fix: Simplify review bot, remove detailed review, keep general review only #7976

bdougie · 2025-09-25T17:53:32Z

Summary

This PR simplifies the Continue review bot by removing the detailed review functionality and keeping only the general review action, pinned to the main branch. The trigger is also simplified from @continue-general-review to @continue-review.

Changes

🗑️ Removed

Detailed review workflow (.github/workflows/continue-detailed-review.yaml)
Detailed review action code (entire actions/detailed-review/ directory)
- action.yml
- annotate-diff.js and tests
- package.json
PR checks for detailed review tests (removed from .github/workflows/pr-checks.yaml)

📝 Updated

Actions README - Now documents only the general review action
Version pinning - Changed from commit SHA to @main for stability
Trigger phrase - Simplified from @continue-general-review to @continue-review
PR template - Updated to use the new @continue-review trigger
Environment variables - Removed redundant GH_TOKEN (GITHUB_TOKEN is sufficient)

🚀 CLI Execution Improvements

Better error messages for specific failure types (installation, config, auth)
Proper ANSI code cleanup for cleaner output
More detailed logging for debugging
6-minute timeout instead of 4 minutes for larger PRs
Sticky comment behavior to avoid spam (updates if < 1 hour old, creates new otherwise)

✅ What Stays

General review action (actions/general-review/)
General review workflow, pinned to @main

Rationale

The general review workflow from https://github.com/bdougie/contributor.info has been working well, while the detailed review in this repo has not been as effective. This change:

Reduces maintenance burden by removing unused code
Simplifies the review bot to a single, working implementation
Removes unnecessary test runs from PR checks
Simplifies the trigger command for better user experience
Improves reliability with better error handling and debugging

Testing

Verify general review still triggers on PR open/ready_for_review
Verify @continue-review comment trigger works (simplified from @continue-general-review)
Confirm PR checks pass without the detailed review tests
Test sticky comment behavior (updates vs new comment based on age)

@main

- Removed continue-detailed-review.yaml workflow file - Removed entire actions/detailed-review directory and code - Removed pr-review-action-tests job from pr-checks.yaml - Updated actions/README.md to reflect single review action - Changed all references from commit-sha to @main for stability This simplifies the review bot to only use the general review action, removing unused code and tests for the detailed review functionality. Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

…view

…view - Updated trigger phrase in action.yml - Updated documentation in README.md - Simplified the trigger to match the single review action Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

@continue-review

- Removed references to both @continue-general-review and @continue-detailed-review - Updated to single @continue-review trigger Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

github-actions · 2025-09-25T18:05:03Z

⚠️ PR Title Format

Your PR title doesn't follow the conventional commit format, but this won't block your PR from being merged. We recommend using this format for better project organization.

Expected Format:

<type>[optional scope]: <description>

Examples:

feat: add changelog generation support
fix: resolve login redirect issue
docs: update README with new instructions
chore: update dependencies

Valid Types:

feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, perf, test, build, ci, chore, revert

This helps with:

📝 Automatic changelog generation
🚀 Automated semantic versioning
📊 Better project history tracking

This is a non-blocking warning - your PR can still be merged without fixing this.

- Updated system message/prompt to be more context-aware and specific - Focus on actual functionality issues, not style - Added sticky comment behavior (update if <1 hour old, new if older) - Added timestamp and Continue branding in footer - Removed prescriptive format requirements, let AI be more natural - Better PR context extraction (title, author, files changed) Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

- Removed duplicate GH_TOKEN env variable (GITHUB_TOKEN is sufficient) - The gh CLI automatically uses GITHUB_TOKEN when available - Matches the working implementation pattern from contributor.info repo Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

@continue-review

This will be reverted before merge - just testing that the updated action works correctly with @continue-review trigger Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

bdougie · 2025-09-25T18:49:20Z

🔑 API Key Issue Identified

The review bot is running successfully but returning empty output, which typically indicates an expired or invalid API key.

@sestinj - Could you please update the CONTINUE_API_KEY in the repository action secrets? The current key was last updated on 2024-09-14 and appears to be expired.

Steps needed:

Go to Continue Hub
Verify the continuedev/review-bot assistant exists
Generate a new API key
Update the CONTINUE_API_KEY secret in repository settings

The review bot action code is working correctly - it's just unable to authenticate with the Continue API.

this was generated by cn and may not be the solution. But something I am triaging towards

- Include direct link to GitHub Actions workflow logs when review fails - Remove hardcoded date reference since the assistant has context - Make error message more generic to cover both API key and config issues

github-actions · 2025-09-25T19:02:06Z

✅ Review Complete

⚠️ AI review completed but no review output was generated.

Likely cause: Expired CONTINUE_API_KEY or missing continuedev/review-bot assistant

📋 View workflow logs for details.

bdougie · 2025-09-25T19:11:53Z

✅ Local Test Successful - Review Bot Working!

@sestinj I ran the review bot locally with a valid API key and it's working perfectly. Here's the actual review output:

Code Review Summary

✅ Strengths

Clean Simplification: The PR successfully removes a complex detailed review system (434 lines of YAML, plus JS files) in favor of maintaining just the general review functionality, reducing maintenance burden.
Consistent Trigger: Consolidating from two triggers (@continue-general-review and @continue-detailed-review) to a single @continue-review trigger improves user experience and reduces confusion.
Better Error Handling: The general review action has been enhanced with more specific error messages for different failure scenarios (CLI not installed, config errors, auth failures), making troubleshooting easier.
Improved Comment Management: Added sticky comment functionality that updates existing comments if less than 1 hour old, preserving review history while avoiding spam.

⚠️ Issues Found

High

Branch Reference Issue: Line 21 in .github/workflows/continue-general-review.yaml uses a feature branch reference:
```
uses: continuedev/continue/actions/general-review@bdougie/simplify-review-bot
```
This should be changed to @main before merging to ensure the workflow uses the stable main branch.

💡 Suggestions

Documentation Update: Consider adding a migration note in the README or CHANGELOG to help users who might be expecting the detailed review functionality, explaining why it was removed and how to use the simplified review.
Workflow Naming: Since there's now only one review type, consider renaming the workflow file from continue-general-review.yaml to simply continue-review.yaml for clarity.

🚀 Overall Assessment

This is a well-executed simplification that removes unnecessary complexity while preserving the core functionality users need. The removal of the detailed review system (with its complex position tracking and inline commenting) in favor of a single, robust general review makes the codebase more maintainable. Once the branch reference is fixed to point to @main, this PR is ready to merge.

Recommendation: APPROVE (after fixing the branch reference)

This confirms the review bot code is working correctly - we just need to update the expired CONTINUE_API_KEY in the repository secrets.

github-actions · 2025-09-25T19:12:46Z

Triggered by @bdougie's request

⚠️ AI review completed but no review output was generated. Check the action logs for details.

💡 To request a new review, comment @continue-general-review

github-actions · 2025-09-25T19:13:05Z

Triggered by @bdougie's request

AI Code Review

AI review failed due to service initialization issues. Please check the Continue API key and configuration.

No specific line comments generated.

💡 To request a new detailed review, comment @continue-detailed-review

github-actions · 2025-09-25T22:47:25Z

✅ Review Complete

⚠️ AI review completed but no review output was generated.

Likely cause: Expired CONTINUE_API_KEY or missing continuedev/review-bot assistant

📋 View workflow logs for details.

…dougie/simplify-review-bot

github-actions · 2025-09-26T00:06:57Z

✅ Review Complete

⚠️ AI review completed but no review output was generated.

Likely cause: Expired CONTINUE_API_KEY or missing continuedev/review-bot assistant

📋 View workflow logs for details.

Since the error has been resolved, we can now safely pin the action to main for stability instead of using the temporary branch reference. Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

sestinj · 2025-09-26T19:53:06Z

🎉 This PR is included in version 1.1.0 🎉

The release is available on:

Your semantic-release bot 📦🚀

sestinj · 2025-09-26T19:55:07Z

🎉 This PR is included in version 1.22.0 🎉

The release is available on:

Your semantic-release bot 📦🚀

sestinj · 2025-10-01T19:05:27Z

🎉 This PR is included in version 1.21.0 🎉

The release is available on:

Your semantic-release bot 📦🚀

github-project-automation bot added this to Issues and PRs Sep 25, 2025

github-project-automation bot moved this to Todo in Issues and PRs Sep 25, 2025

bdougie and others added 2 commits September 25, 2025 10:56

Update PR template to use simplified @continue-review trigger

d00e17c

- Removed references to both @continue-general-review and @continue-detailed-review - Updated to single @continue-review trigger Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 25, 2025 18:04

bdougie requested a review from a team as a code owner September 25, 2025 18:04

bdougie requested review from Patrick-Erichsen and removed request for a team September 25, 2025 18:04

dosubot bot added the size:XXL This PR changes 1000+ lines, ignoring generated files. label Sep 25, 2025

bdougie changed the title ~~Simplify review bot: Remove detailed review, keep general review only~~ fix: Simplify review bot: Remove detailed review, keep general review only Sep 25, 2025

bdougie changed the title ~~fix: Simplify review bot: Remove detailed review, keep general review only~~ fix: Simplify review bot, remove detailed review, keep general review only Sep 25, 2025

bdougie marked this pull request as draft September 25, 2025 18:20

bdougie and others added 2 commits September 25, 2025 11:23

continuedev deleted a comment from github-actions bot Sep 25, 2025

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 25, 2025 18:26

Test: Temporarily use branch action for testing

f090d3a

This will be reverted before merge - just testing that the updated action works correctly with @continue-review trigger Generated with [Continue](https://continue.dev) Co-Authored-By: Continue <[email protected]>

continuedev deleted a comment from github-actions bot Sep 25, 2025

bdougie marked this pull request as draft September 25, 2025 18:30

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 25, 2025 18:32

fix: Add workflow log link to PR comment on review failure

864dc5a

- Include direct link to GitHub Actions workflow logs when review fails - Remove hardcoded date reference since the assistant has context - Make error message more generic to cover both API key and config issues

bdougie marked this pull request as draft September 25, 2025 18:58

continuedev deleted a comment from github-actions bot Sep 25, 2025

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 25, 2025 19:01

bdougie marked this pull request as draft September 25, 2025 22:46

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 25, 2025 22:46

RomneyDa and others added 2 commits September 25, 2025 16:17

Merge branch 'main' of https://github.com/continuedev/continue into b…

64098e2

…dougie/simplify-review-bot

Merge branch 'main' into bdougie/simplify-review-bot

b9148e4

bdougie marked this pull request as draft September 26, 2025 00:05

bdougie marked this pull request as ready for review September 26, 2025 00:06

bdougie and others added 2 commits September 25, 2025 17:10

feat: adds pending comment

51dff09

sestinj approved these changes Sep 26, 2025

View reviewed changes

github-project-automation bot moved this from Todo to In Progress in Issues and PRs Sep 26, 2025

dosubot bot added the lgtm This PR has been approved by a maintainer label Sep 26, 2025

sestinj merged commit b64b7e8 into main Sep 26, 2025
53 of 55 checks passed

sestinj deleted the bdougie/simplify-review-bot branch September 26, 2025 16:42

github-project-automation bot moved this from In Progress to Done in Issues and PRs Sep 26, 2025

github-actions bot locked and limited conversation to collaborators Sep 26, 2025

sestinj added the released label Sep 26, 2025

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fix: Simplify review bot, remove detailed review, keep general review only #7976

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fix: Simplify review bot, remove detailed review, keep general review only #7976

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Summary

Changes

🗑️ Removed

📝 Updated

🚀 CLI Execution Improvements

✅ What Stays

Rationale

Testing

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github-actions bot commented Sep 25, 2025

⚠️ PR Title Format

Expected Format:

Examples:

Valid Types:

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bdougie commented Sep 25, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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🔑 API Key Issue Identified

Steps needed:

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bdougie commented Sep 25, 2025

✅ Local Test Successful - Review Bot Working!

Code Review Summary

✅ Strengths

⚠️ Issues Found

High

💡 Suggestions

🚀 Overall Assessment

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AI Code Review

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