differential-review

Performs security-focused differential review of code changes across PRs, commits, and diffs.

2|Updated Jul 25, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/ankaboot-source/boucle --skill differential-review-ankaboot-source
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: differential-review
Source: https://github.com/ankaboot-source/boucle/tree/main/.jcode/skills/trailofbits/differential-review
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/ankaboot-source/boucle --skill differential-review-ankaboot-source

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Reviewing code changes for security regressions is error-prone: small diffs can reintroduce vulnerabilities, removed validation checks go unnoticed, and reviewers lack a systematic way to assess blast radius and test coverage. This Skill provides a structured, evidence-based methodology for security-focused differential review. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Risk-Adaptive Analysis: Classifies changes by risk level (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW) and adapts review depth to codebase size (SMALL/MEDIUM/LARGE) with DEEP, FOCUSED, or SURGICAL strategies. - Git History & Regression Detection: Uses git blame and commit history to detect removed security checks, re-added vulnerable code, and regressions of previous fixes. - Blast Radius & Test Coverage: Quantifies caller impact for modified functions and flags untested high-risk changes that should block merges. - Adversarial Modeling: Builds concrete attacker models and exploit scenarios for HIGH RISK changes, with structured vulnerability report templates. - Use Case: A team reviewing a PR that modifies an authentication module uses this Skill to triage changed files, git-blame removed validation, calculate blast radius, model exploit scenarios, and produce a comprehensive markdown report with severity ratings and recommendations. ## Quick Start Ask the AI to perform a differential security review of the current pull request or commit range and generate a markdown report with findings, blast radius, and recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions about differential-review

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I perform a security review of a pull request?

Use a differential review workflow: extract changed files with git diff, classify each by risk level, git-blame removed code for security context, calculate blast radius for modified functions, and generate a structured report. This Skill automates that full methodology.

How to detect security regressions in code changes?

Search git history with git log -S for removed code patterns and check commit messages for security, fix, or CVE keywords. Code removed in a security fix and later re-added indicates a regression requiring immediate escalation.

What is blast radius analysis in code review?

Blast radius analysis counts how many callers depend on a modified function, classifying impact as LOW (1-5), MEDIUM (6-20), HIGH (21-50), or CRITICAL (50+). High blast radius combined with high-risk changes gets top review priority.

When should I not use differential security review?

Skip it for greenfield code with no baseline to compare, documentation-only changes, formatting or linting updates, and when the user explicitly requests only a quick summary. Standard code review fits those cases better.

Does differential review work for large codebases?

Yes, it adapts strategy by codebase size: DEEP analysis for under 20 files, FOCUSED for 20-200 files, and SURGICAL for 200+ files where only critical paths receive full analysis. Coverage limits are stated honestly in the report.

How are vulnerabilities reported after a differential review?

Findings are written to a markdown report with severity distribution, attack scenarios, proof-of-concept code, git blame context, blast radius, and recommendations. Reports can be transformed into formal audit reports via the issue-writer skill.