Multi-LLM Code Review

Parallel reviews using gateway MCP tools. Each LLM has different strengths — combine for comprehensive coverage.

LLM Strengths

Dispatch Defaults

Apply these on every dispatch unless the caller has explicitly overridden a rule in the current turn:

1. Omit `model` — let the gateway use its configured default per CLI. Nominating a model risks deprecated IDs (o3, o3-pro, gpt-4o, …) and capability mismatches. Call list_models only when the caller has asked for a specific variant.
2. `approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed"` is the skill dispatch default (the gateway schema default is "legacy"). It gates the request before execution; Claude then runs with --permission-mode bypassPermissions, Gemini with --approval-mode yolo, and Codex still needs fullAuto:true for autonomous file/shell work. Prefer this over raw bypass flags.
3. No wallclock timeout; poll every 60 s — let sync auto-defer at 45 s or use *_request_async. Poll llm_job_status once every 60 seconds. Do not cancel jobs for taking too long; cancel only on explicit instruction or hard failure. idleTimeoutMs (no-output safeguard) is separate.
4. Iterate until unconditional APPROVED (review dispatches only) — every review prompt must end with "End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings." On NOT APPROVED or conditional approval, consolidate findings, dispatch fixes (Codex + fullAuto:true), re-dispatch the review to the same reviewer. Repeat until unconditional APPROVED. Escalate after 3 rounds without convergence. This rule does not apply to pure implementation or non-review analysis dispatches.

Workflow

1. Discover Models (optional)

Only when the caller has asked for a specific variant:

list_models()

Otherwise omit model and proceed.

1a. Discover Provider Capabilities

Before applying provider-specific controls such as tool allowlists, MCP server fields, session resume, media skills, or output formats, ask the gateway for the provider surface:

provider_tool_capabilities({cli:"claude"})
provider_tool_capabilities({cli:"codex"})
provider_tool_capabilities({cli:"gemini"})
provider_tool_capabilities({cli:"grok"})
provider_tool_capabilities({cli:"mistral"})

Use the reported unsupportedInputs and controls instead of assuming all CLIs share Claude's tool names or MCP semantics. The same data is available as provider-tools://{provider} resources.

2. Send Parallel Reviews

Sync tools auto-defer at 45s — if response contains status:"deferred", poll jobId via llm_job_status every 60s, fetch with llm_job_result.

Tip — share the stable prefix across reviewers: when the same long brief / file dump is sent to every reviewer, switch from prompt to the structured promptParts field. The gateway concatenates in canonical order system → tools → context → task, so every reviewer sees byte-identical stable prefix bytes, raising implicit cache hit rate at each provider. prompt and promptParts are mutually exclusive — the runtime returns provide exactly one of \prompt\ or \promptParts\` if both are supplied. After the round, read cache-state://prefix/{hash}` (tokens/hashes only, no prompt text) to confirm reviewers actually shared the prefix.

Claude — Quality & Architecture:

claude_request({prompt:"Review changes in {path} for architecture, design patterns, maintainability, documentation gaps. Read the files directly. Specific line numbers and fixes. End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,optimizeResponse:true})

Codex — Logic & Correctness:

codex_request({prompt:"Analyze {path} for logic bugs, off-by-one, missing error handling, race conditions, test gaps. Read the files directly. Severity: critical/high/medium/low. End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",fullAuto:true,approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,optimizeResponse:true})

Gemini — Security & Edge Cases:

gemini_request({prompt:"Security audit {path}: injection, auth bypasses, data leaks, OWASP Top 10, crash-causing edge cases. Read the files directly. End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,optimizeResponse:true})

Grok — Independent Diversity (optional 4th reviewer):

grok_request({prompt:"Independent review of {path}. Read the files directly. Flag issues the other reviewers may have missed, contradict findings you disagree with, and call out blind spots. End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,optimizeResponse:true})

Add Grok when consensus matters (high-stakes changes, security-critical paths) or to break ties between the other three. Auth must already be set up (grok login OAuth or GROK_CODE_XAI_API_KEY).

3. Synthesize

1. Deduplicate — Remove findings from multiple LLMs
2. Prioritize — critical > high > medium > low
3. Cross-validate — Unique findings from one LLM → verify
4. Categorize — Security, Correctness, Performance, Maintainability

4. Consolidated Report

## Code Review Summary
### Critical (must fix)
- [Issue] — found by [LLM], severity: critical
### High Priority
- ...
### Medium Priority
- ...
### Suggestions
- ...
### Positive Observations
- ...

Large Codebases

Use async for parallel execution:

claude_request_async({prompt:"Review all TS files in src/ for architecture/quality... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,correlationId:"review-quality"})
codex_request_async({prompt:"Check all TS files in src/ for logic bugs/test gaps... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",fullAuto:true,approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",optimizePrompt:true,correlationId:"review-bugs"})
gemini_request_async({prompt:"Security audit all TS files in src/... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",correlationId:"review-security"})
grok_request_async({prompt:"Independent diversity review of all TS files in src/... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",correlationId:"review-grok"})
mistral_request_async({prompt:"Independent Vibe review of all TS files in src/... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed",correlationId:"review-mistral"})

Poll with llm_job_status every 60s, retrieve with llm_job_result when terminal. Jobs are durable — if your polling wrapper times out, re-issue the same call (the gateway auto-dedups onto the live job) or fetch by jobId later (default 30-day retention).

For iterative Gemini reviews, pass sessionId for resumability:

gemini_request_async({prompt:"Deep security audit of src/... End with APPROVED or NOT APPROVED with findings.",sessionId:"gemini-security-review",approvalStrategy:"mcp_managed"})
// Response: resumable:true

Anti-Patterns

These patterns undermine review quality and trigger review integrity warnings:

• Don't inline code in `<code>` blocks — provide file paths and let reviewers read files directly
• Don't suppress tools — never include "do not run tools" or "respond only based on code provided" in review prompts
• Don't use `allowedTools:[]` for reviews — reviewers need tool access to

verify claims

• Don't copy tool names between providers — Claude's Read / Grep /

Glob names are not Grok, Codex, Gemini, or Vibe allowlist names. Check provider_tool_capabilities first, or omit provider tool allowlists.

• Do provide file paths — "Review changes in src/auth.ts" instead of dumping file contents

Iteration Loop (mandatory)

Reviews are not one-shot. The caller runs this loop:

1. Dispatch reviewer(s) with the verdict clause in the prompt
2. Poll every 60s if deferred; fetch result
3. Parse verdict from each reviewer — APPROVED / NOT APPROVED / conditional
4. Any NOT APPROVED or conditional → consolidate findings → dispatch fixes (Codex + fullAuto:true) → re-dispatch same review → goto 2
5. All APPROVED (unconditional) → done
6. After 3 rounds without convergence, escalate to the user

"APPROVED with residual notes" counts as approved only if notes are purely informational.

Tips

• Always use optimizePrompt:true and optimizeResponse:true
• Use sessions for iterative reviews (review → fix → re-review). Claude,

Codex, Gemini, Grok, and Mistral carry real provider continuity when their provider-specific session rules are satisfied

• For security-sensitive: approvalPolicy:"strict" (in addition to default mcp_managed)
• Include file paths and line numbers for actionable feedback
• If CLI unavailable, skip gracefully and note gap
• Use all five async variants for true parallel reviews when you want Grok's

independent perspective and Mistral Vibe's fifth review

• Pass sessionId to gemini_request_async / grok_request_async for resumable follow-up
• Check for status:"deferred" in sync responses — poll jobId every 60s if present
• Gateway mcpServers default to ["sqry"]; add exa, ref_tools, or trstr only when the review needs those capabilities
• Re-issuing after a polling timeout is safe — auto-dedup (default 1 h window, LLM_GATEWAY_DEDUP_WINDOW_MS) reattaches the new call to the existing job. Use forceRefresh:true only when inputs genuinely changed