code-review-csharp

Review C# Code for Best Practices

Perform a structured code review of C# source code. Identify issues related to naming conventions, performance, security, readability, and .NET best practices. Produce a prioritized report with actionable suggestions.

Gather Context

Before reviewing, determine:

1. Code to review — the C# file, class, or snippet. If the user points to a file, read it. If they paste code, use it directly.
2. Review focus — what to prioritize:
   • all (default) — full review across all categories
   • naming — naming conventions only
   • performance — performance and memory only
   • security — security vulnerabilities only
   • readability — clarity, structure, and maintainability only
3. Target framework — the .NET version. Default to .NET 8 if not specified. Auto-detect from <TargetFramework> in .csproj if accessible.
4. Severity threshold — all (default), warnings-and-above, or critical-only.

If context is missing: Default to all focus, .NET 8, and all severities. Don't block the review to ask — just state your assumptions at the top of the report. Only ask if you genuinely have no code to review.

Report Format

# Code Review: {FileName or ClassName}

> Target: .NET {version} | Focus: {focus} | Reviewed: {date}

## Summary

{One-paragraph overview. Lead with the most important finding. State the total issue count by severity.}

## Issues

| # | Severity | Location | Issue | Why It Matters | Suggestion |
|---|----------|----------|-------|----------------|------------|
| 1 | Critical | `Class.Method:L12` | {issue} | {impact} | {fix} |
| 2 | Warning  | `Class.Property`   | {issue} | {impact} | {fix} |
| 3 | Info     | `Class.Method:L25` | {issue} | {impact} | {fix} |

## What's Done Well

- {Positive pattern — be specific, not generic}

## Recommendations

1. **[Critical]** {Highest-impact change}
2. **[Warning]** {Next priority}
3. ...

Severity levels:

• Critical — bugs, security vulnerabilities, data loss risks. Fix immediately.
• Warning — convention violations, performance pitfalls, maintainability concerns. Fix soon.
• Info — style preferences, minor modernization opportunities. Fix when convenient.

Review Categories

1. Structure and Design

• Single Responsibility Principle — does the class do too many things?
• File length and class complexity
• Namespace organization
• Unnecessary or missing using directives
• Dependency injection — is new used where DI should be?
• Constructor complexity — too many dependencies suggests SRP violation
• Proper use of sealed on classes not designed for inheritance

2. Naming Conventions

Verify against C# Coding Conventions:

3. Performance

Check for:

• String concatenation in loops → suggest StringBuilder or string.Join
• Unnecessary allocations: boxing, repeated ToList(), new in hot paths
• async void → should be async Task (except event handlers)
• Task.Result or Task.Wait() → deadlock risk, use await instead
• Missing ConfigureAwait(false) in library code
• Sync-over-async (Task.Run(() => AsyncMethod().Result))
• IEnumerable multiple enumeration → materialize with ToList() or use IReadOnlyList
• LINQ misuse: Count() > 0 → Any(), .Count() on ICollection → .Count
• Missing IDisposable / using / await using for disposable resources
• Unnecessary Task.Run on already-async code
• Large struct types being copied repeatedly (consider ref or class)

4. Security

Check for:

• SQL injection — string concatenation or interpolation in SQL → use parameterized queries
• Hardcoded secrets — connection strings, API keys, passwords in source → use configuration/secrets management
• Missing input validation — public method parameters not validated → add guard clauses
• Exception information leakage — returning stack traces or internal messages to callers → use generic error responses
• Null safety — missing null checks, inconsistent nullable reference type annotations
• Insecure cryptography — MD5/SHA1 for security purposes, custom crypto → use standard libraries
• Unsafe deserialization — BinaryFormatter, TypeNameHandling.All in JSON → use safe serializers
• Path traversal — user input in file paths without sanitization
• HttpClient misuse — creating new instances per request → use IHttpClientFactory
• LINQ injection — dynamic LINQ from user input without sanitization

5. Readability and Maintainability

Check for:

• Methods over ~30 lines → suggest extraction
• Deeply nested conditionals (3+ levels) → suggest guard clauses or early returns
• Magic numbers and strings → extract to named constants
• Outdated or misleading comments (worse than no comments)
• Missing XML doc comments on public API members
• Inconsistent formatting and whitespace
• Modern C# opportunities (based on target framework):
  • Pattern matching (is, switch expressions)
  • File-scoped namespaces (.NET 6+)
  • Primary constructors (.NET 8+)
  • Records for immutable data types
  • var usage consistency
  • Collection expressions (.NET 8+)
  • Raw string literals (.NET 7+)
  • required properties (.NET 7+)

Rules

Do:

• Explain why each issue matters, not just what to change
• Be specific about locations — class name, method name, and line number where possible
• Acknowledge good patterns — at least 1-2 things done well. A review that only lists problems is demoralizing.
• Respect the target framework — don't suggest .NET 8 features for a .NET 6 project
• Sort issues by severity: Critical → Warning → Info
• If the code has no issues, say so. Don't invent problems to fill a report.
• If asked to fix issues (not just review), apply the changes directly

Don't:

• Modify code unless the user explicitly asks you to apply fixes
• Flag framework-specific features as issues when they match the target version
• Report false positives — every issue must be verifiable in the code
• Be vague — "consider improving performance" is not actionable. Say exactly what to change and why.
• Overwhelm with low-severity noise — if there are many Info items, summarize them rather than listing each one

Example

Input:

public class userManager
{
    string connStr = "Server=prod;Password=admin123";

    public void deleteUser(int id)
    {
        var sql = "DELETE FROM Users WHERE Id = " + id;
        // execute sql
    }

    public List<string> GetNames(List<User> users)
    {
        List<string> result = new List<string>();
        for (int i = 0; i < users.Count; i++)
        {
            result.Add(users[i].FirstName + " " + users[i].LastName);
        }
        return result;
    }
}

Output:

Code Review: userManager

Target: .NET 8 (assumed) | Focus: all | Reviewed: 2026-02-18

Summary

This class has 2 critical security issues that need immediate attention: hardcoded credentials and a SQL injection vulnerability. There are also naming convention violations and missed opportunities for modern C# patterns. 6 issues total (2 Critical, 3 Warning, 1 Info).

Issues

What's Done Well

• GetNames returns a clearly typed List<string> — good use of explicit return types
• Method names are descriptive of their intent (deleteUser, GetNames)

Recommendations

1. [Critical] Remove hardcoded credentials — externalize all secrets to configuration
2. [Critical] Replace concatenated SQL with parameterized queries throughout the codebase
3. [Warning] Apply consistent PascalCase naming to all classes, methods, and properties
4. [Info] Modernize GetNames with LINQ and string interpolation

Pre-Delivery Checklist

Before finalizing the report, verify:

• Every reported issue is real and verifiable in the code — no false positives
• Each issue has a severity, location, explanation, and actionable suggestion
• At least 1-2 positive patterns acknowledged
• Recommendations are ordered by impact
• Suggestions are compatible with the target .NET version
• Security issues (if any) are marked Critical
• Report follows the defined format