I Built a Local AI Code Reviewer That Reads Your Entire Codebase (and PRs!) for Free

As developers, we all want AI to review our code. But sending proprietary, unreleased code to third-party cloud APIs (like OpenAI or Anthropic) isn’t always an option—especially if you’re working on client projects or under strict NDAs.

I wanted an AI code reviewer that was 100% private, free, and actually understood the context of my entire project. So, I built one using Python and Ollama.

Here’s a look at what it does and how you can use it!

What it does

It’s a CLI tool that uses local LLMs (like qwen2.5-coder or llama3) to review your code. No API keys, no subscriptions, and zero data leaves your machine.

But I didn’t want to just paste code snippets into a terminal. I wanted a tool that actually fits into a developer’s workflow. Here is what it supports:

1. Review an Entire Codebase
Just point it at your project folder. The app will recursively gather your files, automatically ignoring bulky folders like node_modules, .git, vendor, and .next, and give you a full architectural review.

python3 app.py ./my-project/

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2. Review Pull Requests Automatically
Want to review a PR? Just pass the GitHub PR URL. The tool auto-detects that it’s a diff, fetches the changes, and switches into “PR Review Mode.” Instead of looking at architecture, it zeroes in on the + lines to find bugs, edge cases, and missing tests introduced by the PR.

python3 app.py https://github.com/facebook/react/pull/30000

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(Working on a private repo? Just pipe it: gh pr diff 123 | python3 app.py)

3. Pipe Anything Into It
You can pipe individual files, diffs, or snippets straight from your terminal.

cat src/main.py | python3 app.py

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🛠️ How to run it yourself

1. Install Ollama and pull a solid coding model:

   ollama pull qwen2.5-coder

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1. Clone the repo and install the requirements:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

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1. Run it!

   python3 app.py ./your-code

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💡 The Magic Under the Hood

The script dynamically switches its prompt based on what you feed it. If you give it a directory, it looks for separation of concerns and system design. If you feed it a Git Diff, it laser-focuses on unintended side effects and edge cases in the modified lines.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! What features would you like to see added next?

AI Code Reviewer

Review code locally with Ollama. No API keys, no cloud — your code stays on your machine.

Setup

1. Install Ollama and pull a model:

ollama pull qwen2.5-coder

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1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

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Usage

You can use the AI Code Reviewer to analyze an entire codebase, a single file, or a quick snippet.

Review an Entire Codebase

Simply provide the path to your project folder. The tool will automatically gather your code while ignoring massive folders (like node_modules, .git, vendor) and large data files to keep the review efficient.

python3 app.py ./my-project/

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Review a Single File

Pass the exact file you want to review.

python3 app.py src/main.py

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Review a Snippet (Interactive)

Run the script without any arguments. You can paste your code directly into the terminal. Type END on a new line when you’re finished.

python3 app.py

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Pipe Code In

You can also…