Review Checkpoint — Development skill for Claude Code

Review Checkpoint

**A Claude Code skill that enforces structured, self-reviewing implementation workflows.**

Stop shipping code that drifts from what was agreed upon. Review Checkpoint makes Claude write a test contract *before* touching code, review every step against it, and only ship when reality matches the contract.

[](https://github.com/Atharva-Kanherkar/review-checkpoint/releases/latest/download/review-checkpoint.skill.md)

---

The Problem

Most implementation bugs come from **drift** — the code slowly diverges from what was agreed upon, and nobody notices until the PR is already up. Post-hoc review catches syntax issues, but misses the subtle "wait, this isn't what we specced" problems.

The Solution

Review Checkpoint enforces a three-phase workflow:

Lock expectations → Implement in reviewed increments → Ship only when contract is met

Every step gets reviewed against the previous step *and* against the original expectations. A checkpoint JSON acts as a running audit trail that forces explicit reflection at every boundary.

---

How It Works

Phase 0: Lock the Contract

Before writing any implementation code, Claude creates a **test contract** (`testing/{branchname}.md`) that defines exactly what "done" means:

• Functional behavior with exact inputs/outputs
• Unit tests that must pass
• Integration and smoke tests
• Manual verification steps (cURL commands, etc.)

This file is committed first — before any code — so the contract is locked in git history.

Phase 1: Implement with Checkpoints

Implementation is broken into small, reviewable steps. For each step, Claude:

1. Implements the increment
2. Records a checkpoint entry in a local JSON file
3. Self-reviews the code against review instructions
4. Cumulative-reviews all steps together to catch drift
5. Commits only after both reviews pass

Each commit r