Claude Code Hooks Guide 2026: Automate Your Dev Workflow

Hooks turn Claude Code into a fully automated dev assistant — running your formatters, tests, and notifications without you asking.

What are Claude Code Hooks?

The mental model: hooks are like cron jobs, but instead of running on a time schedule, they run on Claude Code events. Anything you can do from the command line, a hook can do — formatters, linters, tests, notifications, logging, file backups.

All Hook Events Available

How to Set Up Your First Hook

Hooks live in ~/.claude/settings.json (user-level) or .claude/settings.json (per-project). Here is a minimal example that plays a sound every time Claude finishes:

{
  "hooks": {
    "Stop": [
      {
        "type": "command",
        "command": "say 'Claude is done'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

On macOS this will literally speak "Claude is done" out loud. On Windows you might use powershell -c "[console]::beep(800,300)". On Linux: paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga.

Save the file. The next time Claude finishes a task, the hook fires. No restart needed.

8 Powerful Real-World Examples

1. Auto-format every file Claude edits

"PostToolUse": [
  {
    "matcher": "Edit|Write",
    "type": "command",
    "command": "prettier --write $CLAUDE_FILE_PATH"
  }
]

2. Run tests after every change

"Stop": [
  {"type":"command","command":"npm test"}
]

3. Block dangerous bash commands

"PreToolUse": [
  {
    "matcher": "Bash",
    "type": "command",
    "command": "echo \"$CLAUDE_BASH_COMMAND\" | grep -q 'rm -rf' && exit 1 || exit 0"
  }
]

4. Slack notification when Claude needs you

"Notification": [
  {
    "type":"command",
    "command":"curl -X POST -d 'Claude needs attention' $SLACK_WEBHOOK"
  }
]

5. Log every prompt for auditing

"UserPromptSubmit": [
  {"type":"command","command":"echo \"$(date): $CLAUDE_USER_PROMPT\" >> ~/claude-log.txt"}
]

6. Auto-commit completed work

"Stop": [
  {"type":"command","command":"git add -A && git commit -m 'WIP: Claude session' --no-verify"}
]

7. Backup files before any edit

"PreToolUse": [
  {"matcher":"Edit","type":"command","command":"cp $CLAUDE_FILE_PATH $CLAUDE_FILE_PATH.bak"}
]

8. Desktop notification on completion

"Stop": [
  {"type":"command","command":"osascript -e 'display notification \"Done\" with title \"Claude\"'"}
]

A small settings.json change can turn Claude Code into a fully automated dev assistant.

Safety & Best Practices

1. Test on a sandbox project first. A bad PreToolUse hook can lock you out of using Claude. Test on a throwaway repo before adding to your main project.
2. Keep hook commands simple. One-line shell commands are easy to debug. Big bash scripts hidden inside JSON are not.
3. Use matchers to limit scope. matcher: "Edit|Write" means the hook only fires for those tools — not every single tool.
4. Log hook outputs while developing. Add > /tmp/hook.log 2>&1 at the end of new hooks until you trust them.
5. Never bypass safety. Hooks should add automation, not skip Claude's permission prompts. Wrapping --no-verify into a hook is asking for trouble.

For more Claude developer context, see our guides on Claude Skills Feature and Claude Agent SDK Guide.

Looking for the best information about Claude Code hooks? Quick takeaway: add 2 hooks today. Start with PostToolUse for auto-formatting and Stop for desktop notifications. From there, you will discover more automations naturally. Hooks are the most underused power feature in Claude Code.