Automated Code Review - OpenHands Docs

View Example Plugin

Check out the complete PR review plugin with ready-to-use code and configuration.

Automated code review helps maintain code quality, catch bugs early, and enforce coding standards consistently across your team. OpenHands provides a GitHub Actions workflow powered by the Software Agent SDK that automatically reviews pull requests and posts inline comments directly on your PRs.

Overview

The OpenHands PR Review workflow is a GitHub Actions workflow that:

Triggers automatically when PRs are opened or when you request a review
Analyzes code changes in the context of your entire repository
Posts inline comments directly on specific lines of code in the PR
Provides fast feedback - typically within 2-3 minutes

How It Works

The PR review workflow uses the OpenHands Software Agent SDK to analyze your code changes:

Trigger: The workflow runs when:
- A new non-draft PR is opened
- A draft PR is marked as ready for review
- The review-this label is added to a PR
- openhands-agent is requested as a reviewer
Analysis: The agent receives the complete PR diff and uses two skills:
- /codereview: Analyzes code for quality, security, data structures, and best practices with a focus on simplicity and pragmatism
- /github-pr-review: Posts structured inline comments via the GitHub API
Output: Review comments are posted directly on the PR with:
- Priority labels (🔴 Critical, 🟠 Important, 🟡 Suggestion, 🟢 Nit)
- Specific line references
- Actionable suggestions with code examples

Quick Start

Copy the workflow file

Create .github/workflows/pr-review-by-openhands.yml in your repository:

name: PR Review by OpenHands

on:
  pull_request_target:
    types: [opened, ready_for_review, labeled, review_requested]

permissions:
  contents: read
  pull-requests: write
  issues: write

jobs:
  pr-review:
    if: |
      (github.event.action == 'opened' && github.event.pull_request.draft == false) ||
      github.event.action == 'ready_for_review' ||
      github.event.label.name == 'review-this' ||
      github.event.requested_reviewer.login == 'openhands-agent'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Run PR Review
        uses: OpenHands/extensions/plugins/pr-review@main
        with:
          llm-model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
          llm-api-key: ${{ secrets.LLM_API_KEY }}
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Add your LLM API key

Go to your repository’s Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions and add:

LLM_API_KEY: Your LLM API key (get one from OpenHands LLM Provider)

Create the review label

Create a review-this label in your repository:

Go to Issues → Labels
Click New label
Name: review-this
Description: Trigger OpenHands PR review

Trigger a review

Open a PR and either:

Add the review-this label, OR
Request openhands-agent as a reviewer

In a Conversation

You can also trigger a code review manually in any OpenHands conversation. First, install the skill:

/add-skill https://github.com/OpenHands/extensions/tree/main/skills/code-review

Then invoke it:

/codereview

The agent will ask for the PR to review, or you can provide context directly:

/codereview — Please review PR #123 on my-org/my-repo.
Focus on the new authentication middleware.

Composite Action

Action Path Updated: The PR review action has moved to the extensions repository. If your workflow still references the old path, update it:

Old: OpenHands/software-agent-sdk/.github/actions/pr-review@main
New: OpenHands/extensions/plugins/pr-review@main

The workflow uses a reusable composite action that handles all the setup automatically:

Checking out the extensions repository at the specified version
Setting up Python and dependencies
Running the PR review agent (from extensions repo)
Uploading logs as artifacts

Action Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
`agent-kind`	Review backend: `openhands` for the standard SDK agent or `acp` for an ACP-compatible agent server	No	`openhands`
`llm-model`	LLM model(s). Comma-separated to run multiple reviews and compare results (A/B testing). In ACP mode this is passed to the ACP server when supported.	No	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929`
`acp-command`	Command used to start the ACP server. Required when `agent-kind` is `acp`. Examples: `npx -y @zed-industries/codex-acp@0.12.0`, `codex-acp`, `claude-agent-acp`, `npx -y @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp`	Yes for ACP mode	`''`
`acp-prompt-timeout`	Timeout in seconds for one ACP prompt turn	No	`1800`
`llm-base-url`	LLM base URL (for custom endpoints)	No	`''`
`review-style`	[DEPRECATED] Previously chose between `standard` and `roasted`. Now ignored — the styles have been merged.	No	`roasted`
`require-evidence`	Require the reviewer to enforce an `Evidence` section in the PR description with end-to-end proof	No	`'false'`
`use-sub-agents`	Enable sub-agent delegation for file-level reviews in `openhands` mode. Ignored in ACP mode.	No	`'false'`
`extensions-repo`	Extensions repository (owner/repo)	No	`OpenHands/extensions`
`extensions-version`	Git ref for extensions (tag, branch, or commit SHA)	No	`main`
`openhands-sdk-package`	Package spec passed to `uv --with`; override only when pinning a specific SDK build for testing or rollout control	No	`openhands-sdk`
`llm-api-key`	LLM API key. Required when `agent-kind` is `openhands`; ignored in ACP mode.	Yes for OpenHands mode	-
`github-token`	GitHub token for API access	Yes	-
`lmnr-api-key`	Laminar API key for observability	No	`''`
`enable-uv-cache`	Enable setup-uv’s GitHub Actions cache for Python deps. Default `false` for security.	No	`'false'`

Use extensions-version to pin to a specific version tag (e.g., v1.0.0) for production stability, or use main to always get the latest features. The extensions repository contains the PR review plugin scripts.

Experimental: ACP Review Backend

The PR review action can run through an ACP-compatible agent server by setting agent-kind: acp. In this mode, OpenHands still loads the review skills and plugin prompt context, but the ACP server owns model access, authentication, and tool execution. Use ACP mode when your runner already has an authenticated ACP CLI available. The action does not install ACP CLIs for you; install and authenticate the ACP server in workflow steps before invoking the PR review action.

ACP mode is experimental. Use it on trusted self-hosted runners where you control the installed ACP command and the authentication material. Do not expose subscription credentials to workflows that run untrusted pull request code.

Codex ACP Example

To use Codex ACP, first install the Codex CLI and complete device-code login on a trusted machine:

codex login --device-auth
codex login status

Then create a base64-encoded secret from the generated auth file:

# Linux
base64 -w 0 "$HOME/.codex/auth.json"

# macOS
base64 < "$HOME/.codex/auth.json" | tr -d '\n'

Store the printed value as a repository or organization secret named CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64. The workflow can then restore that file on a self-hosted runner, start Codex ACP with npx, and run the review:

name: PR Review by OpenHands

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [labeled, review_requested]

permissions:
  contents: read
  pull-requests: write
  issues: write

jobs:
  pr-review:
    if: |
      github.event.label.name == 'review-this' ||
      github.event.requested_reviewer.login == 'openhands-agent'
    runs-on: [self-hosted]
    timeout-minutes: 30
    steps:
      - name: Restore Codex auth
        env:
          CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64: ${{ secrets.CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64 }}
        run: |
          if [ -z "$CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64" ]; then
            echo "Error: CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64 is required for Codex ACP review."
            exit 1
          fi
          mkdir -p "$HOME/.codex"
          if ! printf '%s' "$CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64" | base64 -d > "$HOME/.codex/auth.json"; then
            echo "Error: Failed to decode CODEX_AUTH_JSON_B64 — check the base64 value."
            exit 1
          fi
          chmod 600 "$HOME/.codex/auth.json"

      - name: Run PR Review
        uses: OpenHands/extensions/plugins/pr-review@main
        with:
          agent-kind: acp
          acp-command: npx -y @zed-industries/codex-acp@0.12.0
          llm-model: o3
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Cleanup Codex auth
        if: always()
        run: rm -f "$HOME/.codex/auth.json"

Customization

Repository-Specific Review Guidelines

Add repo-specific review rules by creating a skill file at .agents/skills/custom-codereview-guide.md:

---
name: custom-codereview-guide
description: Custom code review guidelines for this repository
triggers:
- /codereview
---

# Repository Code Review Guidelines

You are reviewing code for [Your Project Name]. Follow these guidelines:

## Review Decisions

### When to APPROVE
- Configuration changes following existing patterns
- Documentation-only changes
- Test-only changes without production code changes
- Simple additions following established conventions

### When to COMMENT
- Issues that need attention (bugs, security concerns)
- Suggestions for improvement
- Questions about design decisions

## Core Principles

1. **[Your Principle 1]**: Description
2. **[Your Principle 2]**: Description

## What to Check

- **[Category 1]**: What to look for
- **[Category 2]**: What to look for

## Repository Conventions

- Use [your linter] for style checking
- Follow [your style guide]
- Tests should be in [your test directory]

Do not name your skill code-review. The pr-review plugin ships its own code-review skill, and plugin skills override project skills with the same name. Use a different name (e.g. custom-codereview-guide) with the /codereview trigger so both skills are active — the plugin provides the review framework while your skill adds repo-specific rules.

The skill file must use /codereview as the trigger so it activates alongside the default review behavior. See the software-agent-sdk’s own custom-codereview-guide for a complete example.

Workflow Configuration

Customize the workflow by modifying the action inputs:

- name: Run PR Review
  uses: OpenHands/extensions/plugins/pr-review@main
  with:
    # Change the LLM model
    llm-model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
    # Use a custom LLM endpoint
    llm-base-url: https://your-llm-proxy.example.com
    # Pin to a specific extensions version for stability
    extensions-version: main
    # Secrets
    llm-api-key: ${{ secrets.LLM_API_KEY }}
    github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Trigger Customization

Modify when reviews are triggered by editing the workflow conditions:

# Only trigger on label (disable auto-review on PR open)
if: github.event.label.name == 'review-this'

# Only trigger when specific reviewer is requested
if: github.event.requested_reviewer.login == 'openhands-agent'

# Trigger on all PRs (including drafts)
if: |
  github.event.action == 'opened' ||
  github.event.action == 'synchronize'

Security Considerations

The workflow uses pull_request_target so the code review agent can work properly for PRs from forks. Only users with write access can trigger reviews via labels or reviewer requests.

Potential Risk: A malicious contributor could submit a PR from a fork containing code designed to exfiltrate your LLM_API_KEY when the review agent analyzes their code.To mitigate this, the PR review workflow passes API keys as SDK secrets rather than environment variables, which prevents the agent from directly accessing these credentials during code execution.

Example Reviews

See real automated reviews in action on the OpenHands Software Agent SDK repository:

PR	Description	Review Highlights
#1927	Composite GitHub Action refactor	Comprehensive review with 🔴 Critical, 🟠 Important, and 🟡 Suggestion labels
#1916	Add example for reconstructing messages	Critical issues flagged with clear explanations
#1904	Update code-review skill guidelines	APPROVED review highlighting key strengths
#1889	Fix tmux race condition	Technical review of concurrency fix with dual-lock strategy analysis

Troubleshooting

Review not triggering

Ensure the LLM_API_KEY secret is set correctly
Check that the label name matches exactly (review-this)
Verify the workflow file is in .github/workflows/
Check the Actions tab for workflow run errors

Review comments not appearing

Ensure GITHUB_TOKEN has pull-requests: write permission
Check the workflow logs for API errors
Verify the PR is not from a fork with restricted permissions

Review taking too long

Large PRs may take longer to analyze
Consider splitting large PRs into smaller ones
Check if the LLM API is experiencing delays

Automate This

There are two ways to automate PR reviews with OpenHands: as a GitHub Action (per-repo) or as an OpenHands Automation (org-wide, event-driven). Choose the approach that fits your needs, or use both.

Option A: GitHub Action (Per-Repo)

Use the pr-review plugin as a GitHub Actions workflow. Copy the example workflow into .github/workflows/pr-review.yml in your repository, add your LLM_API_KEY to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions, and customize the trigger conditions and model as needed. See the action.yml for all available inputs (llm-model, llm-base-url, use-sub-agents, require-evidence, and more). When to use this: You want per-repo control, need to integrate with existing CI checks, or want to pin specific action versions per repository.

Option B: OpenHands Automation (Org-Wide)

Before setting up an event-driven automation, complete the one-time prerequisites for GitHub event automations — install the GitHub App, create a team org, and claim your GitHub organization. Without these steps, GitHub events will silently never arrive.

OpenHands Automations is an event-triggered automation system that replaces per-repo GitHub Actions workflows. You define the trigger once and it covers all repositories matching your filter — no per-repo workflow files needed. It also leverages the full OpenHands runtime (browser, tools, sandbox), which GitHub Actions cannot. When to use this: You want a single configuration that covers all repos in your org, or you need the full OpenHands runtime for more advanced review workflows.

Prerequisites: Bot Account

For org-level automations, you should create a dedicated bot account (a separate GitHub user) and add it to your OpenHands organization. The bot account is the identity that will approve pull requests, request changes, and post review comments — keeping automated actions separate from human activity. Team members can then request this bot as a reviewer to trigger on-demand reviews.

Setup: Create the Automation via Prompt

Log in to OpenHands Cloud as your bot account (or under your team org) and send the following prompt in a new conversation. Replace the placeholders with your values:

YOUR_ORG — your GitHub organization name (e.g., mycompany)
YOUR_BOT_LOGIN — the GitHub username of your bot account (e.g., mycompany-bot)

Create an OpenHands Cloud automation using the Plugin Preset with the following configuration:

**Name:** PR Review: YOUR_ORG/* (ready for review, review-this, or reviewer requested)

**Plugin:** github:OpenHands/extensions (repo_path: plugins/pr-review)

**Trigger events:**
- pull_request.opened
- pull_request.ready_for_review
- pull_request.review_requested
- pull_request.labeled

**Filter:**
```
glob(repository.full_name, 'YOUR_ORG/*') && (
    label.name == 'review-this'
    || requested_reviewer.login == 'YOUR_BOT_LOGIN'
    || (!label && !requested_reviewer
        && pull_request.author_association != 'FIRST_TIME_CONTRIBUTOR'
        && pull_request.author_association != 'FIRST_TIMER'
        && pull_request.author_association != 'NONE'
        && !pull_request.draft)
)
```

**Timeout:** 600 seconds

**Prompt (use this exactly):**
```
Before starting the code review, complete these steps in order:

Step 1 — Build the session URL.
Run this in terminal:
  SESSION_URL="${AUTOMATION_SESSION_URL:-${AUTOMATION_API_URL:-https://app.all-hands.dev}}"
  echo "SESSION_URL=${SESSION_URL}"

Step 2 — Extract PR info from the event payload:
  PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$AUTOMATION_EVENT_PAYLOAD" | python3 -c "import sys,json; p=json.load(sys.stdin); print(p['pull_request']['number'])")
  REPO=$(echo "$AUTOMATION_EVENT_PAYLOAD" | python3 -c "import sys,json; p=json.load(sys.stdin); print(p['repository']['full_name'])")

Step 3 — Post a progress comment and save the comment ID:
  COMMENT_ID=$(curl -s -X POST \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
    -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
    "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/issues/$PR_NUMBER/comments" \
    -d "{\"body\": \"🔍 **Review in progress…**\\n\\nWe are performing the review through OpenHands Cloud Automation. You can log in and [view the conversation here](${SESSION_URL}).\"}" \
    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")

Step 4 — /codereview
Review the pull request using the pr-review plugin. Post a comprehensive code review on GitHub with inline comments on specific changed lines where appropriate, and a concise overall summary. Avoid duplicating existing unresolved review comments.

When submitting the review, choose the appropriate event type:
- Use "event": "APPROVE" when the PR is ready to merge with no blocking issues (minor suggestions are fine)
- Use "event": "REQUEST_CHANGES" when there are blocking issues that must be fixed before merging
- Use "event": "COMMENT" only when you need more information or are providing an informational review without a clear verdict

At the end of the top-level review body include exactly:
  _This review was generated by an AI agent (OpenHands) on behalf of the user through OpenHands Automation. [View conversation](${SESSION_URL})_

Step 5 — After the review is posted, update the progress comment:
  curl -s -X PATCH \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
    -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
    "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/issues/comments/$COMMENT_ID" \
    -d "{\"body\": \"✅ **Review complete.**\\n\\nThis review was performed through OpenHands Cloud Automation. You can log in and [view the conversation here](${SESSION_URL}).\"}"
```

Team review requests: The requested_reviewer field is only populated for individual reviewer requests. When a team is requested as reviewer, GitHub uses requested_team instead. To also match team requests, add || requested_team.slug == 'YOUR_TEAM_SLUG' to the filter.How !label works: JMESPath treats absent fields as null, and !null evaluates to true. This means the third branch fires for opened and ready_for_review events (which have no label or requested_reviewer in the payload), while correctly staying silent for labeled and review_requested events where those fields are set.

What This Produces

When the automation is created and a qualifying PR event occurs, the bot will:

Post a progress comment on the PR: ”🔍 Review in progress…” with a link to the live conversation
Run the pr-review plugin which analyzes the diff and posts a structured code review with inline comments — approving clean PRs, requesting changes when there are blocking issues, or leaving an informational comment when the verdict is unclear
Update the progress comment to ”✅ Review complete.” with the conversation link

The automation triggers on four conditions:

opened — when a new non-draft PR is created (for established contributors only)
ready_for_review — when a draft PR is marked ready (for established contributors only)
review_requested — when your bot account is requested as a reviewer. This is the primary way team members trigger an on-demand review — they simply request the bot from the PR’s “Reviewers” sidebar. The bot then posts its review under its own GitHub identity, so approvals and change requests come from a clear, dedicated account.
labeled — when the review-this label is added to any PR

The automation does not re-run when new commits are pushed to an existing PR (pull_request.synchronize is intentionally excluded to avoid noisy re-reviews). To request a follow-up review after addressing feedback, re-add the review-this label or re-request the reviewer.

The $AUTOMATION_SESSION_URL variable is injected by the automation runtime and resolves to a direct link to the conversation (e.g., https://app.all-hands.dev/conversations/{uuid}). The prompt includes fallbacks ($AUTOMATION_API_URL, then the default app URL) for environments where the variable is not yet available.The $AUTOMATION_EVENT_PAYLOAD variable contains the full GitHub webhook event as JSON. The $GITHUB_TOKEN (from the configured GitHub integration) is also automatically available. No additional configuration is needed for any of these variables.

Single-Repo vs Org-Wide

The prompt above uses glob(repository.full_name, 'YOUR_ORG/*') to cover all repos in your org. To target a single repo instead, replace the filter’s first condition:

repository.full_name == 'YOUR_ORG/YOUR_REPO' && (
    label.name == 'review-this'
    || requested_reviewer.login == 'YOUR_BOT_LOGIN'
    || (!label && !requested_reviewer
        && pull_request.author_association != 'FIRST_TIME_CONTRIBUTOR'
        && pull_request.author_association != 'FIRST_TIMER'
        && pull_request.author_association != 'NONE'
        && !pull_request.draft)
)

The review-this label and requested_reviewer branches do not exclude draft PRs — labeling a draft or requesting the bot on a draft will still fire the automation. This is intentional: explicit review requests should be honored regardless of draft status.

Testing

After creating the automation:

Add the review-this label to any open PR in a covered repo — this is the most reliable test since it works regardless of author history (you may need to create the label in your repo first if it doesn’t exist)
Alternatively, request your bot as a reviewer on any PR, or open a new non-draft PR (note: the auto-trigger on opened requires the PR author to already have contributor history in that specific repo — FIRST_TIME_CONTRIBUTOR, FIRST_TIMER, and NONE associations are excluded)
Watch for the ”🔍 Review in progress…” comment — it should appear within a few seconds
The full review will typically follow within a few minutes, depending on PR size

PR Review Plugin - Full workflow example and agent script
Composite Action - Reusable GitHub Action for PR reviews
Software Agent SDK - Build your own AI-powered workflows
GitHub Integration - Set up GitHub integration for OpenHands Cloud
Skills Documentation - Learn more about OpenHands skills

Documentation Index

View Example Plugin

​Overview

​How It Works

​Quick Start

​In a Conversation

​Composite Action

​Action Inputs

​Experimental: ACP Review Backend

​Codex ACP Example

​Customization

​Repository-Specific Review Guidelines

​Workflow Configuration

​Trigger Customization

​Security Considerations

​Example Reviews

​Troubleshooting

​Automate This

​Option A: GitHub Action (Per-Repo)

​Option B: OpenHands Automation (Org-Wide)

​Prerequisites: Bot Account

​Setup: Create the Automation via Prompt

​What This Produces

​Single-Repo vs Org-Wide

​Testing

​Related Resources

Overview

How It Works

Quick Start

In a Conversation

Composite Action

Action Inputs

Experimental: ACP Review Backend

Codex ACP Example

Customization

Repository-Specific Review Guidelines

Workflow Configuration

Trigger Customization

Security Considerations

Example Reviews

Troubleshooting

Automate This

Option A: GitHub Action (Per-Repo)

Option B: OpenHands Automation (Org-Wide)

Prerequisites: Bot Account

Setup: Create the Automation via Prompt

What This Produces

Single-Repo vs Org-Wide

Testing

Related Resources