Skip to main content What are Reviews? Code reviews in Diversion let you request feedback on your changes before merging them into your main branch. Team members can review your code, leave comments, approve changes, or request modifications.
How Reviews Work A review compares two refs (branches or commits) in your repository:
Base ref: The target where changes will be merged (usually main)
Compare ref: The branch or commit containing your changes
When you create a review, Diversion calculates the differences between these two refs and presents them to your team for feedback.
Creating a Review There are two ways to create a review in Diversion:
Method 1: Create Review from Branch (Most Common) Use this when you want to compare two branches and get feedback before merging.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Navigate to Reviews section
Open your repository in Diversion web app
Click on the “Reviews” icon in the top header bar
Click “Create new review” button
Select branches to compare
Base branch : Select the branch you want to merge INTO (usually main)
Click the dropdown under “Base branch”
Choose your target branch (e.g., master, main, develop)
Compare branch : Select the branch WITH your changes
Click the dropdown under “Compare branch”, or start typing to search for a branch
Choose your feature branch (e.g., feature/user-dashboard)
Fill in review details
Title (required): Short description of your changes
Example: “Add user authentication system”
Description (optional): Detailed explanation
Explain WHY you made these changes
Mention any important context
Add reviewers (optional)
Click the “Reviewers” dropdown
Select one or more teammates who should review your changes
You can skip this and add reviewers later
Click “Create review”
The review will be created immediately
Assigned reviewers will receive email notifications
You’ll be taken to the review page
Method 2: Create Review from Merge Dialog Use this when you’re ready to merge but need approval first
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Navigate to the branch you want to merge
Go to the “Branches” section in Diversion web app
Find your feature branch (the one WITH your changes) in the Branches list
Click on that branch and choose the merge direction
Notes: You cannot merge the branch you’re currently on. You must click on a different branch to see merge options
Choose “Create review request”
A dialog appears asking how you want to proceed
You’ll see two options:
“Create review request” : Request review before merging“Preview merge” : See merge diff without creating review
Click “Create review request”
If a review already exists for these branches, click “Go to review requests”
Fill in review details
If a review already exists for these branches, it will take you there
Otherwise, you’ll see the review creation form
The base and compare branches are already filled in
Add title, description, and reviewers
Click “Create review”
What You Need for All Methods Every review requires:
Base branch : Where you want to merge your changes (e.g., master)Compare branch : The branch with your changesTitle : A clear, concise description (required)Description : More detailed explanation (optional but recommended)Reviewers : Teammates who should review (optional, can add later)
Reviewing Someone’s Changes When You’re Asked to Review You’ll get an email notification when someone requests your review.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Open the review
Click the link in your email notification, OR
Go to Diversion web app → “Reviews” section
Find the review in the list (you’ll see your name as a reviewer)
You can filter reviews by status (Open, Closed) and by whether they’re your reviews
Click on the review to open
Look at the review details
At the top, you’ll see:
Review title and description
Who created the review
Which branches/commits are being compared
Current status and other reviewers
Review the changes
You’ll see two tabs:
“Conversation” : Shows all comments and discussion“Files Changed” : Shows the code diff
Click “Files Changed” to see what code changed
Leave comments (explained below)
Add general comments about the overall changes
Add inline comments on specific lines of code
Make your decision
Go to the “Files Changed” tab
Click “Review changes”
Choose one of these options:
“Approve” : Changes look good, ready to merge“Request Changes” : Something needs to be fixed
Add an optional comment to explain your decisio
Click the “Submit review” to submit your decision
Done!
The review author receives notification of your decision
Your review status will be updated and appear both in the conversation and on your avatar under the “Reviewers” section
Use general comments for big-picture feedback about the whole review.
How to add a general comment:
Open the review page
Go to the “Conversation” tab
Scroll to the comment box at the bottom
Type your comment
Click “Comment” button
How to reply to a comment:
Find the comment you want to reply to in the “Conversation” tab
Type your response
Click “Reply” to post your reply
Examples of general comments:
“The overall approach looks great!”
“Have you considered how this handles edge cases?”
“This needs unit tests before we can merge”
“Great work on the error handling!”
Use inline comments to point out specific issues in particular lines of code.
How to add an inline comment:
Open the review page
Go to the “Files Changed” tab
Find the file you want to comment on
Click the line number in the diff viewA comment box appears on the right side of the screen
Type your comment about that specific line
Click “Comment” button
How to add a file-level comment:
Open the review page
Go to the “Files Changed” tab
Find the file you want to comment on
Click the ”+” button above the changed version of the file
A comment box appears on the right side of the screen
Type your comment about the entire file
Click “Comment” button
Examples of inline comments:
“This function should handle the case where user is null”
“Consider using a constant here instead of magic number”
“Great improvement over the previous version!”
“This could cause a race condition if called concurrently”
Viewing Review Status Your status as a reviewer:
REQUESTED : You haven’t responded yet - review is waiting for youAPPROVED : You approved the changesCHANGES REQUESTED : You requested modifications
The review’s overall status:
OPEN (blue): Review is active, may still need approvalsMERGED (purple): Changes were approved and mergedCLOSED (gray): Review was closed without merging
Editing Review Details After creating a review, you can edit the title and description by clicking the pencil icon next to them, or edit reviewers by clicking the settings icon next to the reviewers section.
Working with Review Feedback When Changes Are Requested
Read through all the comments carefully
Make the requested changes on your branch
Commit the fixes (they’ll automatically show up in the review)
Reply to comments to explain what you changed
Ask reviewers to take another look
Updating Your Branch If you’re using a branch review, any new commits you push will automatically appear in the review. Reviewers will see:
All your original changes
Any new commits you added to address feedback
The complete, updated diff
When You Get Approvals Once all reviewers have approved (or enough approvals based on your team’s policy):
Do a final check that everything looks good
Click the “Merge review” button on the review page to merge the changes
The review status will automatically change to MERGED
Notifications You’ll get email notifications for:
When someone requests your review
When someone comments on your review
When reviewers approve or request changes
When a review is merged or closed
All notifications include a link to view the review in Diversion. 
