How Tembo Works Refine, iterate, and improve on Tembo’s pull requests using natural language feedback directly in your Git provider.

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Prerequisites

The Feedback Loop works automatically once you have:
  • GitHub integration enabled in your Tembo workspace
  • The feedback loop for GitLab is coming soon!
  • At least one pull request created by Tembo (from error detection, manual assignment, etc.)
That’s it! No additional setup required.

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How it works

  1. Initial Solution - Tembo creates a pull request to solve an issue
  2. Review & Comment - You review the PR and leave feedback (via GitHub review or @tembo comments)
  3. Automatic Retry - Tembo processes your feedback and updates the PR with improvements
  4. Iteration - Continue providing feedback until you’re satisfied with the solution

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Providing Feedback

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Option 1: Use GitHub’s PR Review function

GitHub Review Interface
  • Submit a formal PR review using GitHub’s built-in review feature
  • Tembo automatically processes all review feedback - no need to mention “@tembo”
  • Advantages:
    • Tembo knows exactly which lines you’re commenting on for precise fixes
    • You can batch multiple feedback points in a single review
    • Cleaner conversation thread with organized feedback
    • Standard GitHub workflow that integrates with your team’s process

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Option 2: Add comments

  • Leave regular comments in the PR conversation
  • Mention “@tembo” in your comment so Tembo knows to process it
Comment Review Example

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Example Workflow

Here’s how a typical feedback loop works in practice:

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Step 1: Tembo Creates Initial PR

Tembo detects a Sentry error about unhandled database timeouts and creates a PR with a basic try-catch solution.

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Step 2: You Provide Feedback via GitHub Review

Using GitHub’s review feature, you add multiple comments:
  • Line 15: “Add retry logic with exponential backoff”
  • Line 22: “Log the timeout duration for monitoring”
  • Line 30: “Consider connection pooling optimization”
  • General comment: “Add unit tests for the timeout scenarios”

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Step 3: Tembo Updates the PR

Tembo processes all feedback points together and pushes a new commit that:
  • Implements retry logic with exponential backoff
  • Adds comprehensive logging with timeout metrics
  • Optimizes connection pooling configuration
  • Includes unit tests covering timeout edge cases

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Step 4: Continue Iterating

If you need further refinements, simply add another review or comment with “@tembo” and the cycle continues.

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What to Expect

Response Time:
  • Tembo typically acknowledges feedback within 1-2 minutes (👀 reaction)
  • Processing and implementing changes usually takes 3-10 minutes depending on complexity
  • You’ll see new commits appear in the PR once changes are complete
Processing Indicators:
  • 👀 = Tembo has seen your feedback and is analyzing it
  • 🚀 = Tembo is actively working on implementing changes
  • New commits = Changes are complete and ready for your review

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Best Practices

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Writing Effective Feedback

✅ Be specific and actionable: 
@tembo Add input validation for the email field using regex
@tembo Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for API calls
❌ Too vague: 
@tembo fix the validation
@tembo make it better
✅ Batch feedback in a single review:
  • Add multiple comments to different lines in one GitHub review
  • Tembo processes all points together for cohesive improvements
  • Cleaner conversation thread and better context awareness

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What Tembo’s Feedback Loop Handles Well

  • Code improvements: Performance, error handling, refactoring, type safety
  • Testing and documentation: Unit tests, code comments, README updates
  • Security and bugs: Vulnerability fixes, edge cases, error handling
  • Alignment: Changes that follow your existing code patterns

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Limitations

  • Complex architectural changes may need multiple iterations
  • Very large-scope changes are better as separate issues
  • Works best on code within the current PR scope

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Configuration

Feedback Loop: Always active on Tembo-created PRs in GitHub (GitLab support in progress) External PR tools: If you use AI-powered code review tools, enable integration in your Workspace settings and Tembo will respond to these AI reviewers:
  • Graphite - AI-powered code review and workflow optimization
  • CodeRabbit - Automated code review with AI-driven insights
  • Cursor Bug Bot - Intelligent bug detection and code analysis
  • Diamond - Advanced code review workflows
You are responsible for all merged code. Read our AI First Software Development guide for more information.