bmad-checkpoint-preview

Guides human reviewers through code changes via structured walkthrough, risk, and testing steps.

Updated Apr 9, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/5onyy/essential-ai-agent-skills --skill bmad-checkpoint-preview-5onyy
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: bmad-checkpoint-preview
Source: https://github.com/5onyy/essential-ai-agent-skills/tree/main/.cursor/skills/bmad-checkpoint-preview
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/5onyy/essential-ai-agent-skills --skill bmad-checkpoint-preview-5onyy

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Reviewing a large code change without guidance is slow and error-prone — reviewers miss intent, skip high-risk spots, and never verify behavior. This Skill turns an AI agent into a review facilitator that walks a human through a change step by step, from orientation to a final approve/rework decision. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Guided Review Trail: Builds or reuses a Suggested Review Order of path:line stops grouped by design concern, so the reviewer reads code in comprehension order rather than diff order. - Risk Surfacing: Scans the diff for high-blast-radius spots (auth, schema, billing, security, public APIs) and presents them as clickable path:line references, plus targeted "dig into [area]" deep-dives on demand. - Experiential Testing Suggestions: Proposes concrete manual observations (commands to run, responses to expect) instead of duplicating CI checks. - Use Case: After finishing a feature branch, say "checkpoint" — the agent identifies the change from git state or sprint status, summarizes intent and surface-area stats, walks you through the design concerns, flags risky spots, suggests how to see it working, and helps you approve the PR via gh pr review or plan a rework. ## Quick Start Say "walk me through this change" or "checkpoint" after completing work on a branch to start a guided human review of the diff.

Frequently Asked Questions about bmad-checkpoint-preview

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I review a code change with an AI assistant?▼

Trigger the checkpoint review by saying "checkpoint" or "walk me through this change". The agent identifies the change from your conversation, git state, or sprint status, then guides you through orientation, a concern-based walkthrough, risk spots, and testing suggestions before you decide to approve or rework.

How does the review trail get generated if there is no spec?▼

The agent reads the full diff against the appropriate baseline, identifies 2-5 cohesive design concerns, and selects 1-4 path:line stops per concern ordered for comprehension. This generated trail becomes the Suggested Review Order for all subsequent review steps.

Can it review a GitHub pull request directly?▼

Yes. Pass a PR reference and it resolves the branch or commit via `gh pr view`. At wrap-up it can approve the PR with `gh pr review --approve`, but only after confirming with you since that is a visible action on a shared resource.

What happens if git is unavailable during the review?▼

Trail generation fails gracefully and the workflow falls back to a non-trail path: the walkthrough step identifies concerns directly from available context, and surface-area stats are skipped with an explicit note rather than guessed.

Does it replace automated tests or CI checks?▼

No. The testing step assumes CI and test suites already exist and work. It only suggests manual observations — specific actions and expected results — that build confidence no automated check provides, and it says so explicitly when a change has no observable behavior.