How to use?

Get up and running in minutes. This guide walks you through running your first code review from the terminal and shows common workflows you can adopt right away.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• ✅ Installed the CLI (Installation guide)

• ✅ Configured your Bito API key (aka Bito Access Key)

• ✅ A Git repository with code changes (committed or uncommitted)

Run your first code review

Review all changes (default)

From your project's root directory, run:

bitoreview review

Command format:

bitoreview review [files...] [options]

Options:

Flag	Description
-t, --type <type>	Review type: • all - Review both uncommitted and committed changes • uncommitted - Review only working directory changes Example: bitoreview review --type uncommitted
-t, --type <type> --base <branch-name>	Review type: • committed - Review only committed changes against the specified base branch. --base option is mandatory with this type. Example: bitoreview review --type committed --base main
-i, --interactive	Enable interactive fix application
--plain	Plain text output (no colors)
--prompt-only	Minimal output optimized for AI agents
--focus <area>	Focus area (see Focus Areas)
--mode <mode>	essential (HIGH only) or comprehensive (all)
--severity <level>	Filter by severity: high, medium, low
--base <branch>	Base branch for comparison
--base-commit <commit>	Specific commit for comparison
--scm <type>	Override SCM: git, svn, hg, p4, plain
-c, --config <path>	Custom config file path
--api-key <key>	Pass API key directly
--cwd <path>	Set working directory
-d, --debug	Enable debug output
-v, --verbose	Enable verbose logging
--max-retries <num>	Retry attempts (default: 2)
--no-color	Disable colored output

For complete reference of CLI commands, refer to Available commands.

Review only uncommitted changes

Use this while actively coding, before committing:

bitoreview review --type uncommitted

Review only committed changes

Review commits that haven't been pushed yet:

bitoreview review --type committed --base <branch-name>

--base option is mandatory with this type. Example: bitoreview review --type committed --base main

Review specific files

Limit the review scope to specific files:

bitoreview review src/api/*.js src/utils/helper.js

Review changes against a specific branch

Compare your current branch with another branch (for example, main):

bitoreview review --base main

Review changes against a specific commit

Compare your current code with a specific commit by providing its hash:

bitoreview review --base-commit abc123

Note: replace abc123 with your actual commit hash.

Short alias for bitoreview command

You can use br as a shortcut:

br review

br review --type uncommitted

Review modes

1

Essential mode (fast, critical issues only)

• Only shows HIGH severity issues

• Ideal for CI/CD pipelines and pre-commit hooks

• Quick, focused feedback

bitoreview review --mode essential

2

Comprehensive mode (full analysis)

• Shows all severity levels (HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW)

• Thorough analysis for pull requests and code audits

• This is the default mode.

bitoreview review --mode comprehensive

Focus areas

Use --focus <area> to concentrate the review on specific aspects:

Focus area	Description
security	SQL injection, authentication, data validation, XSS
performance	Bottlenecks, memory leaks, optimization opportunities
bugs	Logic errors, edge cases, runtime errors
best-practices	Code style, design patterns, maintainability
tests	Test coverage, test quality, testability
documentation	Comments, documentation, code clarity

Example:

bitoreview review --focus security --mode essential

Severity levels

Level	Description
high	Must-fix: crashes, security vulnerabilities, breaking changes
medium	Should-fix: best practice violations, moderate issues
low	Nice-to-have: formatting, minor refactoring suggestions

Filter by minimum severity:

bitoreview review --severity high

Output formats

1

Interactive mode (default)

Rich terminal UI with:

• Colored output

• Tables for metrics and issues

• Real-time progress spinners

bitoreview review

2

Plain text mode

No colors, suitable for logs and CI/CD:

bitoreview review --plain

Save to file:

bitoreview review --plain > review-report.txt

3

Prompt-only mode

Minimal output optimized for AI agents:

bitoreview review --prompt-only

Interactive fix application

Enable interactive mode to review and apply suggested fixes one by one:

bitoreview review --interactive
# or
bitoreview review -i

Interactive prompts

For each fixable issue, you'll see:

Option	Action
y (yes)	Apply this fix
n (no)	Skip this fix
s (skip)	Same as 'no'
a (all)	Apply all remaining fixes without prompting
q (quit)	Exit interactive mode

Backup files

When fixes are applied, backup files are automatically created with the .bitoreview-backup extension.

Multi-SCM support

The CLI automatically detects your version control system:

SCM	Detection
Git	.git directory
SVN	.svn directory
Mercurial	.hg directory
Perforce	.p4config file
Plain files	No VCS required

Override SCM detection

bitoreview review --scm git
bitoreview review --scm svn
bitoreview review --scm hg
bitoreview review --scm p4
bitoreview review --scm plain

Review types across SCMs

Review type	Git	SVN	Mercurial	Perforce
uncommitted	Working tree	Working copy	Working dir	Pending changes
committed	Committed	Revisions	Changesets	Submitted
all	Both	Both	Both	Both

Combine review options for precision

You can mix options to match your workflow:

# Quick security check before commit
bitoreview review --type uncommitted --focus security --mode essential

# High-severity performance issues vs main branch
bitoreview review --base main --focus performance --severity high

# Full review of selected files
bitoreview review src/auth/*.js --mode comprehensive

Configuration

Customize settings to match your project's needs and workflow preferences.

Configuration methods

AI Code Reviews in CLI can be configured in two ways, with each method overriding the previous:

1. Built-in defaults - Sensible defaults that work for most projects

2. CLI flags - Per-command overrides (highest priority)

For complete reference of review options, refer to Available commands.

Environment variables

Variable	Description
BITO_API_KEY	Bito API key (aka Bito Access key) for authentication

Getting help

View help directly from the CLI:

# Show help
bitoreview --help
bitoreview review --help
bitoreview config --help

# Show version
bitoreview --version

Still running into issues? 👉 Visit the Troubleshooting guide to find solutions for common installation, configuration, and runtime problems, along with tips for resolving frequent errors quickly.