Sourcery

Overview

Sourcery is an AI-powered code review assistant that analyzes pull requests and provides instant feedback directly in GitHub, GitLab, or your IDE. It identifies bugs, suggests refactoring improvements, and scans for security vulnerabilities before code reaches production. The tool supports 30+ programming languages and learns from your team's coding patterns to provide customized reviews.

Key Features

Automated Pull Request Reviews: Get instant summaries, high-level feedback, and line-by-line suggestions on every pull request across any language.
Real-Time IDE Integration: Receive code improvement suggestions as you write in VS Code, acting as an automated pair programmer.
Security and SAST Scanning: Identify potential security vulnerabilities and secrets from the first line of code to final merge.
Custom Review Rules: Configure Sourcery to enforce your team's style guides and coding standards automatically.
Code Summaries and Diagrams: Automatically generate Mermaid diagrams and plain-language summaries of code changes.
Multi-Language Support: Works across 30+ programming languages with consistent quality feedback.
Production Issue Resolution: Automatically investigate and generate fixes for production bugs with AI-powered analysis.

Pros

Free for Open Source: Full Pro-tier functionality available at no cost for public repositories.
Quick Setup: Integrates with GitHub and GitLab in minutes without complex configuration.
Catches Basic Issues: Effectively identifies simple bugs, style violations, and common code smells.
Helpful for Learning: Junior developers benefit from real-time feedback that teaches better coding practices.
Privacy-Focused: Code is not stored beyond 30 days and never used to train AI models.

Use Cases

Pull Request Automation: Development teams use Sourcery to handle the repetitive parts of code review, automatically flagging style violations and simple bugs so human reviewers can focus on architecture and logic decisions. This reduces review time by 30-40% on typical pull requests.
Onboarding Junior Developers: New team members receive real-time feedback in their IDE as they write code, learning team conventions and best practices without waiting for senior developer reviews. This accelerates the onboarding process and builds good habits early.
Security Scanning in CI/CD: DevOps teams integrate Sourcery into their pipeline to catch security vulnerabilities and exposed secrets before deployment, adding an automated security layer that runs on every commit without slowing down the build process.
Legacy Code Refactoring: Teams working on large Python or JavaScript codebases use Sourcery to identify technical debt and suggest modernization patterns, gradually improving code quality across thousands of files without manual analysis.
Open Source Project Maintenance: Maintainers of public repositories use the free tier to automatically review community contributions, ensuring consistent code quality across diverse contributors without spending hours on every pull request.

Frequently Asked Questions

What programming languages does Sourcery support?

Sourcery works across 30+ programming languages including Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, and more. The tool provides consistent code review functionality regardless of the language, though some features like advanced refactoring suggestions work best with Python.

How much does Sourcery cost?

Sourcery offers a free tier for open source projects with full Pro features. The Pro plan costs $12/month (billed annually at $15/month) for private repositories. Team plans start at $30/month and include additional features like secrets scanning, SAST, and custom LLM integration. Students and open source projects remain free.

Does Sourcery store or train on my code?

No. Sourcery uses OpenAI and Anthropic LLMs but does not store your code for more than 30 days and never uses your code to train AI models. The service prioritizes privacy and data security for enterprise customers.

Can I customize Sourcery's review rules?

Yes. You can configure custom review rules to match your team's style guides and coding standards. The tool learns from previous reviews and can be adjusted to focus on issues that matter to your specific codebase and reduce noise.

How does Sourcery compare to GitHub Copilot?

Sourcery focuses on code review and quality improvement, while Copilot specializes in code generation. Sourcery analyzes existing code to suggest refactorings and catch bugs, whereas Copilot helps write new code. Many developers use both tools together for different purposes.

Does Sourcery integrate with my IDE?

Yes. Sourcery integrates directly with Visual Studio Code and provides real-time feedback as you write code. It works as an automated pair programmer, suggesting improvements without leaving your development environment.

Can Sourcery fix production issues automatically?

Sourcery offers a production issue resolution feature that investigates bugs and generates automated fixes. The free tier allows 20 investigations per month, while paid plans offer more capacity and Slack integration for incident response workflows.