Quickstart Guide

1. 1
   login

   Sign in using GitHub

   Open the Codessa homepage and click Sign up. You'll authorize access through GitHub OAuth — there's no new password to create.

2. 2
   download

   Install the GitHub App

   From your dashboard, add a repository and install the Codessa GitHub App, choosing which account or organization and which repositories it can access.

3. 3
   toggle_on

   Enable AI review on a repository

   AI review is off by default. Find the repository in Overview and toggle its status from Disabled to Enabled.

Enabling is per repository — turn it on for some and leave others off. Once enabled, every new pull request is reviewed automatically.

After enabling a repository, add a .github/.codessa.yml file to the root of that repository. This is where Codessa reads how strict to be, which language to write in, and what to focus on.

version: "1"
auto_review: true
# Review output: en | id | zh
language: "id"
# Review writing style: friendly | strict | concise
tone: "friendly"
review_rules:
  # Glob pattern file/folder what was skipped in the review
  ignore_paths:
    - "**/*.lock"
    - "node_modules/**"
    - "dist/**"
    - "public/assets/**"
analysis_focus:
  security: true
  performance: true
  bugs: true
  code_style: false  # If false, the AI will not comment on the writing style.
  # Strictness of displayed comments and commit status failures:
  #   critical_only -> display and fail status only for "critical" findings
  #   balanced      -> display all severity levels; fail status only for "critical" (default)
  #   strict        -> display all severity levels; fail status for "major" as well
  severity_threshold: "balanced"
# Additional instructions, any text is fine.
custom_instructions: |
  - Always provide a code snippet showing the fix for every bug found.
  - For Go files, ensure error handling is always checked (`if err != nil`).

• version

  Config schema version. Currently always "1".

• auto_review

  When true, every new pull request is reviewed automatically.

• language

  Language used for review comments: en, id, or zh.

• tone

  Writing style of the review: friendly, strict, or concise.

• review_rules.ignore_paths

  Glob patterns for files or folders Codessa should skip.

• analysis_focus

  Turn security, performance, bugs, and code_style checks on or off individually.

• severity_threshold

  How strict Codessa is about failing the commit status: critical_only, balanced, or strict.

• custom_instructions

  Free-form extra instructions for the AI reviewer.

Push the file to your default branch and it takes effect on the next pull request — nothing is re-reviewed retroactively.