What are Git hooks?

Git hooks are scripts that Git executes before or after events such as: commit, push, and receive. Git hooks are a built-in feature - no need to download anything. Git hooks are run locally.

These hook scripts are only limited by a developer's imagination. Some example hook scripts include:

• pre-commit: Check the commit message for spelling errors.
• pre-receive: Enforce project coding standards.
• post-commit: Email/SMS team members of a new commit.
• post-receive: Push the code to production.

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How do they work?

Every Git repository has a .git/hooks folder with a script for each hook you can bind to. You're free to change or update these scripts as necessary, and Git will execute them when those events occur.

Here's a full list of hooks you can attach scripts to:

• applypatch-msg
• pre-applypatch
• post-applypatch
• pre-commit
• prepare-commit-msg
• commit-msg
• post-commit
• pre-rebase
• post-checkout
• post-merge
• pre-receive
• update
• post-receive
• post-update
• pre-auto-gc
• post-rewrite
• pre-push

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Why should I care?

Fair question! Git hooks can greatly increase your productivity as a developer. Being able to push to your staging or production environment without ever leaving Git is just plain awesome. Update your code, make a commit and push, and your code can be running in any environment you specify. No need to mess with ssh or ftp.

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How do I implement Git hooks?

The short and easy: Overwrite one of the scripts in .git/hooks and make it executable.

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Reading

• Deploying websites with a Git hook
• The missing Git hooks documentation
• Git Hooks (Part I): The Basics
• Git Hooks (Part II): Implementing Git Hooks using Python
• Tips for using Git pre commit hook
• Use a boostrap shell script to use Git Hooks in Mac with PowerShell and with IntelliJ

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Projects

• overcommit - A well-maintained, up-to-date, flexible Git hook manager.
• Lolcommits - Takes a snapshot with your webcam every time you git commit code, and archives a lolcat style image with it.
• pre-commit - A framework for managing and maintaining multi-language pre-commit hooks.
• Hooks is a command line git hook management tool.
• Git Hooks Manager - A tool to manage project, user, and global Git hooks for multiple Git repositories.
• Git::Hooks - A framework for implementing Git (and Gerrit) hooks.
• git-pre-commit-hook - Hook that blocks bad commits. Useful for Python-development.
• App::GitHooks - A modular and easy to configure git hooks framework, supporting many plugins.
• Jig - A pre-commit hook on steroids
• GitPHPHooks - Write your hooks in PHP, manage and organize them on a task and project level. Has an additional Hooks library on GitHub
• Grunt GitHooks - Setup, manage and update your hooks with Grunt. Can be used with all languages, supports templates.
• git-hooks - Hook manager.
• Husky - Git hooks for Node.js, manage your hooks from your package.json.
• git-hooks-php - Git hooks for PHP based projects.
• commandbox-githooks - Git hooks for CommandBox CFML based projects.

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Contribute

If you have a Git hook you love, or a resource you've written for the community - please create a pull request here.

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Maintainer

Howdy, my name is Matthew Hudson and I created this guide to help myself and others wrap our head around integrating Git hooks with WebHooks.

Follow @matthewgh