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Reduce verbosity in reviewing-changes skill for clean PRs
Problem: PR #6117 review produced ~800 tokens of excessive praise and unnecessary sections when no issues were found. Expected output should have been ~30 tokens: "APPROVE - Clean refactoring". Changes: - SKILL.md: Add "Clean PRs" section with explicit 2-3 line format - SKILL.md: Make "minimal reviews" first core principle - review-psychology.md: Elevate brevity guidance to first directive - review-outputs.md: Add Example 7 showing PR #6117 as anti-pattern - refactoring.md: Replace verbose example with clean vs issues examples - Add IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md documenting rationale and approach Expected Impact: - 70-90% token reduction for clean PRs (800 → 30-100 tokens) - Maintains comprehensive reviews for PRs with actual issues - Reduces noise in PR conversations - Faster approvals for good work 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
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.claude/skills/reviewing-changes/SKILL.md

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## Core Principles
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- **Minimal reviews for clean PRs**: 2-3 lines when no issues found
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- **Issues-focused feedback**: Only comment when there's something to improve or discuss
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- **Brief positive feedback**: Single bullet list, no elaboration (see priority-framework.md:145-166)
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- **No excessive praise**: Acknowledge good work concisely without elaborate compliments
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- **Appropriate depth**: Match review rigor to change complexity and risk
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- **Specific references**: Always use `file:line_number` format for precise location
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- **Actionable feedback**: Say what to do and why, not just what's wrong
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- **Constructive tone**: Ask questions for design decisions, explain rationale, focus on code not people
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- **Efficient reviews**: Use multi-pass strategy, time-box reviews, skip what's not relevant
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## Special Case: Clean PRs with No Issues
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When you find NO critical, important, or suggested issues:
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**Minimal Approval Format:**
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```
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**Overall Assessment:** APPROVE
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[One sentence describing what the PR does well]
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```
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**Examples:**
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- "Clean refactoring following established patterns"
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- "Solid bug fix with comprehensive test coverage"
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- "Well-structured feature implementation meeting all standards"
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**NEVER do this for clean PRs:**
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- ❌ Multiple sections (Key Strengths, Changes, Code Quality, etc.)
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- ❌ Listing everything that was done correctly
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- ❌ Checkmarks for each file or pattern followed
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- ❌ Elaborate praise or detailed positive analysis
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**Why brevity matters:**
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- Respects developer time (quick approval = move forward faster)
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- Reduces noise in PR conversations
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- Saves tokens and processing time
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- Focuses attention on PRs that actually need discussion

.claude/skills/reviewing-changes/checklists/refactoring.md

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See inline comments for all issue details.
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```
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## Example Review
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## Example Reviews
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### Example 1: Refactoring with Incomplete Migration
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**Context**: Refactoring authentication to Repository pattern, but one ViewModel still uses old pattern
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**Summary Comment:**
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```markdown
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## Summary
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Refactors authentication flow to use Repository pattern instead of direct Manager access
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**Overall Assessment:** REQUEST CHANGES
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Scope: 12 files changed, 8 ViewModels updated, Repository interface extracted
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**Critical Issues:**
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- Incomplete migration (app/vault/VaultViewModel.kt:89)
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## Critical Issues
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None - behavior preserved, tests passing
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See inline comments for details.
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```
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## Suggested Improvements
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**Inline Comment 1** (on `app/vault/VaultViewModel.kt:89`):
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```markdown
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**IMPORTANT**: Incomplete migration
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**app/vault/VaultViewModel.kt:89** - Old pattern still used
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This ViewModel still injects AuthManager directly. Should it use AuthRepository like the others?
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```kotlin
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// Current
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<details>
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<summary>Details and fix</summary>
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This ViewModel still injects AuthManager directly. Should it use AuthRepository like the other 11 ViewModels?
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\```kotlin
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// Current (old pattern)
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class VaultViewModel @Inject constructor(
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private val authManager: AuthManager // Old pattern
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private val authManager: AuthManager
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)
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// Should be
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// Should be (new pattern)
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class VaultViewModel @Inject constructor(
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private val authRepository: AuthRepository // New pattern
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private val authRepository: AuthRepository
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)
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\```
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This is the only ViewModel still using the old pattern.
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</details>
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```
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**data/auth/AuthManager.kt:1** - Add deprecation notice
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**Inline Comment 2** (on `data/auth/AuthManager.kt:1`):
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```markdown
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**SUGGESTED**: Add deprecation notice
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<details>
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<summary>Details</summary>
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Can we add @Deprecated to AuthManager to guide future development?
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```kotlin
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\```kotlin
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@Deprecated(
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message = "Use AuthRepository interface instead",
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replaceWith = ReplaceWith("AuthRepository"),
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level = DeprecationLevel.WARNING
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)
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class AuthManager
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class AuthManager @Inject constructor(...)
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\```
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This helps prevent new code from using the old pattern.
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</details>
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```
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**docs/ARCHITECTURE.md** - Document the new pattern
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Should we update the architecture docs to reflect this Repository pattern?
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The current docs still reference AuthManager as the recommended approach.
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---
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## Good Practices
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- Repository interface clearly defined
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- All data access methods use Result types
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- Tests updated to match new pattern
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### Example 2: Clean Refactoring (No Issues)
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## Action Items
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1. Update VaultViewModel to use AuthRepository
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2. Add @Deprecated to AuthManager with migration guidance
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3. Update ARCHITECTURE.md to document Repository pattern
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**Context**: Refactoring with complete migration, all patterns followed correctly, tests passing
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**Review Comment:**
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```markdown
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**Overall Assessment:** APPROVE
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Clean refactoring moving ExitManager to :ui module. Follows established patterns, eliminates duplication, tests updated correctly.
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```
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**Token count:** ~30 tokens (vs ~800 for verbose format)
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**Why this works:**
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- 3 lines total
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- Clear approval decision
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- Briefly notes what was done
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- No elaborate sections, checkmarks, or excessive praise
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- Author gets immediate green light to merge
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**What NOT to do for clean refactorings:**
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```markdown
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❌ DO NOT create these sections:
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## Summary
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This PR successfully refactors ExitManager into shared code...
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## Key Strengths
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- ✅ Follows established module organization patterns
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- ✅ Removes code duplication between apps
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- ✅ Improves test coverage
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- ✅ Maintains consistent behavior
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[...20 more checkmarks...]
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## Code Quality & Architecture
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**Architectural Compliance:** ✅
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- Correctly places manager in :ui module
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- Follows established pattern for UI-layer managers
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[...detailed analysis...]
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## Changes
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- ✅ Moved ExitManager interface from app → ui module
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- ✅ Moved ExitManagerImpl from app → ui module
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[...listing every file...]
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```
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This is excessive. **For clean PRs: 2-3 lines maximum.**

.claude/skills/reviewing-changes/examples/review-outputs.md

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---
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## Example 7: Clean Refactoring (No Issues Found)
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**Context**: Moving shared code to common module, complete migration, all patterns followed
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**Review Comment:**
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```markdown
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**Overall Assessment:** APPROVE
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Clean refactoring that moves ExitManager to :ui module, eliminating duplication between apps.
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```
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**Token count:** ~30 tokens
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**Review time:** < 1 minute
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**Why this works:**
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- Immediate approval visible
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- One sentence summary acknowledging the work
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- No unnecessary sections or elaborate praise
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- Author gets quick feedback and can proceed
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---
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### ❌ Anti-Pattern: Excessive Praise for Clean PRs
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**DO NOT do this for clean PRs:**
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```markdown
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### PR Review: PM-27756 - Create common ExitManager
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This PR successfully refactors `ExitManager` into shared code in the `:ui` module, eliminating duplication between the Password Manager and Authenticator apps. The changes follow established architectural patterns and improve code quality.
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---
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### Summary
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**Overall Assessment:** ✅ **Approved** - This is a well-executed refactoring that improves code organization and maintainability.
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**Key Strengths:**
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- Follows established module organization patterns (moving to `:ui` module alongside `IntentManager` and `QrCodeAnalyzer`)
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- Removes code duplication between apps (deleted 28 lines of duplicate code)
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- Improves test coverage by removing `@OmitFromCoverage` and adding comprehensive unit tests
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- Maintains consistent behavior across both applications
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- All imports and references updated correctly
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**Changes:**
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- ✅ Moved `ExitManager` interface from `app` → `ui` module
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- ✅ Moved `ExitManagerImpl` from `app` → `ui` module
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- ✅ Added `LocalExitManager` to common UI providers
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- ✅ Deleted duplicate authenticator implementations
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- ✅ Added unit test for `ExitManagerImpl`
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- ✅ Updated all imports across 10 files
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---
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### Code Quality & Architecture
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**Architectural Compliance:** ✅
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- Correctly places manager in `:ui` module per `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md` guidelines
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- Follows established pattern for UI-layer managers exposed via CompositionLocal
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- Maintains proper module dependencies and separation of concerns
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**Code Style:** ✅
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- Follows Kotlin coding conventions
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- Proper KDoc documentation on all public APIs
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- Consistent with existing code patterns
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**Testing:** ✅
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- Added comprehensive unit test covering `exitApplication()` behavior
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- Properly uses MockK for mocking Activity
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- Test verifies `finishAndRemoveTask()` is called
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---
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### Specific Findings
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**Test Coverage Note:**
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The Codecov report shows 50% patch coverage with 1 missing line. This is expected and acceptable...
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**Implementation Improvement:**
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The common implementation correctly uses `activity.finishAndRemoveTask()`...
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---
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### Recommendations
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No blocking issues found. The PR is ready to merge.
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```
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**Problems with above (actual PR #6117 review):**
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- 800+ tokens for a PR with no issues
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- Multiple redundant sections
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- Excessive checkmarks listing what was done
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- Detailed analysis of things that are correct
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- "Key Strengths" section unnecessary
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- "Specific Findings" section with non-issues
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**Impact:**
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- Wastes reviewer and author time
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- Adds noise to PR conversation
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- Makes it harder to identify PRs that actually need attention
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- Excessive praise can feel condescending or insincere
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- Burns tokens unnecessarily
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---
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### ✅ Correct Approach
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For the same PR:
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```markdown
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**Overall Assessment:** APPROVE
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Clean refactoring that moves ExitManager to :ui module, eliminating duplication between apps.
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```
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**Benefits:**
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- 30 tokens vs 800+ tokens (96% reduction)
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- Clear immediate approval
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- Acknowledges the work without excessive detail
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- Author can proceed without wading through unnecessary commentary
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- Saves time for everyone
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---
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### Comparison: Verbose vs Concise
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**Verbose Format (Old):**

.claude/skills/reviewing-changes/reference/review-psychology.md

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## Core Directives
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- **Keep positive feedback minimal**: For clean PRs with no issues, use 2-3 line approval only. When acknowledging good practices in PRs with issues, use single bullet list with no elaboration. Never create elaborate sections praising correct implementations.
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- Ask questions for design decisions, be prescriptive for clear violations
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- Focus on code, not people ("This code..." not "You...")
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- Use I-statements for subjective feedback ("Hard for me to understand...")
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- Explain rationale with every recommendation
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- Avoid: "just", "simply", "obviously", "easy"
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- Keep positive feedback brief (list only, no elaboration)
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---
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