What 10 Versions of an AI Code Review CLI Taught Me About Developer UX

You don't learn how developers think by reading docs. You learn by shipping something, watching it fail, and shipping it again. I've been building 2ndOpinion , an AI code review tool where multiple models — Claude, Codex, Gemini — cross-check each other's reviews. Over the past few months and ten CLI versions, I've rewritten the developer experience more times than I'd like to admit. Here's what actually stuck. Version 1: The "Just Ship It" Phase The first version of the CLI did exactly one thing: send your code to three AI models and print their reviews. It worked. Technically. npx 2ndopinion-cli --file src/auth.ts --models claude,codex,gemini --format json --output review.json Five flags to get a single review. Every run required you to specify models, format, and output. Nobody wants to think that hard before getting feedback on their code. Lesson: If your CLI needs a manual, you've already lost. The "Smart Default" Breakthrough The single biggest improvement wasn't a feature — it w