How to review Pull Requests with an AI agent
Pipe the PR diff into your agent and ask for a review focused on bugs and security, or connect the GitHub MCP server so it can read the PR itself. Claude Code uses claude -p, Codex uses codex exec, and Cursor's CLI uses agent -p. Treat it as a first pass, not the final approval.
Checked against official docs on Oct 26, 2026.
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Claude Code
gh pr diff 123 | claude -p "Review this diff for bugs, security issues and missing tests. List each with file and line."Or add the GitHub MCP server and ask it to review PR 123
Codex
codex exec "review the changes on this branch against main for bugs and security issues"Run it in CI on each PR if you want automatic first passes
Cursor
agent -p "review these changes for security issues" --output-format textOr open the branch in Cursor and ask the agent to review the diff
Grok Bot
Connect GitHub to Grok BotAsk it to review a PR and draft commentsIt shows the comments before posting them
Gotchas
- Agents miss business logic they were never told about. Give it the ticket.
- Do not paste secrets in a PR an agent will read.
- Keep a human approver on main.
The loadout for this job
- Tools: GitHub Copilot, Cursor
- Skill: Claude TDD skill
- Repo: GitHub MCP Server
- Model: Claude Opus 5.5
- Bot: Grok Bot
- Full setup: Best AI coding agent
FAQ
Can AI review pull requests?
Yes. It catches many bugs and style issues but still needs a human for intent and design.
Which is best for code review?
All three work. Use the one your team already runs and give it the PR context.
Related how-tos
Sources
Commands change. Check the linked docs before you run anything. All how-to guides