Review Board

Review Board stands as the veteran champion of code review platforms, having pioneered web-based collaborative code reviews for over 15 years and earning the trust of development teams at VMware, Apache Software Foundation, and thousands of organizations worldwide who depend on its rock-solid reliability and comprehensive version control support. This mature open-source platform has weathered the evolution of software development from SVN dominance through the Git revolution, continuously adapting while maintaining the simplicity and effectiveness that made it the first choice for serious code review workflows. Unlike newer tools that focus on flashy interfaces or AI-powered features, Review Board delivers exactly what development teams need: powerful diff viewing, threaded discussions, approval workflows, and deep integration with every major version control system including Git, SVN, Perforce, and Mercurial. With its proven track record of handling millions of code reviews, extensive customization capabilities, and active open-source community, Review Board provides the stability and feature depth that enterprise development teams require for mission-critical code quality processes.

Key Features

• Universal Version Control Support - Native integration with Git, SVN, Perforce, Mercurial, Bazaar, and CVS with advanced branch and merge support • Advanced Diff Visualization - Side-by-side and unified diff views with syntax highlighting, whitespace options, and move detection • Threaded Review Discussions - Inline comments with threading, issue tracking, and resolution workflows that maintain context across revisions • Flexible Approval Workflows - Configurable review policies with required reviewers, approval gates, and automated testing integration • Multi-Repository Management - Centralized review platform for dozens of repositories with per-project permissions and configuration • Rich API Integration - RESTful API enables custom tools, automated workflows, and integration with CI/CD pipelines and IDE plugins • Review Analytics Dashboard - Track review metrics, identify bottlenecks, and measure code quality improvements with comprehensive reporting • Enterprise Security Features - LDAP/AD integration, SSL support, and fine-grained permissions with audit trails and compliance reporting

Pros and Cons

Pros: • 15+ years of proven stability and enterprise reliability • Supports all major version control systems natively • Open source with active community and no vendor lock-in • Powerful API enables extensive customization • Excellent performance handling large codebases

Cons: • Interface feels dated compared to modern alternatives • Setup and configuration more complex than hosted solutions • Limited built-in CI/CD integrations compared to newer tools • Requires server infrastructure and maintenance • Learning curve for advanced features

Get Started with Review Board

Join thousands of development teams who trust Review Board for enterprise-grade code reviews. Download and install from reviewboard.org with comprehensive documentation, Docker images, and community support. While setup requires more effort than hosted alternatives, Review Board’s stability, customization options, and zero licensing costs make it the ideal choice for teams wanting complete control over their code review process.

How Review Board Compares

While GitHub and GitLab provide integrated code review as part of larger platforms, Review Board specializes purely in code review with deeper features and broader VCS support. Unlike newer tools like Crucible (now discontinued) or modern alternatives like Phabricator, Review Board continues active development with a stable roadmap. Compared to enterprise solutions like SmartBear Collaborator, Review Board offers similar functionality at zero licensing cost. Where hosted solutions like Reviewable provide modern UX, Review Board delivers proven reliability and complete data ownership that enterprises often require for compliance and security.