Hook Development

Claude Code hooks intercept tool uses and events like PreToolUse to enforce safe, policy-driven automation. By defining a hooks.json configuration, you can validate actions, block destructive operations, and automate routine checks during development workflows.

Prompt-based hooks provide structured guidance to Claude Code for context-aware decisions, while command-based hooks execute specific scripts to validate, augment, or automate tool usage. Both types are configured in a hooks.json file and respond to events like PostToolUse and SessionStart.

You configure a hooks.json file by placing it under the hooks/ directory to define your target events and hook types. This centralized governance file references optional scripts, references, and assets directories, using portable paths with ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} to ensure plugin portability.

Yes, you can use Claude Code hooks to load project context automatically by targeting the SessionStart event. Configuring this in your hooks.json allows the plugin to intercept the session initialization and provide structured guidance or execute scripts to augment the environment.

To debug Claude Code hook registration and execution issues, restart Claude Code and run the command with the debug flag enabled. Observing the debug output allows you to verify that your hooks.json configuration is properly loaded and that your hook scripts execute as expected.

You should avoid using Claude Code hooks when simple manual execution suffices, as they introduce a structured hooks.json configuration and script management overhead. Hooks are best suited for enforcing governance, preventing destructive operations, and automating routine checks rather than ad-hoc tasks.