PR Review with Cursor: Mastering Local, Interactive, and YOLO Modes

Introduction

Brief overview of Cursor and why AI-powered PR reviews matter.

Three Modes

Local Mode

What it is: Use the swift-review.sh script for a lightweight, offline PR review.

Ideal for: Developers who prefer local environments and quick checks.

For Swift, Local Reviews

Swift Code Analysis Results

Based on our rules and tools (script), Cursor has the ability to identify the critical issues in terms of memory management and swift convention.

Critical Memory management issues are related to retain references will cause memory leak, Force Unwrapping, force casting, retain cycles in Closures (should use [weak self]).

Swift Testing Violations

Apple has introduced Swift Testing framework and it is best practice to use the same. Currently, Swift testing support Unit testing and for UI Testing and Performance - we should stay with XCTest framework.
To learn more on this, check out → Swift Testing

Actionable Fixes

AS discussed earlier, memory leaks, retain cycles and force unwrapping are said to be potential issues.

Commit Recommendation:

Our local mode code review has recommended to not to commit the changes since it has critical issue and iOS issues and other violations.

Priotories

Priority 1: Fix Critical Memory Management Issues

We have Cursor rules for memory management.

Code Suggestions

Potential File write Errors

Force Unwrapping and Casting

Retain Cycle

Swift Testing over XCTest Framework

For UI Testing - Use XCTest Framework

Remove SwiftUI from ViewModel

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Interactive Mode

Cursor Settings

The first step is to disable the auto-run mode to allow Agent to run tools in an interactive mode like asking for confirmation.

Cursor → Settings → Cursor Settings → Features → Uncheck Enable auto-run mode

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Yolo Mode (Auto-Run)

Cursor Settings

The first step is to enable the auto-run mode to allow Agent to run tools in an Yolo mode like without asking for confirmation.

Cursor → Settings → Cursor Settings → Features → Check Enable auto-run mode

Be cautious!
Potential prompt injection risks from external sources. If you are sure about the process, then you can turn on the Auto-run mode effectively.

Pull Request

Code Review

Based on the comprehensive review of PR #7, Cursor identified several critical issues that need to be addressed using rules and tools. Here's the review in the required JSON format:

Code Review Results

{
  "reviews": [
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 3,
      "reviewComment": "**Global Variables**: Avoid global variables like `var g = \"\"` as they create mutable global state, making the code harder to test and reason about. Consider using instance properties or dependency injection instead."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 35,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Unwrapping Safety**: Force unwrapping `text!` is unsafe and can crash the app. Use optional binding: `guard let t = text else { return \"\" }` or nil coalescing operator `text ?? \"\"`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 36,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Unwrapping Safety**: Force unwrapping `t.first!` can crash if the string is empty. Use safe unwrapping: `guard let firstChar = t.first else { return \"\" }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 37,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Unwrapping Safety**: Force unwrapping URL creation is dangerous. Use proper error handling: `guard let url = URL(string: \"https://example.com\") else { return \"Invalid URL\" }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 45,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Casting Safety**: Force casting `response as! HTTPURLResponse` can crash. Use conditional casting: `guard let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse else { return }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 49,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Try Safety**: Using `try!` is unsafe and can crash the app. Use proper error handling with `do-catch` blocks to handle potential JSON parsing errors gracefully."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 22,
      "reviewComment": "**Memory Management**: Timer is created without proper cleanup strategy. The timer in `deinit` is commented out, which will cause a memory leak. Uncomment `timer?.invalidate()` or use weak references."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 75,
      "reviewComment": "**Retain Cycle**: Using `self` directly in closure creates a retain cycle. Use `[weak self]` capture list: `DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1.0) { [weak self] in guard let self = self else { return }; self.temp = \"updated\" }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 80,
      "reviewComment": "**Retain Cycle**: Another strong reference to `self` in closure. Use `[weak self]` to prevent memory leaks: `DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self = self else { return }; self.count += 1 }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 105,
      "reviewComment": "**Global State Mutation**: Accessing and mutating global variable `g` violates encapsulation and makes code unpredictable. Remove global state dependencies and use proper dependency injection or instance methods."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/ViewModels/UserSearchViewModel.swift",
      "lineNumber": 9,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Unwrapping in Property**: `errorMessage: String!` uses force unwrapping. Use optional type `String?` instead for safer error handling: `@Published var errorMessage: String?`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorerUITests/GitHubExplorerUITests.swift",
      "lineNumber": 8,
      "reviewComment": "**Swift Testing Convention**: Use Swift Testing framework instead of XCTest. Replace `import XCTest` with `import Testing` and convert class to struct with `@Suite` annotation for consistency with project standards."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorerUITests/GitHubExplorerUITestsLaunchTests.swift",
      "lineNumber": 8,
      "reviewComment": "**Swift Testing Convention**: Use Swift Testing framework instead of XCTest. Replace `import XCTest` with `import Testing` and convert to `@Suite struct` to follow project testing standards."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 57,
      "reviewComment": "**Force Try Safety**: `try!` for file writing can crash the app. Use proper error handling: `do { try \"Some data\".write(to: URL(fileURLWithPath: filePath), atomically: true, encoding: .utf8) } catch { print(\"Failed to write file: \\(error)\") }`."
    },
    {
      "filePath": "GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift",
      "lineNumber": 123,
      "reviewComment": "**Multiple Force Operations**: This function has multiple force unwrapping operations (`data!`, `try!`, `as!`) which make it extremely crash-prone. Implement proper error handling with guard statements and do-catch blocks."
    }
  ]
}

Code Review Results in JSON format

Post Review Comment

So, let’s try posting review comment to the GitHub PR.
You must be wondering what is pr-comment

echo "  review-pr <number>     - Review any PR number"
echo "  pr-comment <args>      - Post individual comment" 
echo "  list-prs               - List all open PRs"

From pr-review-aliases.fish file

pr-comment GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift linenumber 3

pr-comment

Another try!

pr-comment GitHubExplorer/Utils/NetworkUtilities.swift  123

pr-comment

Post Review comment Line Number #123 to the GitHub PR

When to Use Each Mode

Local —> Quick local feedback

Interactive —> Team standards & rule enforcement

YOLO(auto-run mode) —> Fastest, hands-off reviews

Final Thoughts

• Choose the mode that fits your workflow—Local for simplicity, Interactive for precision, YOLO for speed.

• Encourage exploration of all modes to find the right balance for your team.
  
  

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