Built for how developers actually review code

BeforeMerge is a code review knowledge base designed from the ground up for AI-assisted development. Every feature exists to make code reviews more consistent, thorough, and actionable.

Structured rule format

Every rule is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter. The format is consistent, predictable, and parseable by both humans and machines.

  • YAML frontmatter with title, impact, tags, CWE, OWASP mappings
  • Bad code example showing the vulnerability or anti-pattern
  • Good code example showing the corrected approach
  • Detection hints with grep patterns for finding violations
  • References to external documentation and standards
rule structure
---
title: Rule Title Here
description: "What this rule checks"
impact: CRITICAL | HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW
tags: [security, performance, ...]
cwe: ["CWE-XXX"]
owasp: ["AXX:2021"]
detection_grep: "pattern to find"
---

## Rule Title Here

**Impact: LEVEL (why it matters)**

Explanation of the vulnerability
or anti-pattern.

**Incorrect:**
```tsx
// Bad code with inline comments
```

**Correct:**
```tsx
// Good code with inline comments
```

**Detection hints:**
```bash
# Commands to find violations
```
Claude Code
$ npx skills add BeforeMerge/beforemerge-skills --skill nextjs-review
Cursor
$ npx skills add BeforeMerge/beforemerge-skills --skill nextjs-review
Codex
$ npx skills add BeforeMerge/beforemerge-skills --skill nextjs-review
OpenCode
$ npx skills add BeforeMerge/beforemerge-skills --skill nextjs-review

AI-native from day one

BeforeMerge rules are designed to be consumed by AI coding agents. Install a skill with one command, and your agent loads the rules automatically on every session.

The structured format means AI agents don't just read the rules — they understand the context, severity, and exactly what patterns to look for. No prompt engineering required.

Compatible with any tool that supports the skills protocol. One install, every AI code review session is enhanced.

CWE & OWASP mapped

Every security rule maps directly to CWE identifiers and OWASP Top 10 categories. This gives compliance teams traceability and developers immediate context about why a rule matters.

CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration identifiers on every security rule

OWASP

Top 10 2021 category mapping for compliance reporting

SQL Injection
CWE-89A03:2021
XSS via dangerouslySetInnerHTML
CWE-79A03:2021
Missing RLS Policies
CWE-862A01:2021
CSRF in Server Actions
CWE-352A01:2021
Open Redirect
CWE-601A01:2021
Path Traversal
CWE-22A01:2021

Framework-specific, not generic

Every rule targets real patterns in real frameworks. No abstract advice — actionable code examples that show exactly what to look for in your stack.

Next.js

App Router patterns, Server Actions auth, middleware bypass prevention, cache poisoning, and client data exposure.

15 security rules11 performance rules4 quality rules3 architecture rules

Supabase

RLS policy gaps, service role exposure, SQL injection via raw queries, auth pattern enforcement, and connection pooling.

8 security rules6 performance rules3 quality rules3 architecture rules

SOLID Architecture

Dependency direction, repository pattern, service layers, interface segregation, and domain entity boundaries.

4 security rules4 performance rules4 quality rules7 architecture rules

WordPress

wpdb SQL injection, nonce verification, output escaping, privilege escalation, and object caching patterns.

9 security rules6 performance rules3 quality rules3 architecture rules

Built-in detection hints

Every rule includes a detection_grep pattern in the frontmatter, plus full detection hint sections with commands AI agents can run to find potential violations.

This means AI agents don't just know the rules — they know how to actively search your codebase for violations. Proactive review, not passive checklists.

detection hints
# Frontmatter detection pattern:
detection_grep: "dangerouslySetInnerHTML"

# Full detection hints section:

# Find all uses of dangerouslySetInnerHTML
grep -rn "dangerouslySetInnerHTML" src/
  --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx"

# Check if DOMPurify is imported nearby
grep -rn "dangerouslySetInnerHTML" src/
  --include="*.tsx" -l | \
  xargs grep -L "DOMPurify|sanitize"

# AI agent runs these automatically
# and reports findings with context
skill structure
skills/
  nextjs-review/
    rules/
      security/
        sec-xss-dangerouslysetinnerhtml.md
        sec-sql-injection.md
        sec-csrf-server-actions.md
        sec-route-handler-auth.md
        ...
      performance/
        perf-server-vs-client.md
        perf-dynamic-imports.md
        perf-n-plus-one.md
        ...
      quality/
        qual-typescript-any-boundary.md
        qual-validate-boundaries.md
        ...
      architecture/
        arch-error-boundaries.md
        arch-loading-error-states.md
        ...
    SKILL.md
    metadata.json

Organized by domain

Rules are organized into four categories within each skill: security, performance, quality, and architecture. This makes it easy to find, contribute, and maintain rules.

  • Security XSS, SQL injection, auth bypass, CSRF, data exposure
  • Performance N+1 queries, bundle size, caching, lazy loading
  • Quality Type safety, error handling, validation, DRY patterns
  • Architecture SOLID principles, separation of concerns, patterns
Coming soon

Automated PR scanning

We're building a SaaS platform that automatically scans your pull requests against BeforeMerge rules. Connect your repo, configure your skills, and get review comments on every PR.

Automated PR Comments

BeforeMerge posts review comments directly on your pull requests with specific rule violations and fixes.

Custom Private Rules

Create organization-specific rules that encode your team's patterns and requirements.

Dashboard & Analytics

Track rule violations over time, see trends, and measure improvement across your codebase.

API Access

Integrate BeforeMerge scanning into your existing CI/CD pipeline and tooling.

Compliance Reporting

Generate reports showing CWE/OWASP coverage for security audits and compliance reviews.

Team Collaboration

Shared rule configurations, team dashboards, and collaborative rule authoring.