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A Python reviewer that focuses on your changes can keep old, unrelated warnings from crowding a review. The key is defining “changed”: a file in a Git diff, a particular changed line, or a function that contains one are different scopes. A focused reviewer is useful for narrowing attention, but it does not replace linting, type checking, tests, or review of surrounding behavior.
What “only reviews the code you changed” means
A change-aware reviewer needs a comparison point and a scope rule. “Changed” might mean files modified against HEAD, staged changes, a pull request compared with its base branch, or new untracked files. The scope can then be the whole changed file, only changed lines, or the enclosing function or class when one of its lines changes.
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Those choices affect what appears in a report. A file-level rule can flag a problem on an untouched line in a modified file. A changed-line rule can avoid that finding, but may miss a problem caused by how the edit interacts with nearby unchanged code. A function-level rule broadens the context while still excluding unrelated functions.
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Avouch provides a documented example of this design, but its behavior should not be assumed to describe the project named in this article. Its repository says the default local review compares changes with HEAD and includes untracked files. It selects changed Python files using Git, parses them with Python’s standard ast module, and limits many findings to functions or classes whose source spans overlap added or changed lines. Avouch’s repository documents that implementation.
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The example illustrates why a reviewer should explain both its comparison base and its finding policy. A local check before a push might examine a different set of changes than a pull-request check comparing a branch with its target. Without those details, “changed-code review” is too vague to predict what a report covers.
What a focused reviewer can and cannot tell you
AST-based rules can inspect Python’s parsed structure and report findings with file and line locations. A project can use that structure for targeted checks, but no implementation details or measured results for the tool described by the title are established here. There is no basis to claim a particular accuracy rate, time saving, or number of bugs caught.
Restricting findings to changed code can keep inherited issues out of the immediate report. That is a scope trade-off, not proof that the remaining findings are more accurate. A changed line can alter behavior in unchanged code, and related behavior may live in another file. Reviewers still need enough surrounding context to reason about the change.
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Linting and type checking
Lint and type checks answer different questions from a custom, change-focused structural reviewer. Ruff describes itself as a linter, not a type checker, and recommends pairing it with a type checker such as mypy, Pyright, or Pyre. See Ruff’s FAQ. Do not assume these tools use the same changed-line scope as a custom reviewer unless that behavior has been configured and verified for the project.
Tests and human review
A static finding is not a substitute for reproducing a reported problem, checking corner cases, and running relevant tests. The Python Developer’s Guide emphasizes those practices and advises reviewers to report the system and version they actually tested. Human review can also assess intent and interactions that a narrow rule may not capture.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Local checks and pull-request reporting serve different workflows
A local command-line reviewer can give a developer a focused report before a change is pushed. In a pull-request workflow, reviewdog documents support for unified diff input and reporting diagnostics or suggestions through supported review reporters. GitHub reviews can present comments and suggestions, approvals, and requests for changes; that reporting surface is separate from which checks run or how they define the diff.
GitHub Copilot code review is a hosted pull-request option, not a direct equivalent to a local Python-only checker. GitHub says it reviews pull-request changes and can suggest fixes; automatic review options depend on configuration and plan or license eligibility. Its documentation warns that it may miss problems or make mistakes, so feedback should be validated and supplemented with human review. See GitHub’s Copilot code review documentation and its overview of Copilot code review.
Quick Recap
How to decide whether changed-only review fits
- Use a focused reviewer when you want project-specific findings on a defined set of changed Python code, especially when older findings would otherwise obscure the current patch.
- Document the scope by stating the Git comparison point, whether untracked files count, and whether findings apply to files, lines, or enclosing functions and classes.
- Keep broader checks for concerns outside that scope: linting, type checking, relevant tests, and a review of surrounding behavior.
- Choose reporting to fit the workflow: a local CLI is suited to immediate feedback, while CI or pull-request reporting can place diagnostics alongside a hosted review.
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