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

Prerequisites

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

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 (tag @tembo in your GitHub review or 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
Credit Usage: Processing feedback through the Feedback Loop consumes credits based on the complexity of the requested changes and the size of the codebase context. Each feedback iteration is treated as a separate task. Learn more about credit consumption.
Important: You must mention @tembo in your PR comments or reviews for Tembo to process your feedback. This prevents accidental triggers from internal team discussions or comments meant for other team members.

Providing Feedback

Option 1: Use GitHub’s PR Review function

GitHub Review Interface
  • Submit a formal PR review using GitHub’s built-in review feature
  • Tag “@tembo” in your review summary or in any specific comments you want Tembo to act on (untagged feedback is ignored)
  • 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

Option 2: Add comments

  • Leave regular comments in the PR conversation
  • You must mention “@tembo” in the comment to trigger processing (untagged comments are ignored)
Comment Review Example

Example Workflow

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

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.

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”

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

Step 4: Continue Iterating

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

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

Best Practices

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
  • Tag “@tembo” on the review summary or individual comments you want addressed; Tembo processes all tagged points together for cohesive improvements
  • Cleaner conversation thread and better context awareness
ℹ️ Tagging is required:
  • Tembo only acts on PR feedback that mentions “@tembo” (in reviews or regular comments)
  • This prevents accidental triggers from internal team discussions or other bot messages

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

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

You are responsible for all merged code. Read our AI First Software Development guide for more information.