Best practices

Following these best practices will help you create reliable, efficient, and maintainable hooks that enhance your development workflow.

Hook design

Be specific and clear

• Write detailed, unambiguous instructions
• Focus on one specific task per hook
• Use numbered steps for complex operations

Test thoroughly

• Test hooks on sample files before deploying
• Verify hooks work with edge cases
• Start with limited file patterns before expanding

Monitor performance

• Ensure hooks don't slow down your workflow
• Consider the frequency of trigger events
• Optimize prompts for efficiency

Security considerations

Validate inputs

• Ensure hooks handle unexpected file content gracefully
• Consider potential edge cases in file formats
• Test with malformed or unexpected input

Limit scope

• Target specific file types or directories when possible
• Use precise file patterns to avoid unnecessary executions
• Consider the impact of hooks on your entire codebase

Review regularly

• Update hook logic as your project evolves
• Remove hooks that are no longer needed
• Refine prompts based on actual results

Team collaboration

Document hooks

• Maintain clear documentation of hook purposes
• Include examples of expected behavior
• Document any limitations or edge cases

Share configurations

• Use consistent hooks across team members
• Store hook configurations in version control
• Create standard hooks for common team workflows

Version control integration

• Consider hooks that integrate with your version control system
• Create hooks for code review workflows
• Use hooks to enforce team standards