Code review installer template regression: plugin approach slower than direct prompt

[jjones-wps]

Summary

The code review workflow installer template changed between late December 2025 and mid-January 2026. The newer template uses a plugin marketplace approach that is significantly slower and produces lower quality reviews compared to the previous simple prompt approach.

Evidence

I installed the Claude Code Review workflow in two repositories at different times:

Older template (Dec 31, 2025) - Fast, high quality

- name: Run Claude Code Review
  uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    claude_code_oauth_token: ${{ secrets.CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN }}
    prompt: |
      REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
      PR NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}

      Please review this pull request and provide feedback on:
      - Code quality and best practices
      - Potential bugs or issues
      - Performance considerations
      - Security concerns
      - Test coverage

      Use the repository's CLAUDE.md for guidance on style and conventions.
      Be constructive and helpful in your feedback.

      Use `gh pr comment` with your Bash tool to leave your review as a comment on the PR.

    claude_args: '--allowed-tools "Bash(gh pr comment:*),Bash(gh pr diff:*),Bash(gh pr view:*)"'

Newer template (Jan 13, 2026) - Slow, lower quality

- name: Run Claude Code Review
  uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    claude_code_oauth_token: ${{ secrets.CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN }}
    plugin_marketplaces: 'https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code.git'
    plugins: 'code-review@claude-code-plugins'
    prompt: '/code-review:code-review ${{ github.repository }}/pull/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}'
    claude_args: '--allowedTools "mcp__github_inline_comment__create_inline_comment,Bash(gh pr comment:*),Bash(gh pr diff:*),Bash(gh pr view:*),Bash(gh api:*)"'

Issues with the newer template

1. Performance: Reviews take ~10 minutes vs ~4 minutes with the older approach
2. Plugin overhead: Loading the plugin marketplace and code-review@claude-code-plugins adds startup time
3. MCP tool latency: mcp__github_inline_comment__create_inline_comment is slower than direct gh CLI commands
4. Vague prompt: Skill invocation (/code-review:code-review) lacks explicit review criteria, leading to less focused output
5. Typo: --allowedTools (camelCase) should be --allowed-tools (kebab-case)
6. Extra triggers: 4 PR events vs 2 adds unnecessary runs

Suggestion

Consider reverting the installer template to the simpler direct prompt approach, or at minimum:

• Fix the --allowedTools typo
• Remove the MCP inline comment tool in favor of gh CLI
• Add explicit review criteria to the prompt instead of relying on the plugin's defaults

Environment

• claude-code-action@v1
• Workflows installed via GitHub App installer