Automate Repetitive Tasks with Hooks

Hooks are shell commands that execute automatically in response to Claude Code events. Configure them in your settings.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write|Edit",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "vendor/bin/pint --dirty"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

This example automatically runs Pint after every file edit — so your code is always formatted without you having to remember.

Available hook events:

• PreToolUse — runs before a tool executes
• PostToolUse — runs after a tool completes
• Stop — runs when Claude finishes its turn and returns control to you

The matcher field is a regex matched against the tool name (Write, Edit, Bash, etc.). Use ".*" to match all tools, or pipe-separate specific ones.

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write|Edit",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "vendor/bin/pint --dirty"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "echo 'Running a shell command...'"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Hooks run synchronously — a PostToolUse hook fires before Claude moves to the next step, making it perfect for linting, formatting, or running a quick type-check after every change.

Use /update-config to set these up interactively, or just ask Claude to write the hook configuration for your specific needs.

Hooks turn repetitive quality steps into automatic ones — set them once and forget them.