How to Review the Code AI Gives You

Relax. We'll talk through this in plain words — no textbook voice.

What you'll walk away with

Understand how to review generated code without the fear factor
Get hands-on and try it yourself
Learn to spot (and smile past) the common mistakes

Put into practice how to read a diff, what questions to ask, and the 'if you don't understand it, don't merge it' rule.

Let's think about it this way for a sec

Vibe coding without review is just copy-paste coding. Things to check: does this change match the spec, are the names clear, is any error being silently swallowed, does behavior change without a test covering it, did an unnecessary dependency sneak in. Ask AI to 'explain' any line you don't understand. And if you still don't understand it after the explanation, don't merge it.

Connecting it to everyday life

Open up the git diff. Go through it file by file. Before you give it an 'LGTM,' test both the happy path and the empty path. If AI over-comments the code, have it strip out what's unnecessary. It's fine to ask it to rename variables so they make sense to you — but don't let unfamiliar patterns creep in everywhere unchecked.

Read the diff file by file
Ask for an explanation if something's unclear
Don't accept it if you still don't understand it

Let's try it together

text

Review checklist
[ ] Matches the spec slice
[ ] No secrets or personal data
[ ] Errors are visible to the user
[ ] Names match the rest of the repo
[ ] I can explain this change out loud

You should see

You'll be able to decide whether to accept or reject an AI-generated diff.

5-Minute Try-It

Using the checklist above, write review notes for a sample change as if you were reviewing it yourself. Include at least one point where you'd reject it.

A Quick Word of Caution

Never treat AI output as automatically correct. Have a human read through the code and test it — and double-check secrets and user data — before you rely on it.

Easy traps

Telling AI to just delete a failing test
Accepting an abstraction you don't understand just because 'it looks clever'

Now Try It Yourself

Using the checklist above, write review notes for a sample change as if you were reviewing it yourself. Include at least one point where you'd reject it.

You'll know it worked when: You'll be able to decide whether to accept or reject an AI-generated diff.