Code reviews slow down when nobody agrees what must be checked, and they go soft when reviewers rubber-stamp a 2,000-line change. This code review guidelines template sets one short standard for pull requests: the principles, what authors check before opening a change, what reviewers check, how comments should read, and how disagreements are settled. Each rule is specific enough to verify.

The sample is for Dovecote Systems, a fictional software team, with a size target of 400 changed lines, a four-hour first review and a security section for risky paths. Replace the principles, targets, checklists and examples with your own team's agreements, and trim anything your build already enforces. Keep the checklist to one page, because a long checklist is skipped.