Table of contents

• Why you might want an AI code review plugin
• What to look for in a good AI code review plugin
• Notable AI code review plugins for VS Code
• How to adopt an AI code review plugin in your workflow
• Sample workflow: with Graphite + Diamond
• Cautions and best practices
• Conclusion
• FAQ

Even with linters, static analyzers, and human reviewers, code review remains a bottleneck in many development workflows. An AI-powered code review plugin can help in several ways:

• Fast feedback loop: You catch bugs, security issues, style inconsistencies early — before a formal pull request or even before pushing.
• Augment human reviewers: The AI acts like a preliminary "second pair of eyes," surfacing issues you might miss.
• Uniform code quality: AI can enforce or suggest coding standards across a team, reducing style friction.
• Scalability: For teams with many contributors or frequent small changes, automation helps reduce review load.
• Developer learning: For less experienced developers, seeing suggestions or explanations inline helps teach idiomatic patterns and best practices.

That said, AI review plugins are not perfect. They make mistakes, miss context, or suggest suboptimal code. So they should complement, not replace, human review.

What to look for in a good AI code review plugin

When evaluating plugins (or extensions) for VS Code, key criteria include:

With these in mind, let’s survey some of the leading options.

Notable AI code review plugins for VS Code

Graphite (with Diamond reviewer)

Graphite is more than just a VS Code extension, it’s a developer productivity platform with strong support for stacked pull requests, branch management, and built-in AI review.

Graphite’s Diamond AI reviewer analyzes pull requests and gives feedback in PRs, while in VS Code, the Graphite extension lets you manage branches, view stacked PRs, and integrate with the CLI. In effect, your review pipeline is unified with your git workflow, and you get AI feedback tied to your diff context in the Graphite UI.

Pros

• Deep integration with PR / Git workflows
• Stacked PR support in editor
• AI feedback on diffs, tied into Graphite's review model

Cons / caveats

• Some features (Diamond reviewer) may be gated to paid tiers
• If you don't already use Graphite workflows, there's an onboarding cost

CodeRabbit

CodeRabbit provides free AI code reviews inside VS Code, operating directly on staged/unstaged changes. It gives line-level comments, highlights missed tests, and allows one-click fixes in some cases. Because it runs inside your editor, you catch issues before pushing or opening a PR.

Pros

• Free tier for in-editor reviews
• Works on changes before PR
• Supports multiple languages

Cons / caveats

• May have rate limits or reduced precision compared to full PR tools
• Suggestions could lack deep context for very large codebases

Bito

Bito provides an AI code review agent that works directly in your IDE (including VS Code) and in Git workflows (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket). It attempts to catch bugs, security risks, and code quality issues before creating a PR.

Pros

• Tight coupling with repository and IDE
• Ability to pre-harden code before PR

Cons / caveats

• Costs likely scale with usage
• Might produce false positives or suggestions that conflict with your style

How to adopt an AI code review plugin in your workflow

Here's a short plan for integrating AI code review into your development practice:

1. Pick a plugin that fits your stack and workflow e.g. if your team uses Graphite for PRs, use Graphite + Diamond. If you want in-editor checks before PR, try CodeRabbit or Bito.

2. Enable it in "diff mode" Make sure the plugin reviews only the changed code lines (vs full file) to reduce noise.

3. Configure rules / suppressions Turn off rules that conflict with your team's style or cause too many false positives.

4. Review AI suggestions manually Treat AI feedback as suggestions — always review them yourself before accepting.

5. Track metrics Measure how many AI-suggested issues were accepted vs rejected, how much time it saves, etc.

6. Gradually expand scope Start with critical modules or smaller PRs, then expand the use to more parts of the codebase.

7. Train team on expectations Document how AI is used, how team members interact with suggestions, and when to override.

Cautions and best practices

• AI tools can hallucinate or miss context. Be vigilant.
• Keep an override or suppression mechanism (e.g. “ignore this suggestion”) to avoid noise.
• Watch privacy and data policies — ensure proprietary code isn’t exposed to public models unintentionally.
• Balance cost vs value — high usage may incur fees.
• Don't blindly accept refactorings — ensure readability, maintainability, and alignment to architecture.

Conclusion

An AI code review plugin in VS Code is a powerful productivity booster if chosen carefully. It gives you early feedback, lightens review burdens, and helps maintain consistent quality. Graphite stands out by blending PR workflows, branch stacking, and AI review with Diamond into one ecosystem. But depending on your team size, budget, and style preferences, plugins like CodeRabbit or Bito might fit better.

FAQ

How much do AI code review plugins cost?

Most AI code review plugins offer free tiers that are perfect for individual developers and small teams. Graphite's Diamond offers 100 free PRs per month, and Bito has various pricing tiers. As your team grows, you can expect to pay per developer per month for premium features.

Which plugin works best with my tech stack?

• JavaScript/TypeScript: All mentioned plugins support these languages well
• Python: CodeRabbit and Bito have strong Python support
• Go: Graphite's Diamond and Bito work well with Go
• Multi-language projects: Graphite offers the most comprehensive language support