CodeCheck

A CLI tool to streamline code review workflows for student assignments. CodeCheck automates cloning repositories, installing dependencies, opening projects in VS Code, and starting development servers.

Motivation

Cloning and project setup can be quite tedious and repeitive for the quick project checks we often do at TripleTen. CodeCheck reduces this to one command, and as an added benefit cleans up the code and thousands of node_modules installed for every project, greatly simplifying the instructor/tutor workflow.

Features

• Clone GitHub repositories with one command
• Automatic dependency installation once package.json is present
• Opens projects directly in VS Code (if installed) for viewing code
• Auto-detects project type and starts appropriate dev server
• Simple cleanup workflow after review
• Configurable download directory

Prerequisites

• Go 1.25.1 or higher
• Git
• Node.js & npm (for Node.js projects)
• VS Code with CLI (code command)

Installation

go install github.com/mentalcaries/codecheck/cmd/codecheck@latest

Usage

Initial Setup

You'll be prompted to set your download directory. This can be anywhere you'd like the projects to be cloned.

If you need to change the config afterwards, you can run:

codecheck setup

Quick Start

Supports GitHub URLs - HTTP and SSH. If you need to review code on a specific branch, use the GitHub branch URL directly.

codecheck review <github-url>

codecheck review <review-link-with-commit-hash>

Examples:

codecheck review https://github.com/student/assignment-1
codecheck review https://github.com/student/project.git
codecheck review git@github.com:student/assignment.git
codecheck review https://github.com/student/project/tree/feature-auth # with branch
codecheck review Ventus674-se_project_react-205daa6                   # with commit hash

Branch Support:

• Clone a specific branch by pasting a GitHub branch URL (includes /tree/branch-name)
• Defaults to repository's default branch if not specified

Commit Hash Support:

• Accepts a project string in the format username-reponame-commithash
• Clones the repository and checks out the specific commit for review

What happens:

1. Clones the repository to your configured directory
2. Detects project type (static HTML or Node.js)
3. Installs dependencies (if Node.js project)
4. Opens project in VS Code
5. Starts appropriate development server and opens your browser (for frontend projects)
6. Waits for you to complete your review

When you're done reviewing:

• Press Ctrl+C to stop the server
• Choose to delete or keep the project directory

Supported Project Types

• Static HTML/CSS/JS - Serves with built-in Go file server
• Webpack - Runs npm run dev with auto port configuration
• Vite - Runs npm run dev (tested with React)
• Node.js/Express - Runs npm run dev

Directory Conflict Resolution

If a directory with the same name already exists, you'll be prompted with options:

• [Enter] - Delete and overwrite existing directory
• [n] - Clone with modified name (appends username)
• [q] - Cancel operation

Known Limitations

• Only supports GitHub URLs (HTTPS and SSH)
• Webpack projects may require pressing Ctrl+C twice for graceful shutdown
• Requires VS Code CLI to be configured

Development

Clone and Build Locally

git clone https://github.com/mentalcaries/codecheck
cd codecheck
go install ./cmd/codecheck

Run Without Installing

go run ./cmd/codecheck review <github-url>

Troubleshooting

"Repository not found or is private"

• Verify the URL is correct
• Ensure the repository is set to public

"VS Code not available"

• Install VS Code CLI: Open VS Code → Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) → "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH"

Port conflicts

• CodeCheck serves static html files from Port 5543, Vite auto-assigns and WebPack uses its config
• If issues persist, manually stop any processes using the ports or manually change the config

Contributing

Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/mentalcaries/codecheck
cd codecheck

Run the CLI

go run cmd/codecheck/*.go <repo name>

Submit a pull request

If you'd like to contribute, please fork the repository and open a pull request to the main branch.

License

MIT

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Happy reviewing! 🎉