PR Lens by Coldtea.ai provides automated, animated architecture and data flow visualizations for pull requests, helping developers understand code changes at a glance.
What the product does and how it is positioned
PR Lens is a tool designed to enhance code review by generating visual diagrams directly inside pull requests. It maps out architecture and data flow, allowing developers to see the impact of changes before reading individual lines of code.
The tool utilizes a deterministic rendering engine to create SVG diagrams that remain functional within GitHub comments. By focusing on system-level context rather than just diffs, it aims to reduce cognitive load during the review process.
Source-supported ways to use the product
Developers use the tool to visualize system changes and data flow impacts within pull requests to speed up the review process.
The renderer can be used to generate diagrams for blog posts, documentation sites, or local tools to explain code structure.
The tool employs a custom renderer that transforms a strongly typed schema into SVG output. This process is designed to be deterministic, meaning it produces identical results regardless of the environment, such as a CI runner or a local laptop.
Checks to run with your own material and workflow
What was checked and when
Answers based on the source-checked product record
No, PR Lens is not based on Mermaid. It uses a custom, deterministic renderer built specifically for its own schema to ensure consistent SVG output.
The tool automatically updates the diagrams whenever a new push is made to the pull request, supporting the visual representation remains synchronized with the latest code changes.
Yes, the renderer is designed to be versatile. It can be used to draw diagrams for blog posts, documentation sites, or other local tools as long as the input follows the required schema.
When using the official GitHub App, no user-provided API key is required. If you choose to run the tool via CI, you may supply your own API key for the underlying model.
The diagrams are rendered as SVGs that support animation. Users can pan, zoom, and pick themes within the canvas provided in the pull request comment.
