Bob Lens

Bob Lens is a Bob native npm package built for the IBM Bob during the IBM Hackathon 2026 theme, “Turn idea into impact faster.” It installs into any project and sits alongside IBM Bob IDE to help developers understand AI generated code changes before approving them. When Bob modifies files in your workspace, Bob Lens automatically captures the before and after state, renders a live review session, and shows not only what changed, but how that change may affect execution. Instead of relying on raw diffs alone, Bob Lens turns each Bob generated update into an explainable review flow. It shows side by side before and after diffs with character level highlighting, a visual execution flow powered by BobShell, and a risk analysis that summarizes what changed, what may break, and whether the change looks Safe, Review, or Risky. IBM Bob is central to the package. Bob Lens is not a separate review tool pasted on top of the workflow. It is designed to work natively with Bob through MCP change notifications, Bob checkpoints, and BobShell analysis. Bob edits the code, Bob Lens receives the change event, snapshots the relevant state, and BobShell helps explain the behavior of the change programmatically. This creates a live feedback loop inside the Bob development experience. There is no pull request setup, no manual wiring, and no extra review process. Developers install the package, connect it to Bob, and as Bob makes changes, Bob Lens visualizes them in real time. The goal is simple: AI agents can ship code faster than humans can reason about it. Bob Lens gives developers the missing layer between generation and approval. It helps them move fast with Bob while still understanding the behavior, risk, and execution path of every change. With Bob Lens, developers can approve with confidence or rollback immediately. It makes IBM Bob’s code generation more transparent, reviewable, and trustworthy by turning every AI generated edit into an interactive, explainable decision point.