What is a hook?

Learn that a hook is an event-triggered script.

What Is a Git Hook?

A Git hook is a script that runs automatically when specific Git events occur. These scripts are located in the repository's .git/hooks directory and can be triggered before or after operations such as commits. This lets you automate repetitive checks instead of performing them manually.

.git/hooks/
  pre-commit
  commit-msg

The Location of Hook Files

Git hook files are located in the repository's .git/hooks directory by default. When a repository is initialized with git init, example files with the .sample extension are placed in this directory. To enable a hook, you can remove the extension from the relevant sample file and prepare an executable script.

.git/hooks/pre-commit.sample
.git/hooks/commit-msg.sample

Hooks run in the local repository; these scripts are not automatically shared when another user clones the repository.

Exercise Build a Hook File Path

Assign the path of the pre-commit file inside the .git/hooks directory to the hookPath variable. Then print the path.

Show example solution

const hookPath = ".git/hooks/pre-commit";
console.log(hookPath);

Test yourself

What is the main purpose of Git hooks?
- Automatically deleting all repository branches
- Encrypting commit history
- Converting a remote repository into a local repository
- Running scripts during specific Git events
Show answer

Running scripts during specific Git events — Hooks are scripts associated with specific Git events and run automatically when those events occur.

Complete the Hook Directory

.git/____/pre-commit

Show answer

.git/hooks/pre-commit

Basic Hook Concepts

Hook

Event-triggered script
.git/hooks

Directory for hook files
Event

Event that starts a script
.sample

Sample hook extension

Next lesson: pre-commit

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