--- title: "Never sign a review of code you have ยท Agent Wranglers" url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/independent-reviewer id: TDD-1 level: Required risk: money updated: 2026-10-27 build: a2a6bdfed830 tokens: 577 licence: "CC BY 4.0" licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- # Never sign a review of code you have changed For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [Scope and conduct](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct.md). By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers.md). Updated 2026-10-27. - ID: TDD-1 - Level: Required - Chapter: [Scope and conduct](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct.md) - Rule: The person who signs a due diligence report has made no change to the code under review. - Check: The report names the signing reviewer. The repository history shows 0 commits by them, checked with the code host's commit search by author. - Risk: Money lost or taken twice - How: A reviewer who wrote part of the code grades their own work. Then every finding in [Tie every finding to a rule ID and evidence](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/findings-with-rule-ids.md) loses its weight. Fixing what the review found is a separate engagement, after the report is signed. State the reviewer's independence in the report. ## Sources - [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, CA-2(1) Independent assessors](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/r5/upd1/final) ## Related rules - TDD-3 [Tie every finding to a rule ID and evidence](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/findings-with-rule-ids.md) in Technical due diligence - TDD-23 [Run the buyer's checks on yourself before the review](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/preparing-to-sell/seller-self-review.md) in Technical due diligence **For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `Agent Wranglers technical due diligence playbook`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link. - Next: [Work from read-only access and delete copies afterwards](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/read-only-and-delete.md) - [Scope and conduct](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct.md)