side-review is a lightweight, zero-config Codex skill for this human-mediated loop:
main implements → sidebar reviews read-only → main fixes → original sidebar rereviews
- Keep implementation and review separate.
- Carry only context the next conversation cannot infer.
- Report reproducible, evidence-backed findings.
- Fix only approved P1/P2; P3 never starts another round.
- Stop on repeated failure, no progress, or redesign needs.
- Use no state machine, report files, database, or sub-agents.
Append the skill to a normal main-conversation request:
Build a personal expense tracker with create, edit, delete, and monthly statistics.
$side-review
The main conversation implements and verifies first, then returns a compact handoff. Paste that handoff into a fresh review conversation.
In a fresh review conversation already attached to the same workspace, a bare invocation also works:
$side-review
It reviews the current Git changes by default. Invoke $side-review again in the original review conversation after fixes to rereview prior P1/P2 findings.
A fresh conversation must be able to access the same workspace. Without a workspace, project path, or reviewable changes, the skill must ask for the missing path or baseline. An incomplete review reports its limitation instead of claiming a clean result. The review phase never modifies project files, Git state, or permissions.