FAQ

Short answers to the questions people ask before and after install. Longer how-tos live in the rest of the docs — start from the Introduction if you’re new.

How does it work?

Guided Review parses a real unified diff, optionally calls your AI provider for ordered review units (or walks file by file if no key is set), and shows them in a keyboard-first overlay mapped back to the real hunks.

• GitHub PRs: Install the Chrome extension, open a PR, click Start Guided Review — Your first review. Optionally comment and submit.
• Local git: run npx @guided-review/cli, pick a scope, optionally Structure With AI — CLI.

Pipeline detail: How a review plan works. Keyboard-first path: Keyboard shortcuts.

Extension or CLI?

Same clustering engine either way. You can use both on the same change over time (local pass, then PR pass).

Do you track anything?

The extension and CLI do not track review activity and do not talk to Guided Review servers — only your AI provider (and GitHub for the extension’s fetch/submit paths). The marketing site uses an analytics service for page views and a few CTA clicks. Full breakdown: Privacy & data.

Is it free forever?

Guided Review is free and open source today. If that changes, pricing will be published before any charge. The existing Apache-2.0 source can still be inspected and forked. Provider usage is billed separately by your provider (Configure AI provider).

Will this run up my API bill?

Annotating with a provider configured makes one call per diff chunk — small diffs are usually a single call; large ones are split by file (~60k characters per chunk). Cost depends on the diff size, number of chunks, and model pricing. Check your provider’s pricing and usage dashboard before running large reviews.

On the CLI, that call only runs when you click Structure With AI. On the extension, it runs when you start a review with a key configured.

You’re paying your provider directly — usage shows up on their dashboard, not ours. Guided Review does not meter or resell LLM traffic. Walking units, searching, drafting comments/notes, submitting to GitHub, and Generate Prompt do not call the model again.

Can I use it without an API key?

Yes, partially. Without a key you still get the overlay, real diff, file-per-unit plan, and diff search. On the extension you can draft comments; on the CLI you can leave notes. You won’t get AI clustering or unit summaries until you configure a provider. Submit still needs GitHub connected, not an LLM key.

Does the AI approve PRs?

No. The model clusters and orders changes and writes short guidance (How a review plan works). You read the code. On GitHub, you submit approve / comment / request changes. The CLI never posts a GitHub review. Take unit summaries with a grain of salt.

Which AI providers?

Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, and Grok (xAI). You bring your own API key. The CLI can also reuse a coding agent already on the machine (Claude Code, Codex, or Grok). Setup and model list: Configure AI provider. Connection failures: Troubleshooting.

We’ll keep adding more providers — request one on the repo, or open a PR that adds yours.

Do I need GitHub auth?

Not to generate a plan or walk units (Your first review, CLI). Yes, if you want to submit a review (line comments and overall decision) from the extension. Drafting comments works offline of GitHub auth. The CLI never uses GitHub OAuth. Scopes, SSO, and disconnect: Connect GitHub.

Does it work outside github.com?

The extension content script targets https://github.com/* only — public and private repos on github.com, not GitHub Enterprise Server, GHEC enterprise hosts with a different hostname, or other forges. The CLI reviews any local git repo on your machine — no GitHub host required. If you need the extension on another host, open an issue or PR on the repo.

Where is the code?

github.com/nshntarora/guidedreview (Apache-2.0). Issues and PRs welcome when something’s wrong or unclear. Install the Chrome extension from the Web Store, or the CLI via npx @guided-review/cli.