DEV Community

Deduped
Deduped

Posted on

Review every pull request with Claude Code Action on GitHub

#ai #claude #opensource #github

You can have Claude review every pull request and answer @claude mentions in issues without running a server. anthropics/claude-code-action is a GitHub Action that runs on your own runner. Here is the setup from its README, plus the review pattern it points to.

What it does

The README calls it a general-purpose Claude Code action for GitHub PRs and issues. It picks its mode from your workflow context, so you do not configure it: it responds to @claude mentions, to issue assignments, or to an explicit prompt in a workflow. It can answer questions about code, review a PR, and implement simple fixes. It runs on your GitHub runner, and API calls go to the provider you choose: Anthropic direct, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI or Microsoft Foundry.

The quickest setup

Open Claude Code in your repo terminal and run:

claude
/install-github-app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The command walks you through installing the GitHub app and adding the required secrets. Two catches from the README: you must be a repository admin, and this quickstart is only for direct Anthropic API users. For Bedrock, Vertex or Foundry, follow docs/cloud-providers.md in the repo.

Make it review every PR

The README links a Solutions Guide (docs/solutions.md) with complete examples. The review patterns it lists:

  • Automatic PR code review
  • Path-specific reviews that trigger on critical file changes
  • Special handling for external contributors
  • Custom review checklists that enforce team standards
  • Security-focused, OWASP-aligned reviews
  • Issue triage and labeling
  • Scheduled repository health checks

Start with the automatic review example from that guide, copy it into .github/workflows/, and open a test PR. Then narrow it: limit it to the folders where a mistake is expensive, and add your own checklist to the prompt.

Tip: the v1.0 inputs are prompt and claude_args. If you copied a workflow from an older blog post, the README's Migration Guide covers upgrading from v0.x.

Things to check before you trust it

  • Tool access is limited by default. Extra tools are enabled through configuration, so give it only what the review needs.
  • Read docs/security.md for access control, permissions and commit signing before you let it push code.
  • Treat its review as a first pass. It does not replace a human approving the merge.

What we did not verify

  • We followed the README and did not run the action on a live repository for this post.
  • Workflow syntax changes between versions, so confirm against the repo's current docs.

Our walkthrough of the install is on the install the GitHub app from Claude Code page, and the repo overview is here. For alternatives, see best AI repos for code review.

Want the setup commands for 50 AI repos people actually ship with? Get the free AI Repos That Actually Ship pack: https://dedupedai.com/ship-pack/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=shippack

Top comments (0)