CodeRabbit Reference Architecture

Overview

Configure CodeRabbit AI code review for team workflows. Covers repository configuration, custom review instructions, path-based rules, and integration with CI pipelines for automated review enforcement.

Prerequisites

CodeRabbit GitHub/GitLab app installed
Repository admin access for configuration
Understanding of team coding standards
CI pipeline for review status checks

Architecture Diagram

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Developer   │────▶│  Pull        │────▶│  CodeRabbit  │
│  Push/PR     │     │  Request     │     │  AI Review   │
└──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────┬───────┘
                                                  │
                     ┌────────────────────────────┤
                     │                            │
                     ▼                            ▼
              ┌──────────────┐          ┌──────────────┐
              │ Line-level   │          │ Summary      │
              │ Comments     │          │ Review       │
              └──────┬───────┘          └──────┬───────┘
                     │                          │
                     ▼                          ▼
              ┌──────────────┐          ┌──────────────┐
              │ Developer    │          │ CI Status    │
              │ Response     │          │ Check        │
              └──────────────┘          └──────────────┘

Instructions

Step 1: Create Repository Configuration

# .coderabbit.yaml - Root configuration
language: "en-US"
early_access: false

reviews:
  profile: "assertive"        # Options: chill, assertive, proactive
  request_changes_workflow: true
  high_level_summary: true
  poem: false
  review_status: true
  collapse_walkthrough: false
  path_instructions:
    - path: "src/api/**"
      instructions: |
        Review for REST API best practices:
        - Validate all inputs with zod schemas
        - Return proper HTTP status codes
        - Include error response bodies per RFC 7807  # 7807 = configured value
        - Check for SQL injection in query parameters
    - path: "src/components/**"
      instructions: |
        Review React components for:
        - Proper use of hooks (no conditional hooks)
        - Memoization where appropriate
        - Accessibility (aria labels, keyboard navigation)
        - Component size (flag if >200 lines)  # HTTP 200 OK
    - path: "**/*.test.*"
      instructions: |
        Review tests for:
        - Meaningful test descriptions
        - Edge cases covered
        - No implementation details tested
        - Proper async handling

  auto_review:
    enabled: true
    drafts: false
    base_branches:
      - "main"
      - "develop"
    ignore_title_keywords:
      - "WIP"
      - "DO NOT MERGE"

chat:
  auto_reply: true

Step 2: Configure Path-Based Review Rules

# .coderabbit.yaml continued
reviews:
  path_filters:
    # Skip auto-generated files
    - "!**/*.generated.ts"
    - "!**/generated/**"
    - "!package-lock.json"
    - "!pnpm-lock.yaml"
    - "!**/*.min.js"
    - "!dist/**"

    # Always review security-sensitive paths
    - "+src/auth/**"
    - "+src/middleware/**"
    - "+**/migrations/**"

  tools:
    eslint:
      enabled: true
    biome:
      enabled: true
    shellcheck:
      enabled: true
    markdownlint:
      enabled: true

Step 3: Custom Review Instructions for Team Standards

# .coderabbit.yaml - Team-specific instructions
reviews:
  path_instructions:
    - path: "**"
      instructions: |
        Team coding standards:
        1. All exported functions must have JSDoc comments
        2. Use named exports, never default exports
        3. Prefer const assertions for literal types
        4. Error handling: never catch and ignore silently
        5. Logging: use structured logger, never console.log in production

    - path: "src/db/**"
      instructions: |
        Database layer rules:
        - All queries must use parameterized statements
        - Include index hints for complex queries
        - Transactions required for multi-table mutations
        - Migration files must be reversible

    - path: ".github/workflows/**"
      instructions: |
        CI/CD pipeline rules:
        - Pin all action versions to SHA, not tags
        - Never use secrets in step names or logs
        - Include timeout-minutes on all jobs
        - Use OIDC for cloud provider auth

Step 4: Integrate with CI Pipeline

# .github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
name: PR Checks

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]

jobs:
  wait-for-coderabbit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Wait for CodeRabbit review
        uses: actions/github-script@v7
        with:
          script: |
            // Check if CodeRabbit has reviewed
            const reviews = await github.rest.pulls.listReviews({
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
              pull_number: context.issue.number,
            });

            const coderabbitReview = reviews.data.find(
              r => r.user.login === 'coderabbitai[bot]'
            );

            if (!coderabbitReview) {
              core.info('Waiting for CodeRabbit review...');
            }

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
Review not triggered	PR to non-configured branch	Add branch to `base_branches`
Too many comments	Profile too aggressive	Switch to `chill` profile
Ignoring config changes	YAML syntax error	Validate YAML before committing
Reviewing generated files	Missing path filter	Add `!` exclusion patterns

Examples

Minimal Configuration

# .coderabbit.yaml - Quick start
reviews:
  profile: "assertive"
  auto_review:
    enabled: true
    drafts: false

Resources

Output

Configuration files or code changes applied to the project
Validation report confirming correct implementation
Summary of changes made and their rationale

coderabbit-reference-architecture