Code Review & Collaboration

Pull Request Reviews

Review pull requests directly in a native desktop client — no browser required. Critiq loads PR context, inline comments, and file changes locally so you can review without switching away from your Git workspace.

• Stacked PR Review - Review stacked pull requests with proper parent/child context so each layer is easier to validate independently — one of the few desktop Git clients with dedicated stacked PR workflow support
• Inline Comments - Add comments directly on code lines, synced with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps
• File Triage Badges - AI-powered risk assessment highlights which files need more attention
• Hunk-Level Change Tracking - Smart detection shows which specific hunks have been reviewed, modified, or are new since your last review
• Hunks-Only Review Mode - Focus only on changed hunks to cut noise during larger reviews
• Hidden Character Scanner - Detect suspicious bidi/zero-width/private-use Unicode in PR diff hunks before they become a security risk
• Review State Persistence - Checkmark files as reviewed, with state maintained across commits
• Visual Image Diffing - Review changed images with side-by-side and onion-skin compare modes, including added/deleted image states
• Markdown and Image Rendering - View Markdown files as rendered HTML or raw source, plus image rendering in diffs

Branch Comparison

• Compare Branches Without Checkout - Diff any two local or remote branches without switching branches or touching your working directory — keeps your current work intact while you review
• Uncommitted Change Warnings - Smart alerts when comparing branches with uncommitted changes
• Image Compare in Branch/PR Views - Visual image diffing works in branch comparisons and PR review flows, including commit-level image review
• AI Auto-Triage - Automatically surfaces risky or complex changes first
• File Tree at Branch State - Explore complete file structure at any branch state

Git Provider Integration

• One-Click OAuth - GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps sign-in without manual tokens
• Self-Hosted Providers - Full support for Gitea, Forgejo, and GitLab Self-Hosted with custom OAuth
• Commit Profiles - Create multiple named identities, pin them per repository, and set provider-level defaults
• GPG Signing - Automatic commit signing with GPG or SSH keys

Code Intelligence & Navigation

Language Server Protocol (LSP)

• Universal LSP Support - Full LSP integration in diff views and everywhere else—if an LSP exists, Critiq supports it
• Hover Information - View type signatures, documentation, and inline details on hover
• Jump to Definition - Navigate to symbol definitions with a single click
• Find References - See all usages of a symbol across the codebase
• Pre-Configured Languages - Out-of-the-box support for Go, Rust, C#, Vue, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python
• Custom LSP Configuration - Neovim-style config to map any file extension to any LSP binary

Code Navigation

• Symbol Search - Full-text symbol search across the entire codebase
• File Search - Fast fuzzy file finding with keyboard shortcuts
• Text Search with Change Hunk Indicators - Search across files and instantly see whether each result is inside a changed hunk
• Hunk Navigation - Jump between diff hunks with keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl/Cmd+J/K)
• Back/Forward History - Navigate through code jumps like a browser, maintaining mental context
• Syntax Highlighting - Comprehensive syntax support for all major languages
• Minimaps - Visual code overview for quick orientation
• Monorepo Workspaces - Scope the file tree to a workspace while LSPs and symbol indexing run from the workspace root

Full Editor Capabilities

• Edit Mode (Ctrl/Cmd+E) - Full editor in any file, even in diff mode with red/green change bars still visible
• Edit While Reviewing - Make quick fixes while reviewing code without leaving the diff view
• Adjustable Font Size & Family - Customize code view typography to your preference

AI-Powered Intelligence

Bring Your Own AI

• Multi-Model Support - Works with Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), and local models
• Built-In Local Models - Download and run local LLMs directly in Critiq—no external tools required
• Configurable Context Size - Adjust local model context window (512 to 128K tokens) to balance memory usage and capability
• LM Studio Integration - Use local LLMs via LM Studio for even more model options
• Custom Endpoints - Configure custom HTTP endpoints for any compatible API
• Switch Anytime - Change models on the fly without reconfiguration

AI Code Review

• Context-Aware Analysis - AI reviews understand your code structure, not just the diff—symbol definitions, callers, and test coverage inform every finding
• Evidence-Backed Findings - Every issue includes specific line references and code excerpts, with confidence scores and automatic suppression of low-quality results
• Caller Impact Discovery - Automatically discovers functions that call changed code to assess blast radius
• Test Coverage Awareness - Detects existing tests for changed symbols to better assess refactoring risk
• Symbol-Level Review Units - Changes are grouped by function/class so AI understands logical boundaries, not just line ranges
• Multi-File Review - Review all changed files at once or focus on individual files
• Clear AI Findings - Easily dismiss AI suggestions when you've addressed them or disagree

AI Capabilities

• Explain Diffs - Get natural language explanations of complex code changes
• Auto-Triage - AI analyzes changes and highlights files that need more attention
• Improvement Suggestions - Draft potential improvements or refactorings for reviewed code
• Hunk-Level Triaging - AI identifies which specific hunks in a diff are most critical
• Generate Commit Messages - AI-powered commit message generation based on staged changes

Git History & Blame

History Navigation

• Commit Timeline - Navigate through complete file history
• Blame Overlay - See authorship and commit info inline with code
• Trace Evolution - Understand how code changed over time
• Commit Context - View full commit messages and metadata
• Commit File Lists - Inspect per-commit file changes directly from the graph view

File Information

• Deep File Information Blade - Comprehensive file details including changes, changers, and evolution
• Previous Filenames - Track file renames and moves across history
• Changes Over Time - Visualize how files have evolved
• Contributor Analysis - See who has worked on specific files

Git Workflows

Working Tree Management

• Working Mode - Primary mode for reviewing your own changes (main git client functionality)
• Staged/Unstaged Split View - Monitor both staged and unstaged changes side-by-side
• Scratchpad - Park file or hunk changes temporarily and restore them later without losing your flow
• Directory Collapse - Organize changes by collapsing directories
• Stage on Hover - Quick staging actions with hover interactions
• Line-Level Staging - Stage or unstage individual changed lines with gutter + / - controls
• Hunk-Level Staging - Stage individual hunks with Ctrl/Cmd+S
• File-Level Staging - Stage entire files with Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S
• Secret Scanning - Automatically scan staged changes for API keys, tokens, and credentials before commit using gitleaks

Git Operations

• Command Palette - Full git command palette accessible via keyboard (Ctrl/Cmd+P)
• Commit Composer - Split staged changes into multiple focused commits by organizing files and hunks into commit buckets before execution
• Interactive Rebase (Janitor Mode) - Reorder, squash, and clean up branch history in-app with validation
• Git Commands on Files - Stage, unstage, discard, delete directly from command palette
• Global Git Commands - Commit, push, pull, fetch, stash from command palette
• Stashing - Smart stashing with support for specific files and folders
• Merge Conflict Resolution - Inline conflict resolution tools
• Branch Management - Create, delete, and switch branches
• Branch Prefixes - Configure default branch naming prefixes for faster, consistent branch creation
• Push/Pull/Fetch - Standard git remote operations
• Clone from URL - Clone repositories directly from URLs
• Submodule Awareness - Submodule updates show commit ranges between SHAs and open in a dedicated diff view

Security Guardrails

Critiq keeps security checks close to review and commit instead of pushing them into a separate scanning workflow after the fact.

Review-Time Protection

• Hidden Unicode Scanner - Detect suspicious bidi, zero-width, and private-use Unicode in pull request diff hunks before they become a review-time trap
• Warning Badges In File Lists - Mark affected files during review so suspicious changes stay visible while you work

Pre-Commit Protection

• Staged Secret Scanning - Scan staged changes for API keys, tokens, and credentials before commit using gitleaks
• Shield Indicators - Highlight staged files with findings before you commit
• Commit Warning Modal - Review findings in a focused warning modal before the commit goes through
• Project Rules Support - Prefer repository .gitleaks.toml rules when they exist

For setup details and examples, see Git security, commit signing, and secret scanning.

Productivity & UX

Command Palette

• File Search (Ctrl/Cmd+P) - Fuzzy file finding
• Symbol Search - Search for functions, classes, and other symbols
• Git Commands (>) - Execute git operations on files
• Jump to Line (:) - Go to specific line numbers
• Changed Files in Comparison - Quick navigation to changed files in comparison modes

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + P - Toggle quick file search
• Ctrl/Cmd + H - Previous file (navigate file history in working changes)
• Ctrl/Cmd + L - Next file (navigate file history in working changes)
• Ctrl/Cmd + J - Next hunk
• Ctrl/Cmd + K - Previous hunk
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + J - Next file in changes list
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + K - Previous file in changes list
• Ctrl/Cmd + S - Stage/unstage current hunk (or save file in edit mode)
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S - Stage/unstage entire file
• Ctrl/Cmd + E - Toggle edit mode
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R - Toggle file reviewed status (PR mode)
• Ctrl/Cmd + M - Cycle image diff mode (single, side-by-side, onion skin)
• Ctrl/Cmd + B - Blink overlay in onion-skin mode
• Arrow Left/Right - Decrease/increase onion-skin opacity (Shift for larger steps)
• Fully Customizable Keybindings - All keyboard shortcuts can be configured to your preference

User Experience

• Interactive Tour - Guided tour to help new users get started
• Context Menus - Right-click context menus for branches, files, and hunks
• Responsive Design - Works on various screen sizes
• Native Performance - Desktop-native for macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Status Bar Profile Switcher - Click the identity text to quickly change the current repository's commit profile
• Symbol Index Status - Real-time status of symbol indexing in bottom status bar
• Search During Indexing - Search symbols even while indexing is in progress

Platform Support

Operating Systems

• macOS - Native Apple Silicon and Intel support
• Windows - Windows 10 and 11
• Linux - Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, and other distributions

CLI Integration

• Repository Launch - Open repositories via CLI: critiq /path/to/repo

Maintenance & Support

Updates

• Auto-Update - Automatic desktop updates with fallback mechanisms
• Changelog in App - View release notes directly in settings
• One-Time License - $29 includes all future updates forever

Diagnostics

• Bug Reporting - In-app bug reporting directly from settings
• Diagnostic Logs - Detailed logs for troubleshooting
• LSP Test Button - Test LSP configuration directly in settings

Compare Critiq

Evaluating established Git clients? See the focused side-by-side pages for Critiq vs GitKraken and Critiq vs SourceTree. They stay practical and concentrate on review workflows, code intelligence, pricing, and platform fit.