Review Templates

Review Templates define what Clearly AI asks and how answers are structured during a review. The exact catalog (names, frameworks, and question counts) is different for every organization; use the Review Templates area to see what yours includes.

Who can use this

• The sidebar shows Review Templates only when your account has permission to view them.
• Editing from the list uses a product feature flag. If you see Download and Delete but no edit action, ask an administrator whether the review template editor is enabled for your workspace.

What you can do (when the editor is available)

• See all current review templates in one table (filename, version, title, and question count).
• Create a new review template in the visual editor, or upload YAML files supplied by your team.
• Change question wording, structure (sections and headings), and many technical details of each block (question type, options, instructions to the model, and similar).
• Download YAML to back up or share a definition, then upload again to create a new version or a derivative review template.
• Run tests against real projects that already used this review template, so you can compare results before you rely on changes in production reviews.

To author YAML outside the app, use Clearly Quickstart. For starting points, see Review template examples.

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Open review template management

1. In the sidebar, click Review Templates (under All Projects when both are visible).
2. You will see Review Template Management: options to create visually, upload YAML, and a Current Review Templates list.

The Current Review Templates table shows Filename, Version, Title, Questions (count of blocks in the structure), and Actions (typically edit, download, and delete).

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Create a new review template (visual)

1. Click Create New Review Template Visually. The app opens the editor for a new review template (often starting from an “untitled” draft).
2. Fill in Title (required) and optional Description.
3. Optionally expand General Instructions — text that guides the model across the whole review template.
4. Use Add: Question, Text Section, or Summary Block to build the outline. Text Section adds headings and narrative; Question adds an item the model must answer; Summary Block is for rollup-style content when your review template uses it.
5. Click Create Review Template (first save) or Save Changes (later). If the title would match an existing filename, the editor warns that saving will create a new version of that review template.

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Edit an existing review template

1. In Current Review Templates, use the edit control on the row for the file you want (opens /review-templates/<filename>).
2. Adjust metadata (Title, Description, General Instructions) the same way as for a new review template.
3. Expand a block to edit its fields. Depending on block type (for example free-form, single or multi select, table generation, aggregate risks, secrets scan), you will see different options — always including the main question or prompt text, and often hidden instructions for the AI, options, assertions (how compliance is evaluated), and an answer strategy preset.
4. Reorder blocks by dragging the handle on the row.
5. Save Changes when you are finished.
6. Use Download YAML if you want a file copy. Upload Review Template on the management page accepts that YAML; re-uploading the same filename creates a new version (existing reviews keep the version they were run with).

There is no Duplicate button yet. To fork a review template, Download YAML, rename the file (the filename is the review template id), and upload the new file, or create a new visual review template and rebuild from your downloaded copy.

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Writing effective prompts

The text the model sees (the visible question plus any hidden instructions) drives answer quality. Short, vague prompts tend to yield vague or “not enough information” answers. Prefer concrete, testable language your sources can support.

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Making use of the knowledge base

Files in the knowledge base are available at run time. To use a specific file in the knowledge base, reference it by name or title in the prompt or hidden instructions. To use the knowledge base more broadly, describe what information should be used from the knowledge base. Note that extremely large KB files or overly vague descriptions may get less useful results.

You can also explicitly instruct the LLM to exclude files in the knowledge base. For example, if you have specialized policies, you can instruct the LLM to use one policy and ignore another based on some criteria, such as geographical region, or sensitive data types.

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Test changes before reviews go live

The editor can run isolated tests using projects that already have reviews created with this review template. If no such projects exist yet, complete at least one normal review first so there is source material to test against.

Full Review Test

• When projects appear in the Full Review Test panel, select one or more and click Run Full Review (n). The run is tracked under Test Runs; select a run to inspect outputs inline with the review template.

Test a single question (block)

• While editing a Question block, use Test on Projects (when shown), pick projects, and run Test Selected. Results can show Current Version and Edited Version side by side so you can see the effect of your edits on the same sources.

This is not a generic “compare two different review templates” tool. It is aimed at validating this review template’s draft against real project data.

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Suggested structure for a new security review template

If you are designing from scratch, grouping topics under Text Section headings helps reviewers scan results. One usable pattern:

These text headings are not used as context when answering questions, they are purely for visual organization.

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YAML upload and versioning

• On Review Template Management, drop or browse .yaml / .yml files, then Upload. Multiple files are supported; each file’s name (without extension) becomes the review template id.
• Uploading a file whose id already exists creates a new version; the UI reminds you that existing reviews are not retroactively changed.

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FAQs

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What’s next