Husky Git Hooks: Setup, pre-commit & commit-msg Automation
Husky makes Git hooks easy. Instead of manually managing scripts in .git/hooks (which are not committed to your repo), Husky stores hooks in .husky/, versions them with your code, and installs them automatically for every developer via the npm prepare script. This guide covers the full setup: lint-staged, Commitlint, and Husky v9 changes.
What Are Git Hooks and Why Use Husky?
Git hooks are shell scripts that Git runs automatically at specific points in the commit workflow — before a commit is recorded (pre-commit), after the message is entered (commit-msg), before a push (pre-push). The problem with native hooks is they live in .git/hooks, which is not tracked by Git, so every developer must install them manually.
Husky solves this by storing hooks in the .husky/ directory (tracked by Git) and using the npm prepare lifecycle script to run husky on every npm install. New developers get working hooks automatically after cloning the repo.
Installation (Husky v9)
npm install --save-dev husky
npx husky init
# Creates .husky/pre-commit and adds "prepare": "husky" to package.json
# .husky/pre-commit is now a plain shell script:
cat .husky/pre-commit
# npm test ← replace with your commandpre-commit Hook with lint-staged
Running ESLint on the entire codebase before every commit is slow. lint-staged solves this by running linters only on files that are staged for commit:
npm install --save-dev lint-staged# .husky/pre-commit
npx lint-staged// package.json
{
"lint-staged": {
"*.{js,ts,tsx}": ["eslint --fix", "prettier --write"],
"*.{css,md}": "prettier --write"
}
}commit-msg Hook with Commitlint
Commitlint validates that your commit messages follow the Conventional Commits format (feat:, fix:, chore:, etc.):
npm install --save-dev @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventional
echo "export default { extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'] }" > commitlint.config.js# .husky/commit-msg
npx --no -- commitlint --edit $1Husky v9 Changes from v8
| Feature | v8 | v9 |
|---|---|---|
| Init command | husky install | husky init |
| Hook format | Required #!/bin/sh + source | Plain shell — Husky injects header |
| Skip in CI | is-ci package or HUSKY=0 | HUSKY=0 only |
| Config file | .huskyrc supported | No .huskyrc — scripts only |
Bypassing Hooks
# Skip hooks for a single commit (use sparingly):
git commit --no-verify -m "wip: skip hooks"
# Disable Husky entirely in CI environments:
HUSKY=0 npm ciHusky vs Lefthook vs pre-commit
| Tool | Language | Best For | Parallel Execution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Husky | Node.js | JS/TS projects | Via lint-staged |
| Lefthook | Go binary | Polyglot monorepos | Built-in |
| pre-commit | Python | Python projects | Limited |
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See what's included → Browse all deals →Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up Husky with lint-staged and ESLint?▼
Install the packages: npm install --save-dev husky lint-staged eslint. Run npx husky init to create the .husky directory and add a prepare script. Edit .husky/pre-commit to contain: npx lint-staged. In package.json, add a lint-staged key: { '*.{js,ts,tsx}': ['eslint --fix', 'git add'] }. Now every commit automatically lints and auto-fixes staged files before the commit is recorded.
What changed in Husky v9?▼
Husky v9 (released 2024) dropped the .huskyrc config file in favour of placing hook scripts directly in the .husky/ directory as plain shell scripts. The husky install command was replaced by husky init. Shell scripts no longer need #!/bin/sh at the top — Husky injects a source file automatically. The husky.sh helper was removed; if you need to skip hooks in CI, set HUSKY=0 as an environment variable.
How do I bypass Husky hooks with --no-verify?▼
Run git commit --no-verify (or the short form -n) to skip all client-side hooks including pre-commit and commit-msg. This is intentionally an escape hatch, not a standard workflow. In CI pipelines where Husky should not run at all, set the environment variable HUSKY=0 — Husky reads this flag and skips hook installation entirely, which is cleaner than --no-verify.
How do I use Husky in a monorepo?▼
Place Husky in the root package.json of the monorepo. Run npx husky init from the root. Because .git is at the root, all hooks fire regardless of which workspace triggered the commit. Use lint-staged with workspace-aware glob patterns like packages/*/src/**/*.ts. For per-package linting you can use the --cwd flag in lint-staged commands, or configure individual commands per glob in lint-staged config.
What is the difference between Husky and Lefthook?▼
Husky is the most popular choice: minimal, widely documented, and integrates with npm prepare scripts automatically. Lefthook is a Go binary with no Node.js dependency, making it faster on large repos and suitable for polyglot monorepos (Python/Ruby/Go). Lefthook has built-in parallel execution across hook commands and a single YAML config file. If your team is Node-only, Husky is the simpler default. If you need cross-language hooks or raw speed, Lefthook is worth evaluating.
How do I add a commit-msg hook for Commitlint?▼
After installing @commitlint/cli and @commitlint/config-conventional, create .husky/commit-msg with the content: npx --no -- commitlint --edit $1. The $1 argument is the path to the temporary commit message file that Git passes to the hook. Commitlint reads that file and validates the message against your configured rules. If validation fails, Husky exits non-zero and the commit is rejected.