Sphinx
Dev tools
code review hook
SHOW HN2026
How HN took it
9 positive, 5 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 16 critical, out of 34 comments about the project. Thread score -0.17.
Idea: 7 for, 12 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful way to keep developers engaged with code they ship
From 3 comments
Love this idea, it’s way too easy to get lazy with AI, so having a quick reality check like this is actually a super healthy habit to build
shigosag on HNNice idea. I like that it tests whether the person understands the change instead of adding another AI reviewer. We added the tests before we switch to fully agentic AI…
alexwrich on HNVery nice, since agents are at least 10 times faster than what I can do, I never really spend time to code anymore, not even for my work. Usually this is fine, but sometimes when…
openphalanx on HN
Objections
People who skip understanding will just copy the questions to the agent or remove the hook
From 2 comments
Nothing prevents a lazy person from copy-pasting the question to the agent so I'm not sure that it would be an effective gatekeeping mechanism.
lecarore on HNSadly already happens. We have some rules for our devs that use AI and despite requiring a human to put a screenshot into the pr and hand write the pr they still have an ai do it…
dawnerd on HN
Multiple-choice format lets people guess without understanding
From 1 comment
I think this should kick in before any code is written not before any code is pushed. It's an odd thing to check before pushing new code. Also, from my experience implementing…
reddmachine on HN
Hook runs at push time, too late; should happen before code is written
From 1 comment
I think this should kick in before any code is written not before any code is pushed. It's an odd thing to check before pushing new code. Also, from my experience implementing…
reddmachine on HN
Requests
Detect whether answers are AI-generated
From 2 comments
Does it check if the answers are AI generated?
zapkyeskrill on HNNot yet. But you’re like the 5th person to mention it so I think I’ll add that feature. There are some AI prevention stuff like you can’t copy paste which means you gotta use the…
sailorganymede on HN
Native Windows support
From 1 comment
I think this could be really useful. Any chance you could add native Windows support?
SDeniz on HN
Questions
Who is this for?
From 1 comment
People who care about the problem will definitely not be using this as a method to "understand" their code. People who don't care about this problem will continue to not care.…
altmanaltman on HN
Alternatives named
PEAK, a similar proof-of-understanding tool
From 1 comment
We built something quite similar 6 months ago called PEAK (Proof of Effort And Knowledge). Blog post and YT video here: https://substack.com/@jeffksmithjr/p-195763168 Our version…
jeffreysmith on HN
vibecheck.dev, blocks merges on PR level
From 1 comment
Honestly I love to see people working on this problem ! I actually built a similar project myself (https://github.com/bhurghundii/vibecheck.dev) except it prevents you from…
sailorganymede on HN
Quiz-me-on-the-PR agent skills
From 2 comments
After noticing a drop in my understanding of the code I ship, I built and started using a similar skill ("Quiz me on the PR or the current branch"). I didn't tie it to a specific…
maximg68 on HNI actually made this as a skill last week. It is helpful. Especially when reviewing a PR with 1500 LOC from a non-dev. It keeps me focused an helps me do a structured review. But…
lowkeyokay on HN