AI code reviews that admit they aren't human yet

What it does Sourcery is a GitHub app that drops AI-generated reviews on pull requests: change summaries, high-level feedback, and line-by-line comments. It also runs as an IDE assistant for Python-heavy workflows in VS Code, PyCharm, Sublime, and even Vim. Public repos get it free; private ones hit a 14-day wall then need a paid plan.

The interesting bit The README’s honesty is the standout feature. Sourcery explicitly states its goal is “the type of code review you would expect to get from a colleague” and admits “we’re not there yet.” That’s rare in the AI tools space, where most vendors pretend they’ve solved software engineering.

Key highlights

• Uses both OpenAI and Anthropic LLMs, not a single model bet
• Code retention capped at 30 days; no training on customer code (stated policy)
• IDE mode handles test generation, docstrings, and readability tweaks
• Free tier actually exists for open source, unlike many AI devtools
• Supports Vim, which suggests someone on the team has battle scars

Caveats

• The README is vague on what “pieces” each LLM handles and how prompts are structured
• “More editor integrations coming soon” has been a standard promise since 2019 in this space
• Pricing for private repos requires clicking out to docs; no numbers in-repo

Verdict Worth a spin for open-source maintainers drowning in PR volume. Teams with strict data residency requirements should verify that 30-day claim directly with Sourcery before feeding it proprietary code.