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Conventional Comments

As explained in "Looks Good to Me"

A convention for structuring code-review comments with labels and standardized wording that communicate intent and priority.

Conventional Comments structure review feedback as a label, subject, optional decorations, and optional discussion. The format makes intent, priority, context, and next steps easier to understand. section 6.1.2

Use the parts of a Conventional Comment deliberately:

  • Choose a label such as suggestion, issue, praise, or todo to identify the comment’s purpose. section 6.1.2
  • Write a specific subject that states the proposed improvement or problem clearly. section 6.1.2
  • Add decorations such as (blocking), (non-blocking), (if-minor), or an area of focus when they clarify priority or scope. section 6.1.2
  • Use discussion to provide supporting context, reasoning, and next steps; pair issues with suggestions when possible. section 6.1.2

A focused review comment

suggestion (blocking): Import the component from 'ts/components', not 'ts/comps'. This keeps the module reference valid and should be fixed before acceptance. section 6.1.2

Listing 6.3 Conventional Comment format
// Source: https://conventionalcomments.org/

<label> [decorations]: <subject>         #1
[discussion]        #2

Use the format as a compact template: <label> [decorations]: <subject>, followed by optional discussion. section 6.1.2

How "Looks Good to Me" covers it

How deep it goes
Defines comment components, labels, and decorations with examples, but does not prescribe a complete team workflow.
Examples
Uses a structured import correction, a format template, suggested labels, and security or test-focused decorations.
What it assumes
Assumes familiarity with code review while defining the comment structure and terminology from the basic components upward.
What you can do after
Apply it via labeled comments that state the request, communicate blocking status, and explain rationale or next steps.
How it connects
Connects labels and priority decorations with code review comments, Conventional Commits, and MoSCoW comments.

Related concepts

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of "Looks Good to Me". The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.