For years, CodeRabbit has been a trusted tool for AI-assisted code review on GitHub. By integrating with your repository, it reviews Pull Requests (PRs), flags issues, and helps teams maintain high-quality code.

But now, thanks to the new CodeRabbit CLI, you can bring those same reviews directly to your local development workflow—before your code even reaches GitHub.

Table of Contents

• 🚀 From PRs to Local Development
• ⚡ Running CodeRabbit Locally
• 🤖 Using CodeRabbit + Claude Code: Deep Integration & Workflow
  • What the Integration Enables
  • Example Workflow
  • Best Practices
• 🔒 Automating Reviews With Pre-Commit Hooks
• Final Thoughts
  • 🔗 Useful Links

🚀 From PRs to Local Development

Traditionally, CodeRabbit has lived inside GitHub PRs. That’s great for team collaboration, but sometimes you want fast feedback before raising a PR. With the CLI, you can:

• Run CodeRabbit locally in your terminal
• Review changes as part of your pre-commit workflow
• Catch mistakes before they leave your laptop

Some advantages of using CodeRabbit CLI vs using GitHub agent for PRs:

• Review in your flow: CodeRabbit CLI sits in your terminal, so you can code, review, and commit without leaving your dev environment.
• Catch “AI slop” & common mistakes: It flags hallucinations (erroneous AI-generated code), logic errors, memory leaks, security vulnerabilities, code smells, or missing unit tests.
• Context-aware reviews: The CLI’s reviewer is aware of file dependencies and code context, not just superficial patterns.
• One-step fixes: For simpler issues (e.g. import errors, syntax fixes), you can apply fixes with a click or command directly from the review.
• Supports AI agents & workflow tools: It’s built to integrate with agents like Claude Code, Cursor CLI, Gemini, etc. You can combine CodeRabbit feedback with AI-driven editing loops.
• Free tier with rate limits: You can use CLI reviews at no cost (under usage limits), making it accessible for individual devs.
• Early detection of serious issues: The CLI helps you catch race conditions, memory leaks, security flaws before committing.

These features make CodeRabbit CLI an excellent tool to elevate your “local-first” dev workflow.

⚡ Running CodeRabbit Locally

To check your staged changes:

git add -A
coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted
git reset

git add -A
coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted
git reset

To review the last commit:

coderabbit review --plain --type committed --base-commit HEAD~1

coderabbit review --plain --type committed --base-commit HEAD~1

To review any earlier commit:

# Compare commit abc123 to its parent
coderabbit review --plain --type committed --base-commit abc123

# Compare commit abc123 to its parent
coderabbit review --plain --type committed --base-commit abc123

🤖 Using CodeRabbit + Claude Code: Deep Integration & Workflow

If you’re using Claude Code, the integration with CodeRabbit CLI unlocks a truly autonomous coding loop — not just writing code, but also reviewing and fixing it as part of the same session.

What the Integration Enables

According to the CodeRabbit docs:

• Implement + review seamlessly: Claude can generate or edit code. You then stage those changes (git add -A) so CodeRabbit can review the diff. Claude can immediately apply fixes based on CodeRabbit’s feedback.
• Use --prompt-only mode: Outputs problem statements optimized for AI agents to parse (file, line, severity, suggestion).
• Create autonomous workflows: Claude could generate, review, and refactor in a continuous loop.
• Context-aware review data: CodeRabbit provides rich context that Claude can use to make targeted fixes.

Example Workflow

1. Authenticate inside Claude coderabbit auth login
2. Write code (Claude or you)
   For example, add a new REST API endpoint in your WordPress plugin.
3. Stage changes git add -A
4. Run a review in Claude coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted Or (optimized for Claude parsing): coderabbit review --prompt-only --type uncommitted
5. Review feedback appears
   CodeRabbit flags issues (sanitization, error handling, logic flaws, etc.).
6. Ask Claude to fix issues Apply the fixes suggested by CodeRabbit.
7. Re-run the review until clean coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted
8. Unstage if you prefer a clean index (git reset) or commit your changes

This creates a closed development loop:

• 🧑‍💻 Human/Claude → writes or updates code
• 🐇 CodeRabbit → reviews staged changes
• 🔧 Claude → applies improvements
• 🔄 Repeat until clean

At the end, you’ve got a high-quality commit ready to push — no surprises in your PR.

👉 In short: Claude writes, CodeRabbit reviews, Claude fixes. It’s like having a senior reviewer sitting beside you, but running instantly on your machine.

Best Practices

• If fixes don’t apply automatically, explicitly prompt Claude to use CodeRabbit’s feedback.

• Use --prompt-only for Claude so reviews are concise and AI-friendly.

• Let long reviews run asynchronously in Claude Code.

• Always authenticate (coderabbit auth login) before first use inside Claude.

🔒 Automating Reviews With Pre-Commit Hooks

Want to make sure every commit is checked before it lands in Git? You can integrate CodeRabbit into your pre-commit workflow with Husky:

npx husky add .husky/pre-commit "coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted"
chmod +x .husky/pre-commit

npx husky add .husky/pre-commit "coderabbit review --plain --type uncommitted"
chmod +x .husky/pre-commit

Now, every commit triggers a review. If CodeRabbit flags issues, the commit is blocked until they’re fixed.

Final Thoughts

CodeRabbit has evolved:

• On GitHub → it reviews PRs.
• On your machine → it reviews staged changes before commits.

Either way, the goal is the same: better code, less friction.

If you’re building WordPress plugins, themes, or enterprise projects, adding the CodeRabbit CLI to your workflow is an easy win.

🔗 Useful Links

• CodeRabbit Website
• CodeRabbit CLI Docs
• Husky Git Hooks
• Claude Code