The Best Code Review Tools for Developers

Code review is an essential part of the software development process. It allows developers to catch bugs, improve code quality, and maintain a consistent coding style. It also helps to ensure that code changes are thoroughly tested and reviewed before being integrated into the main codebase. Code review tools make the process of reviewing code easier and more efficient by automating many of the tasks involved. In this article, we will take a look at the best code review tools for developers.

GitHub

GitHub is one of the most popular code review tools. It is an open-source platform that provides a wide range of features for code review. GitHub allows developers to create pull requests for code changes, which can then be reviewed and approved by other team members. GitHub also provides a built-in code review feature that allows developers to add comments to specific lines of code and request changes. Developers can also use GitHub’s built-in issue tracking system to track bugs and feature requests.

How to set up code review in GitHub:

1. Create a repository on GitHub.
2. Create a branch for your code changes.
3. Commit your changes to the branch.
4. Create a pull request for the branch.
5. Assign the pull request to one or more reviewers.
6. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code and made any necessary changes, the pull request can be merged into the main branch.

GitLab

GitLab is another popular code review tool that is similar to GitHub. It provides a wide range of features for code review, including the ability to create pull requests and add comments to specific lines of code. GitLab also provides a built-in issue tracking system and a built-in continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) system.

How to set up code review in GitLab:

1. Create a repository on GitLab.
2. Create a branch for your code changes.
3. Commit your changes to the branch.
4. Create a merge request for the branch.
5. Assign the merge request to one or more reviewers.
6. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code and made any necessary changes, the merge request can be approved and merged into the main branch.

Bitbucket

Bitbucket is another code review tool that is similar to GitHub and GitLab. It provides a wide range of features for code review, including the ability to create pull requests and add comments to specific lines of code. Bitbucket also provides a built-in issue tracking system and a built-in continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) system.

How to set up code review in Bitbucket:

1. Create a repository on Bitbucket.
2. Create a branch for your code changes.
3. Commit your changes to the branch.
4. Create a pull request for the branch.
5. Assign the pull request to one or more reviewers.
6. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code and made any necessary changes, the pull request can be approved and merged into the main branch.

Crucible

Crucible is a code review tool developed by Atlassian. It provides a number of features for code review, including the ability to create reviews for code changes and adding comments to specific lines of code. Crucible also provides a built-in issue tracking system and allows for integration with other Atlassian tools such as Jira.

How to set up code review in Crucible:

1. Create a project on Crucible.
2. Create a branch for your code changes.
3. Commit your changes to the branch.
4. Create a code review request for the branch.
5. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
6. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code and made any necessary changes, the review request can be approved and the code can be merged into the main branch.

Review Board

Review Board is a web-based code review tool that provides a number of features for code review, including the ability to create reviews for code changes and adding comments to specific lines of code. Review Board also provides a built-in issue tracking system and allows for integration with other tools such as Git and Subversion.

How to set up code review in Review Board:

1. Install Review Board on your server.
2. Create a repository on Review Board.
3. Create a branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the branch.
5. Create a review request for the branch.
6. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code and made any necessary changes, the review request can be approved and the code can be merged into the main branch.

Gerrit

Gerrit is a web-based code review tool that is designed specifically for use with Git. It offers a range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes and allowing for inline commenting. Gerrit also has an integrated issue tracking system and allows for integration with other tools like Jenkins for automated testing and deployment.

How to set up code review in Gerrit:

1. Install Gerrit on your server.
2. Create a new Gerrit repository.
3. Create a new branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the new branch.
5. Create a new change request for the branch.
6. Assign the change request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the change request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeCollaborator

CodeCollaborator is a code review tool that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also provides a built-in issue tracking system, and allows for integration with other tools such as Jira.

How to set up code review in CodeCollaborator:

1. Install CodeCollaborator on your server.
2. Create a new project in CodeCollaborator.
3. Create a new branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the new branch.
5. Create a new review request for the branch.
6. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the review request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeClimate

CodeClimate is a code review tool that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also provides a built-in issue tracking system and allows for integration with other tools such as GitHub and GitLab.

How to set up code review in CodeClimate:

1. Create a new project in CodeClimate.
2. Connect your code repository to CodeClimate (e.g. GitHub or GitLab)
3. Create a new branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the new branch.
5. Create a new review request for the branch.
6. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the review request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeFactor

CodeFactor is a code review tool that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also has an integrated issue tracking system and allows for integration with other tools such as GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.

How to set up code review in CodeFactor:

1. Sign up for a CodeFactor account
2. Connect your code repository to CodeFactor (e.g. GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket)
3. Create a new branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the new branch.
5. Create a new review request for the branch
6. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the review request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeReview

CodeReview is a code review tool that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also provides a built-in issue tracking system and allows for integration with other tools such as GitHub and GitLab.

How to set up code review in CodeReview:

1. Install CodeReview on your server.
2. Create a new project in CodeReview.
3. Connect your code repository to CodeReview (e.g. GitHub or GitLab)
4. Create a new branch for your code changes.
5. Commit your changes to the new branch.
6. Create a new review request for the branch.
7. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
8. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the review request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeRush

CodeRush is a code review tool that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also allows for integration with other tools such as Visual Studio.

How to set up code review in CodeRush:

1. Install CodeRush on your development environment.
2. Create a new branch for your code changes.
3. Commit your changes to the new branch.
4. Create a new review request for the branch.
5. Assign the review request to one or more reviewers.
6. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the review request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

CodeCommit

CodeCommit is a code review tool developed by AWS that provides a wide range of features for code review, such as creating reviews for code changes, adding comments to specific lines of code, and tracking code review statistics. It also allows for integration with other AWS services like CodeBuild and CodePipeline for automated testing and deployment.

How to set up code review in CodeCommit:

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the CodeCommit console
2. Create a new repository in CodeCommit
3. Create a new branch for your code changes.
4. Commit your changes to the new branch.
5. Create a new pull request for the branch
6. Assign the pull request to one or more reviewers.
7. Once the reviewers have reviewed the code, they can approve the pull request and the code can be merged into the main branch.

Conclusion

There are many code review tools available, each with its own set of features and capabilities. The tools listed in this article are some of the best code review tools for developers. By using one of these tools, developers can improve the quality of their code and ensure that code changes are thoroughly tested and reviewed before being integrated into the main codebase. It is important to choose a tool that fits your team’s needs and workflow.