Code reviews are an essential part of the software development process. They help improve code quality, reduce bugs, and ensure that best practices are followed. Code review tools make the process more efficient and help teams collaborate better. In this post, we explore the Top 21 Code Review Tools and their major features.

1. GitHub Pull Requests

Major Features:

• Integrated with GitHub: GitHub Pull Requests is a built-in feature of GitHub, allowing developers to initiate and review pull requests easily.
• Inline Commenting: Reviewers can add comments inline on specific lines of code, facilitating clear and direct feedback.
• Code Discussions: Enables team members to have threaded discussions around code changes, making communication more transparent.
• Integration with CI/CD: Works seamlessly with GitHub Actions to trigger automated tests, ensuring the code meets quality standards before merging.

2. GitLab Merge Requests

Major Features:

• Merge Requests: Similar to GitHub’s pull requests, GitLab Merge Requests provide a platform for reviewing changes before they are merged into the main branch.
• Inline Comments and Suggestions: Reviewers can make inline comments and suggestions, which can be resolved before the code is merged.
• CI/CD Integration: GitLab offers powerful CI/CD pipelines that run tests automatically on every merge request, ensuring code quality.
• Approval Process: Multiple team members can be assigned to review and approve the changes before merging.

3. Crucible

Major Features:

• Comprehensive Code Review: Crucible by Atlassian is a robust tool for peer code reviews, supporting JIRA integration for task tracking.
• Flexible Review Workflow: Crucible allows developers to define flexible workflows for requesting reviews, adding reviewers, and tracking feedback.
• Inline Commenting: Provides inline commenting on code and issue tracking capabilities for bug fixing and improving the code.
• Customizable Review Metrics: Crucible offers metrics to track the efficiency of the review process, such as the number of comments and time taken per review.

4. Phabricator

Major Features:

• Code Review and Collaboration: Phabricator is a powerful suite of tools that includes code review, task management, and project collaboration.
• Differential: Phabricator’s Differential feature allows developers to submit code for review, manage inline comments, and view diffs.
• Version Control Integration: It integrates with Git, Mercurial, and Subversion, enabling review of code changes directly from these version control systems.
• Batch Changes: Phabricator allows users to bundle multiple changes into a single review for faster collaboration and decision-making.

5. Bitbucket Pull Requests

Major Features:

• Code Collaboration: Bitbucket supports pull requests for code collaboration, making it easier to conduct reviews within the Bitbucket platform.
• Inline Comments: Reviewers can make inline comments on specific code sections and track changes throughout the review process.
• CI/CD Integration: Integrates with Bitbucket Pipelines to trigger automated tests on each pull request, helping ensure quality before merging.
• Custom Approval Workflows: Allows teams to define custom workflows and approval processes to streamline the review process.

6. Review Board

Major Features:

• Web-Based Code Review: Review Board is a web-based code review tool that supports Git, Subversion, and other version control systems.
• Easy Code Navigation: It offers diff views and the ability to navigate changes easily, making it simpler for reviewers to assess code.
• Inline Comments: Allows reviewers to comment directly on specific lines of code or on the overall code changes.
• Integration with Bug Tracking: Review Board integrates with bug tracking systems like JIRA and Bugzilla, making it easier to track issues alongside code reviews.

7. Gerrit

Major Features:

• Code Review and Workflow: Gerrit is a powerful code review tool that integrates with Git, providing a more structured review and approval workflow.
• Inline Commenting and Change Management: Reviewers can make inline comments and suggest changes, which must be resolved before merging.
• Automated Testing: Gerrit integrates with CI systems to automatically trigger tests and validate code changes during the review process.
• Approval Gates: Gerrit requires approval from one or more reviewers before code can be merged, ensuring that changes meet the quality standards.

8. Collaborator

Major Features:

• Collaborative Code Review: Collaborator is a web-based code review tool that enables teams to work collaboratively on code changes and ensure the quality of each change.
• Rich Commenting and Reporting: It supports inline comments, suggestions, and provides comprehensive reports for tracking feedback and progress.
• Integration with Version Control: Integrates with Git, SVN, and Perforce, making it easy to track and review code changes from various repositories.
• Automated Workflow: Provides customizable workflows for reviewing, approving, and merging code, which can be automated through JIRA or other systems.

9. SmartBear CodeReviewer

Major Features:

• Flexible and Customizable Reviews: SmartBear CodeReviewer offers customizable review workflows, making it adaptable to any team or project structure.
• Integration with Git and SVN: It supports integration with Git, SVN, Mercurial, and other version control systems, simplifying code review in any environment.
• Review Analytics: Provides analytics to measure review efficiency and identify bottlenecks in the process.
• Collaborative Review: Teams can collaborate in real-time, adding comments, tagging team members, and discussing changes in an organized interface.

10. GitKraken Git GUI

Major Features:

• Git GUI with Code Review: GitKraken is a Git GUI that integrates with Git repositories and offers a streamlined code review process.
• Intuitive Interface: Provides a clean, intuitive interface to view commits, diffs, and other changes, making it easy to perform code reviews.
• Merge Conflict Resolution: GitKraken simplifies the merge conflict resolution process, helping teams review and merge code more efficiently.
• Cross-Platform: It works across Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent experience for teams.

11. Crucible by Atlassian

Major Features:

• Team-Based Collaboration: Crucible allows team members to perform peer reviews of code, track changes, and provide feedback.
• Inline Commenting: Reviewers can add inline comments directly on code snippets to suggest improvements and report issues.
• Integration with JIRA: Full integration with JIRA allows linking code reviews directly to issues, tracking progress, and facilitating continuous collaboration.
• Actionable Reporting: Crucible offers detailed reports on review progress, helping to track review completion rates and identify potential bottlenecks.

12. SourceLevel

Major Features:

• GitHub and GitLab Integration: SourceLevel integrates with GitHub and GitLab to provide detailed code review analytics and insights.
• Code Review Metrics: Provides metrics such as time spent on reviews, number of comments, and review completion time, helping teams improve their process.
• Pull Request Tracking: Tracks the status of pull requests, providing visibility into the review process.
• Code Quality Insights: SourceLevel offers insights into code quality, helping teams improve their coding standards through structured reviews.

13. Perforce Helix Swarm

Major Features:

• Code Review Platform: Helix Swarm by Perforce is a collaborative platform for code review, supporting integration with Git and SVN.
• Threaded Discussions: Allows developers to engage in threaded discussions on code changes, improving communication during the review process.
• CI/CD Integration: It integrates with Jenkins and other CI/CD tools to automatically test code during the review process.
• Custom Workflows: Helix Swarm supports custom review workflows for different development teams and projects.

14. Bitbucket Pipelines

Major Features:

• CI/CD Pipeline with Code Review: Bitbucket Pipelines combines CI/CD with code review, allowing teams to automate tests and review changes before merging.
• Pull Request Integration: It integrates directly with Bitbucket’s pull requests, making it easier to track changes and comments.
• Automated Build and Test: Each pull request triggers an automated build and test process, ensuring that changes meet quality standards before merging.
• Inline Discussions: Team members can discuss and leave comments on specific code lines within the pull request.

15. Reviewable

Major Features:

• Flexible Code Review Process: Reviewable offers a highly customizable review process, allowing teams to define the stages and workflows.
• Integration with GitHub: Works seamlessly with GitHub repositories, enabling developers to start code reviews directly from pull requests.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Developers can collaborate in real-time, adding comments and suggestions to improve the review process.
• Detailed Analytics: Provides review metrics and analytics to help teams assess the efficiency and quality of their code review process.

16. Rhino

Major Features:

• Mobile-Focused: Rhino is designed for mobile app developers, providing tools for reviewing iOS and Android code.
• Integration with Git: It integrates with Git, providing an easy way to manage pull requests and perform reviews.
• Code Quality Checks: Rhino can run automated code quality checks as part of the review process, ensuring that code adheres to best practices.
• Clear Visual Interface: It offers a clear, intuitive user interface, making it easy for developers to provide feedback on mobile code.

17. GitPrime

Major Features:

• Code Review Analytics: GitPrime helps teams understand the effectiveness of their code review processes through actionable analytics and metrics.
• Team Performance Insights: Offers detailed insights into individual and team performance during the code review process.
• Pull Request Management: It tracks pull request progress, ensuring that all reviews are completed in a timely manner.
• Integration with GitHub and GitLab: GitPrime integrates with GitHub and GitLab repositories to track code quality and team productivity.

18. CodeClimate

Major Features:

• Automated Code Review: CodeClimate automatically reviews code for quality and security issues, helping teams identify areas for improvement.
• Inline Feedback: Reviewers can leave inline comments to suggest improvements or discuss code quality.
• Quality Metrics: Provides metrics such as code duplication, complexity, and test coverage, helping teams improve their codebase.
• CI/CD Integration: Integrates with CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions, CircleCI, and Jenkins to automate testing and review processes.

19. Codacy

Major Features:

• Automated Code Review: Codacy automates the code review process, offering insights into code quality, security vulnerabilities, and best practices.
• Pull Request Integration: Integrates directly with GitHub and GitLab to review pull requests automatically and provide feedback on the code.
• Customizable Coding Standards: Teams can define custom coding standards and guidelines to ensure consistent coding practices across projects.
• Detailed Reporting: Offers comprehensive reports on code quality and issues, helping developers address problems before deployment.

20. SonarQube

Major Features:

• Continuous Code Quality: SonarQube continuously checks and analyzes the codebase for bugs, vulnerabilities, and code smells, ensuring high-quality software.
• Comprehensive Reporting: Provides detailed reports on code quality, including metrics on duplication, complexity, and test coverage.
• Integration with CI/CD: SonarQube integrates with Jenkins, GitHub, and Bitbucket for automated analysis during the build and deployment process.
• Multi-Language Support: Supports a wide range of programming languages including Java, C#, Python, and JavaScript.

21. Sourcetree

Major Features:

• Git GUI for Code Reviews: Sourcetree is a Git GUI client that provides a visual interface for managing repositories and reviewing code.
• Integration with Bitbucket: Sourcetree integrates directly with Bitbucket, making it easy to manage pull requests and code reviews.
• Commit History Visualization: Offers a visual representation of commit histories, making it easier to track changes during the review process.
• Branch Management: Provides simple tools for managing branches, helping teams organize and review code efficiently.

This post provides a comprehensive look at Top 21 Code Review Tools, showcasing their major features and how they can enhance the code review process. Let me know if you need more details or adjustments!