
About
Master Git hooks setup with Husky, lint-staged, pre-commit framework, and commitlint. Automate code quality gates, formatting, linting, and commit message enforcement before code reaches CI.
name: git-hooks-automation description: "Master Git hooks setup with Husky, lint-staged, pre-commit framework, and commitlint. Automate code quality gates, formatting, linting, and commit message enforcement before code reaches CI." risk: safe source: community date_added: "2026-03-07"
Git Hooks Automation
Automate code quality enforcement at the Git level. Set up hooks that lint, format, test, and validate before commits and pushes ever reach your CI pipeline — catching issues in seconds instead of minutes.
When to Use This Skill
- User asks to "set up git hooks" or "add pre-commit hooks"
- Configuring Husky, lint-staged, or the pre-commit framework
- Enforcing commit message conventions (Conventional Commits, commitlint)
- Automating linting, formatting, or type-checking before commits
- Setting up pre-push hooks for test runners
- Migrating from Husky v4 to v9+ or adopting hooks from scratch
- User mentions "pre-commit", "commit-msg", "pre-push", "lint-staged", or "githooks"
Git Hooks Fundamentals
Git hooks are scripts that run automatically at specific points in the Git workflow. They live in .git/hooks/ and are not version-controlled by default — which is why tools like Husky exist.
Hook Types & When They Fire
| Hook | Fires When | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| pre-commit | Before commit is created | Lint, format, type-check staged files |
| prepare-commit-msg | After default msg, before editor | Auto-populate commit templates |
| commit-msg | After user writes commit message | Enforce commit message format |
| post-commit | After commit is created | Notifications, logging |
| pre-push | Before push to remote | Run tests, check branch policies |
| pre-rebase | Before rebase starts | Prevent rebase on protected branches |
| post-merge | After merge completes | Install deps, run migrations |
| post-checkout | After checkout/switch | Install deps, rebuild assets |
Native Git Hooks (No Framework)
# Create a pre-commit hook manually
cat > .git/hooks/pre-commit << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
set -e
# Run linter on staged files only
STAGED_FILES=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM | grep -E '\.(js|ts|jsx|tsx)$' || true)
if [ -n "$STAGED_FILES" ]; then
echo "🔍 Linting staged files..."
echo "$STAGED_FILES" | xargs npx eslint --fix
echo "$STAGED_FILES" | xargs git add # Re-stage after fixes
fi
EOF
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit
Problem: .git/hooks/ is local-only and not shared with the team. Use a framework instead.
Husky + lint-staged (Node.js Projects)
The modern standard for JavaScript/TypeScript projects. Husky manages Git hooks; lint-staged runs commands only on staged files for speed.
Quick Setup (Husky v9+)
# Install
npm install --save-dev husky lint-staged
# Initialize Husky (creates .husky/ directory)
npx husky init
# The init command creates a pre-commit hook — edit it:
echo "npx lint-staged" > .husky/pre-commit
Configure lint-staged in package.json
{
"lint-staged": {
"*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}": [
"eslint --fix --max-warnings=0",
"prettier --write"
],
"*.{css,scss}": [
"prettier --write",
"stylelint --fix"
],
"*.{json,md,yml,yaml}": [
"prettier --write"
]
}
}
Add Commit Message Linting
# Install commitlint
npm install --save-dev @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventional
# Create commitlint config
cat > commitlint.config.js << 'EOF'
module.exports = {
extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'],
rules: {
'type-enum': [2, 'always', [
'feat', 'fix', 'docs', 'style', 'refactor',
'perf', 'test', 'build', 'ci', 'chore', 'revert'
]],
'subject-max-length': [2, 'always', 72],
'body-max-line-length': [2, 'always', 100]
}
};
EOF
# Add commit-msg hook
echo "npx --no -- commitlint --edit \$1" > .husky/commit-msg
Add Pre-Push Hook
# Run tests before pushing
echo "npm test" > .husky/pre-push
Complete Husky Directory Structure
project/
├── .husky/
│ ├── pre-commit # npx lint-staged
│ ├── commit-msg # npx --no -- commitlint --edit $1
│ └── pre-push # npm test
├── commitlint.config.js
├── package.json # lint-staged config here
└── ...
pre-commit Framework (Python / Polyglot)
Language-agnostic framework that works with any project. Hooks are defined in YAML and run in isolated environments.
Setup
# Install (Python required)
pip install pre-commit
# Create config
cat > .pre-commit-config.yaml << 'EOF'
repos:
# Built-in checks
- repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
rev: v4.6.0
hooks:
- id: trailing-whitespace
- id: end-of-file-fixer
- id: check-yaml
- id: check-json
- id: check-added-large-files
args: ['--maxkb=500']
- id: check-merge-conflict
- id: detect-private-key
# Python formatting
- repo: https://github.com/psf/

