Sourcery - Lovable alternative

Sourcery is an AI code review assistant that analyzes code across 30+ languages. It integrates into GitHub, GitLab, and IDEs to provide instant feedback on pull requests and local changes. Unlike generic AI assistants, Sourcery focuses entirely on code quality by suggesting improvements, removing duplication, and boosting readability. Solo developers may prefer this Lovable alternative because it catches bugs before deployment without requiring manual peer review. Code is not sent from the device unless the developer triggers an interaction like chat or recipe generation.

Strengths

• Provides automated code reviews in GitHub and GitLab pull requests with inline suggestions and fixes.
• Generates pull request summaries, review guides with diagrams, and enforces team style guides automatically.
• Offers real-time refactoring suggestions while coding in Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript.
• Supports 30+ programming languages for code analysis and review.
• Offers self-hosted deployments for secure environments with zero code retention options.
• Adapts to feedback and learns from previous reviews to improve comment quality over time.

Weaknesses

• Free tier is limited to open source projects only.
• Pricing details for Pro and Enterprise plans are not publicly disclosed.
• Primary focus on code review rather than full application generation.
• Real-time refactoring is only available for Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript files.

Best for

Developers who need automated code quality checks, security scanning, and refactoring suggestions within existing IDE workflows.

Pricing plans

• Free — $0/month — Open source projects only.
• Pro — Unknown — Private repositories with 14-day trial available.
• Enterprise — Unknown — Self-hosted options, custom LLM endpoints, contact sales.

Tech details

• Type: AI code reviewer and refactoring assistant
• IDEs: VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor
• Key features: Automated PR reviews, inline code suggestions, AI chat assistant, custom rule configuration via .sourcery.yaml files, code quality scoring with metrics for method length, complexity, and working memory.
• Privacy / hosting: Code is never stored by Sourcery. LLM providers do not train on user code. Zero retention options available through Anthropic. Self-hosted deployments available for Enterprise customers.
• Models / context window: Unknown. Uses AI models for code analysis and review.

When to choose this over Lovable

• You need a silent code reviewer with precision and context-awareness focused on code quality rather than full app generation.
• Your workflow requires automated reviews on every GitHub or GitLab pull request with security and bug detection.
• You want customizable rules via configuration files to enforce team-specific coding standards.

When Lovable may be a better fit

• You need to build complete web applications from natural language prompts rather than review existing code.
• Your priority is rapid prototyping and full-stack development instead of code quality analysis.
• You prefer a browser-based environment without IDE integration requirements.

Conclusion

Sourcery serves as a code quality guardian rather than an application builder. It provides 1000x faster code reviews by catching bugs, security issues, and technical debt automatically. The tool excels at maintaining code standards through continuous analysis and automated feedback. Solo developers gain peer-review benefits without team overhead, while enterprises benefit from self-hosted security options.

Sources

• Official site: https://sourcery.ai/
• Docs: https://docs.sourcery.ai/
• Pricing: https://sourcery.ai/pricing

FAQ

What programming languages does Sourcery support?

Sourcery supports code reviews across 30+ programming languages. Real-time refactoring suggestions are available for Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript.

How does Sourcery handle code privacy and security?

Sourcery never stores your code, and LLM providers never train models on your code. Code is not sent from your device unless you trigger an interaction such as chat or recipe generation. Self-hosted deployments are available for secure environments.

Can Sourcery enforce custom coding standards?

Yes. Sourcery reads rules from a .sourcery.yaml configuration file in your project directory to check for team-specific best practices. It can enforce your team's style guides and best practices automatically.

Does Sourcery work with GitHub and GitLab?

Yes. Sourcery provides instant reviews on every change in GitHub or GitLab. It automatically reviews each GitHub pull request, provides PR summaries, generates PR titles, and posts reviewer guides with diagrams.

Is Sourcery free to use?

Sourcery is free to use for open source projects. For non open-sourced projects you need a Sourcery Pro subscription, with a 14-day free trial available.

How does Sourcery measure code quality?

Sourcery assigns each function a quality score from 0% to 100% with sub-scores for Method Length, Complexity, and Working Memory. It warns developers when quality scores fall below 25%.