code-review-change-size

Cap non-mechanical changes at 800 lines and complex logic changes at 500 lines. When a change exceeds these limits, split it into reviewable stages based on the diff structure, dependencies, and affected call sites, landing the smallest coherent stage first.

This guidance uses 800 changed lines as the upper bound for general changes and 500 lines for complex logic. Mechanical changes such as renames or generated code are exempt from the strict limit.

Analyze the actual diff along with its dependencies and affected call sites to find natural boundaries. Identify the smallest coherent stage that can land independently first, then sequence the remaining stages on top of it.

No. Mechanical changes, such as automated renames or formatting-only edits, are exempt from the 800-line limit. The limit targets changes that require substantive reviewer attention.

The 500-line limit applies to changes involving complex logic, where review difficulty grows faster than line count. Straightforward or mechanical changes follow the more permissive 800-line threshold.