Show HN: CodeReview – An iPad app for reviewing, editing, merging pull requests

Show HN: CodeReview – An iPad app for reviewing, editing, merging pull requests(codereview.io)

36 points by jacksonh 12 years ago | 24 comments

If this was free + IAP I would install it. Maybe the free version supports 1 repo or (following the GitHub model) unlimited public repos.

I think $20 is a great price point (honestly I think you have room to grow) but you need to give people an opportunity to experience the benefits of the product.

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Yeah, I actually joked about doing a version that would randomly insert meow in your comments (with increasing density the more you use it) for free.

With WWDC looming there is a chance trials might get announced. If not I'll probably do something.

skyebook 12 years ago | | |

I think randomly added 'meow' and other animal noises would be pretty funny. Might actually be a disincentive to paying for those who can laugh a little

joshschreuder 12 years ago | | |

I haven't heard any rumours about trials in iOS for ages, has it come up again recently?

mful 12 years ago |

I don't mean to be abrasive, but landing page could not be less informative. I'm a full-time developer and a big believer in code review, but I have no interest in downloading the app based on the website -- I don't know what it is, really. I think you are going to convert a lot better by actually explaining why I should download the app, rather than just providing a link. Why is this better than current tools? Does this integrate with Github? Bitbucket?

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Yeah I agree. I'm going to put more effort into the site eventually. In the short term there are details on http://blog.codereview.io and on the actual App Store page ( http://tinyurl.com/codereview-appstore ).

To directly answer your questions: it is GitHub only. I see the main benefit vs other tools is a streamlined and focused workflow for reviewing and collaborating on pull requests. Also the iPad form factor is a nice change of pace vs reviewing on your computer.

jacksonh 12 years ago |

I've always found code review to be incredibly valuable. I remember a long time ago reading that NASA studied a bunch of different development methodologies and found code review to be the most effective at reducing defects. However, we already sit in front of our computers too much, and its hard to shift mindsets from coding to editing.

The iPad seemed like a good alternative to reviewing code on your computer. You can get away from your desk, and change your mindset.

callahad 12 years ago | |

There's an interesting paper from a few years back looking at software defect incidence in Windows Vista and trying to figure out what models did best at predicting error-prone modules.

Turns out, in that case, organizational structure had better precision and recall than any of five other models (code churn, cycolmatic complexity, test coverage, etc.)

"The Influence of Organizational Structure on Software Quality: An Empirical Case Study" -- http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/70535/tr-2008-11.pdf

jacksonh 12 years ago | | |

This is awesome. Thanks. Love this kind of stuff. If you are interested there is a book "Making Software: What Really Works, and Why We Believe It" that takes a scientific approach to evaluating software practices.

jbevain 12 years ago |

I've been using this since the beta. The entire code of my startup is on GitHub so it really helps to be able to monitor and triage incoming changes quickly.

The app itself is still missing some things for my particular workflow: I'd like to have visibility on incoming code that's not part of pull requests. Like simple pushes to branches.

I'd also have the possibility to unsubscribe from repos directly from the app.

sirn 12 years ago |

I've been playing around with it for few minutes and it looks promising. Few things I think it would be nice for the app to have:

- Comment preview.

- Symbol row on top of keyboard (such as ` and Markdown symbols.)

- Font selection for code view.

- Some indication of which line is currently being tapped in code view.

Also, I couldn't get the app to list pull requests from a repo with Issues disabled. A bug, maybe?

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Thanks sirn. The top two things are on the roadmap. Especially preview.

Regarding font selection, which fonts would you like? I'll have to bundle the fonts with the app, so I'd like to hear what people are into. Right now it uses Meslo for source and Avenir everywhere else.

GitHub recently fixed the unable to fetch PR updates when issues are disabled thing. You aren't using GitHub Enterprise are you?

sirn 12 years ago | | |

Source Code Pro and Inconsolata-dz would be nice. :-)

I'm definitely not using GitHub Enterprise. From what I've seen in the connection log, pull requests from repo with issues disabled are completely missing.

Also thanks for the app! I can now finally do a code review on a toilet. Yay!

Mister_Snuggles 12 years ago |

I'd like to suggest a little more information about what CodeReview is.

The web page doesn't give me any real hints. The App Store listing only shows in the title that it's a GitHub-only thing.

I don't suggest overloading with unnecessary detail, but it would be nice to know something before spending $20.

coralreef 12 years ago |

Perhaps double the size of the screenshot, so people can see the app features more clearly?

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Yeah, part of the problem is they are all retina. Lots more screenshots here: http://tinyurl.com/codereview-appstore and on the blog: http://blog.codereview.io

gisenberg 12 years ago | | |

Probably more important to have that on the product page, yeah? I looked at the landing page, couldn't see what was going and had a nagging animation to install the app before being given sufficient information on what it was. Not a great experience.

Aldo_MX 12 years ago |

> You must be at least 17 years old to download this app.

Why is a code review app rated as 17+?

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Basically because you can access external web content. Either that or maybe I clicked the wrong box somewhere, but I'm pretty sure all apps that let you browse the web get the 17+

michaeljdeeb 12 years ago | | |

Interesting. It looks like "Unrestricted Web Access" is what causes it. Chrome is in the same boat, but for some reason Facebook and Twitter don't have the same requirements even though they allow access to web content via links.

I'm not sure if this would work for your app, but maybe you could restrict access to just github.com? I'd also second a video or something more insightful on the landing page of the app's website.

piratebroadcast 12 years ago |

Add an about page, more screenshots, a bit about the team. Ya know, salesmanship.

AH4oFVbPT4f8 12 years ago |

Does this only support GitHub? Any plans to add BitBucket?

jacksonh 12 years ago | |

Right now its GitHub. Definitely BitBucket is something I'll look at in the future. Internally everything is abstracted away to support different backends. But I want to make sure I totally nail GitHub before taking on another provider.