LGTM | Meaning & Examples

LGTM is a workplace abbreviation that means “looks good to me” or “I approve.”  Professionals use LGTM when they’re reviewing changes to software developer code, documents, graphic designs, and other work products. LGTM is a concise way for reviewers and decision-makers to give approval without writing lengthy feedback.

What does LGTM mean?

LGTM means “looks good to me,” and it’s a synonym for “I approve” that professionals use when they’re reviewing drafts of a document or software/programming code. For example, when a reviewer examines a code change and finds no issues, they might comment with LGTM. Workflows that involve LGTM follow this process:

• Someone writes a draft or makes an update to an existing document or product.
• Peers, editors, and/or supervisors review the work and check for errors.
• If everything looks good, each reviewer writes LGTM to approve it.

Sometimes people combine LGTM with emojis (e.g., “LGTM 👍” or “LGTM. This is ready to go live 🚀”).

LGTM meaning GitHub

Although LGTM is useful in a variety of collaborative workflows, it’s especially common on GitHub and other software developer platforms during the code review process.

When a developer opens a pull request (a request to merge code changes into a project), they usually ask one or more teammates to review it. If a reviewer looks over the code, tests it, and finds no issues, they use LGTM to show their approval. This simple response tells the team that the code is ready to merge.

In many projects, one or more LGTM comments are required before the code can be officially accepted. Some teams even use GitHub bots or automated workflows that look for the LGTM phrase as a trigger to allow merging. (For that reason, people sometimes think LGTM means “let’s get this merged.”)