6 Best Automated Code Review Tools for Developers

Code review is an essential process for producing high-quality software. Manual code reviews are extremely valuable for identifying complex issues, but they can be time-consuming. This is where automated code review tools come in. By automatically checking code against predefined rules and guidelines, these tools can save developers time while still catching many potential problems early.

In this article, we‘ll explore what automated code reviews are, why you should use them, and some top tools to consider.

What is Automated Code Review?

Automated code review refers to using software tools to analyze code and check for bugs, security issues, style violations, and more. The tool scans code before or after it‘s committed and flags any issues based on configured or default rules.

For example, a code review tool might scan for:

Security vulnerabilities like SQL injection
Code styling issues like inconsistent indentation
Anti-patterns like tight coupling between components
Performance problems like repeated queries
Code complexity metrics like high cyclomatic complexity

The automated analysis is fast, consistent, and frees up developer time spent on manual reviews. But it can‘t identify some subtle problems that a human eye would notice. That‘s why many teams use automated checks to complement manual peer reviews. The tools surface the obvious issues first so developers can focus their energy on the deeper code quality concerns.

Benefits of Automated Code Review Tools

Here are some of the major benefits you can realize by adding automated code review tools into your development workflow:

Speed – Tools can analyze code in seconds, while manual reviews take hours. Fast feedback helps developers fix issues early.
Consistency – human code reviews may overlook some problems or lack consistency. Automated tools apply consistent rule checking every time.
Accuracy – for common coding mistakes like syntax issues, tools can be more accurate than people.
Integration – leading tools integrate with git services like GitHub to review commits and pull requests.
Cost – automated tools are cheaper than extensive manual code reviews at scale.
Objectivity – human reviewers may be biased, while tools apply objective criteria.
Coverage – tools can analyze all code vs manual sampling.

Of course, automating code reviews doesn‘t mean you can skip human reviews altogether. But it complements peer reviews nicely by standardizing much of the routine checks.

How to Choose an Automated Code Review Tool

With so many code review toolsavailable, how do you choose? Here are key factors to consider:

Integrations – Look for easy integration with your source control system (GitHub, GitLab etc) and CI/CD pipelines.
Languages – Ensure the tool supports all programming languages in your stack.
Configurability – You‘ll want to customize rules and standards enforced by the tool.
Accuracy – Check for a low rate of false positives or false negatives. Accuracy avoids wasting time on bad flags.
Security scans – Many tools scan for security issues like XSS, weak cryptography, secrets detection and more.
Custom rules – Ability to define custom rules is useful for enforcing team conventions.
IDE plugins – Integration with IDEs like VSCode via plugins provides real-time feedback as you code.
Reporting – Code quality reports, metrics, and tasks management help track issues and progress.

With those criteria in mind, let‘s look at some top automated code review tools:

1. Codacy

Codacy is a code review tool focused on code quality and security. It supports major languages like JavaScript, Python, Java, and Go.

The key features include:

GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket integration
Customizable style guides
Security scanning for vulnerabilities
Code coverage metrics
Slack notifications
Branded reports

Codacy is free for open source projects. Paid plans start at $49/month for teams.

2. Codebeat

Codebeat analyzes web and mobile app code for quality and security issues through static and dynamic analysis. It supports languages like Go, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, Swift, and more.

Key features:

IDE plugins for real-time feedback
Git hosting integration
Configurable severity levels
Historical code quality reporting
Supports self-hosted Git projects

Codebeat offers a free plan for open source and unlimited public repositories. Paid plans start at $129/month.

3. DeepSource

DeepSource performs code reviews on every commit and pull request, providing feedback in the developer workflow. It goes beyond style checks to detect bugs and security flaws.

Notable features:

Support for ~40 languages
Low false positives
Detects secrets and sensitive data
Integrates with code hosts and IDEs
Can be self-hosted on enterprise infrastructure

DeepSource has a free plan for open source projects. Paid tiers are available for teams.

4. Snyk

Snyk focuses on analyzing code for security vulnerabilities, integrating seamlessly into the development process.

Main features:

Finds secrets, insecure dependencies, and config issues
Scans infrastructure as code for misconfigurations
Ties findings to impact ratings for prioritization
Automatically creates fix pull requests
Cloud native, container, and SaaS app scanning

Snyk has a free tier for open source developers. Paid plans unlock additional features.

5. Codegrip

Codegrip manages all your code reviews in one platform. Beyond coding best practices, it checks for duplication and complexity.

Notable aspects:

Review workflow management
Customizable review rules
Code duplication detection
Slack notifications
Multiple dashboard views of issues
GitLab integration

Codegrip is free for open source projects. Paid tiers offer added team controls.

6. Codiga

Codiga integrates into your IDE to enable real-time code analysis as you type. It can autofix issues and provides customizable rules.

Useful features:

Inline analysis in VS Code, IntelliJ, others
Autofix for style, security, performance
Detects leaked secrets like keys
Custom analysis rules
Git hooks to scan on commit

Codiga is free for open source and trial usage. Paid plans provide more controls.

Conclusion

Automated code review tools help development teams ship better code in less time. By combining them with peer code reviews, you can boost quality and security.

The options covered provide a range of capabilities to suit different needs and workflows. Assess which features would be most valuable for your team before choosing a tool. Many offer free tiers for opens source so you can try before buying.

The key is finding a code review automation solution that best complements your existing process. With the right tool in place, your team can focus their energy on building great software.