review-time

Estimate how long each PR will take to review based on size and complexity.

Review time estimation helps you plan your review sessions and prioritize efficiently.

When to Use

Morning planning: “What can I realistically review today?”
Time-boxing: “I have 2 hours before lunch — which PRs fit?”
Sprint planning: “Budget review time across the sprint”
Delegation: “Which PRs can I handle vs. should delegate?”

Synopsis

prctrl review-time [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description	Default
`PR_NUMBER`	PR number to estimate review time for (shorthand for –pr)	Interactive
`-p, --pr <PR>`	Show review time for specific PR (shorthand for –pr)	Interactive
`PR_NUMBERS`	PR number(s) to estimate (comma-separated)	Interactive
`-a, --all`	Show estimates for all pending reviews	`false`
`-g, --grouped`	Group output by time category	`false`
`-P, --priority`	Show priority scores for each PR	`false`
`--repo <REPO>`	Filter by repository name (partial match, case-insensitive)	None
`--author <AUTHOR>`	Filter by author username (partial match, case-insensitive)	None
`-s, --since-days <DAYS>`	Only show PRs created since this many days ago	None
`--json`	Output as JSON for scripting	`false`

How It Works

The estimation algorithm considers:

Lines changed — Base formula: ~2 min per 50 lines
File count — Number of files changed (fetched in parallel for performance)
Size complexity — Larger PRs get a complexity multiplier:
- XS (<50 lines): 0.8x (quick win)
- S (50-200 lines): 1.0x (standard)
- M (200-500 lines): 1.2x (moderate complexity)
- L (500-1000 lines): 1.5x (higher complexity)
- XL (1000+ lines): 2.0x (large, likely complex)
Age factor — PRs older than 14 days get 0.9x (context lost)
Minimum floor — No estimate under 5 minutes

Time Categories

Category	Time Range	Indicator
⚡ lightning	< 10 min	Quick review
🔵 quick	10-20 min	Standard small PR
🟡 moderate	20-45 min	Medium complexity
🟠 substantial	45-90 min	Large or complex
🔴 lengthy	> 90 min	Major undertaking

Examples

# Interactive: select PRs from pending list
prctrl review-time

# Target specific PR directly (consistent with other commands)
prctrl review-time --pr 4821
prctrl review-time -p 4821

# Estimate for specific PRs via positional arg
prctrl review-time 4821
prctrl review-time 4821,4815,4809

# Estimate all pending reviews
prctrl review-time --all

# Group by time category for session planning
prctrl review-time --all --grouped

# Show priority scores with estimates
prctrl review-time --all --priority

# Filter by repository
prctrl review-time --all --repo my-repo

# Filter by author
prctrl review-time --all --author alice

# Combine filters
prctrl review-time --all --repo api --author alice --priority

# Filter by age
prctrl review-time --all --since-days 7

# Get JSON output for scripting
prctrl review-time --all --json

Output

⏱️  Review Time Estimates — 5 PRs, ~2.5h total
───────────────────────────────────────
  M  Fix authentication bug  #4821  myorg/repo
     👤 alice  •  📦 M (340 lines)  •  ⏱️ 15 min  🟡 moderate
     ★★★☆☆  ⭐3

  XL Refactor API gateway  #4815  myorg/repo
     👤 bob  •  📦 XL (1200 lines)  •  ⏱️ 1.8h  🔴 lengthy
     ★★★★★  ⭐5
...

Tips

Sort by time descending (longest first) for session planning
Combine with --json for spreadsheet导入
Use quick category PRs forbetween-meeting slots
Large PRs (>1h) are good candidates for delegation or pairing

Keyboard shortcuts

PRCtrl