation gate
• Standalone for any implementation review

Follows:

• gremlins:executing-plans - Reviews output of implementation

Leads to:

• gremlins:finishing-a-development-branch - When MERGE READY
• gremlins:reach-opportunities - When user opts in after passing

vs verification-before-completion:

• Use implementation-review as the workflow gate (comprehensive, plan-aware)
• Use verification-before-completion for quick ad-hoc checks outside workflow