Rudu

Rudu

Rudu is a desktop diff-review app. The app window belongs to the user — never ask the user to click things for you. Use an open command to choose what Rudu displays, then rudu session * to inspect, navigate, and leave local notes.

Open a session

rudu /path/to/repo                         # Working Tree Review
rudu diff main...HEAD                      # Selected Diff Review
rudu show HEAD                             # selected commit
rudu patch change.patch                    # patch file
rudu pr owner/repo#123                     # Pull Request Review
rudu pr https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123
rudu skill path                            # print this skill's installed path

Open commands launch or focus the existing app. They return after Rudu accepts the request, not after the diff finishes rendering.

rudu session list returns persisted local checkouts, pull requests tracked in Rudu, and the current active target. With no selector, session commands use that active target. Use an explicit selector when needed:

--repo <path>                working tree for that checkout
--pr <url|owner/repo#number> that tracked pull request

Do not pass both. For a Selected Diff Review, omit --repo; passing it intentionally selects the checkout's Working Tree Review.

Core workflow

rudu pr owner/repo#123
rudu session list
rudu session review
rudu session navigate --file src/app.ts --new-line 42
rudu session note add --author "Pi" --file src/app.ts --new-line 42 --body "Explain this edge case"
rudu session note list
rudu session note reply --author "Pi" --note NOTE_ID --body "Answer"
# Create a publishable draft only when GitHub feedback is intended:
rudu session comment draft --file src/app.ts --new-line 42 --body "Please handle this edge case"
# Only after the user explicitly asks to publish:
rudu session comment publish

All session output is JSON. Use --new-line for additions and --old-line for deletions; line numbers are 1-based.

Choose a local diff

Use Git's own revision syntax instead of inventing source flags:

rudu diff                         # unstaged + untracked
rudu diff --staged                # staged
rudu diff HEAD                    # staged + unstaged + untracked
rudu show                         # latest commit
rudu show HEAD~1                  # selected commit
rudu diff main...HEAD             # merge-base/PR-style branch diff
rudu diff HEAD~3..HEAD -- src     # range limited by pathspec
rudu diff before.ts after.ts      # two files
rudu patch change.patch           # patch file
some-command-producing-patch | rudu patch -

These commands never mutate Git state. Review Notes on a Selected Diff Review are scoped to its exact source and resolved revision.

If a local review response contains relatedPullRequest, its current HEAD exactly matches a cached open PR. Keep reviewing the local target unless the user asks to switch; open the PR with rudu pr owner/repo#number when its GitHub context is needed. Absence means only that Rudu found no exact cached match.

Inspect

rudu session review [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] [--include-patch]

Local responses include:

kind, checkoutId, branch, headSha, revision, files, relatedPullRequest?

PR responses include:

kind, repo, number, headSha, summary, overview, checks, files

Overview or checks may have companion error fields while the diff remains usable. Add --include-patch only when raw unified diff is necessary; prefer local files when reviewing a checkout.

Navigate

rudu session navigate [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] \
  --file <path> (--new-line <n> | --old-line <n>)

Navigate before commenting so the user sees the code being discussed.

Private notes and PR comment drafts

rudu session note add [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --author <name> --file <path> (--new-line <n> | --old-line <n>) --body <markdown>
rudu session note reply [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --author <name> --note <id> --body <markdown>
rudu session note delete [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --note <id> [--note <id> ...]
rudu session note delete [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --all
rudu session note list [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] [--file <path>] [--type agent|user|all]
rudu session note promote [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --note <id>
rudu session comment draft [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --file <path> (--new-line <n> | --old-line <n>) --body <markdown>
rudu session comment delete [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --note <id> [--note <id> ...]
rudu session comment delete [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] --all
rudu session comment list [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>] [--file <path>]
rudu session comment publish [--repo <path> | --pr <ref>]

• Review Notes are private local annotations and are never published.
• Agent notes and replies require --author; pass the agent's stable display name.
• note promote copies a root private note into a publishable Comment Draft and preserves the note.
• Comment Drafts are scoped to {repo, number, headSha} and require an exact PR target.
• comment publish sends all root Comment Drafts as one comment-only GitHub review; local replies are not posted.
• Publish only after the user explicitly asks. This action cannot be undone in Rudu.
• A new PR head has a separate draft set.
• comment list on a PR returns local commentDrafts and read-only githubThreads.
• Reply only to IDs from private note list output; GitHub threads are read-only.
• Deleting a root note also deletes its local replies.
• note delete --all deletes private notes for the exact selected target; list first.
• Publishing a Local Checkout requires its cached exact-head relatedPullRequest; invalid PR diff locations fail the whole publication and remain local.
• Use note reply, not note add, when answering a human's local note.
• --type user is the human-authored private-note channel; default is all private notes.