For a quickstart guide with examples, see Get started with Claude Code hooks.
Configuration
Claude Code hooks are configured in your settings files:~/.claude/settings.json- User settings.claude/settings.json- Project settings.claude/settings.local.json- Local project settings (not committed)- Enterprise managed policy settings
Structure
Hooks are organized by matchers, where each matcher can have multiple hooks:- matcher: Pattern to match tool names, case-sensitive (only applicable for
PreToolUseandPostToolUse)- Simple strings match exactly:
Writematches only the Write tool - Supports regex:
Edit|WriteorNotebook.* - Use
*to match all tools. You can also use empty string ("") or leavematcherblank.
- Simple strings match exactly:
- hooks: Array of commands to execute when the pattern matches
type: Currently only"command"is supportedcommand: The bash command to execute (can use$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIRenvironment variable)timeout: (Optional) How long a command should run, in seconds, before canceling that specific command.
UserPromptSubmit, Notification, Stop, and SubagentStop
that don’t use matchers, you can omit the matcher field:
Project-Specific Hook Scripts
You can use the environment variableCLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR (only available when
Claude Code spawns the hook command) to reference scripts stored in your project,
ensuring they work regardless of Claude’s current directory:
Plugin hooks
Plugins can provide hooks that integrate seamlessly with your user and project hooks. Plugin hooks are automatically merged with your configuration when plugins are enabled. How plugin hooks work:- Plugin hooks are defined in the plugin’s
hooks/hooks.jsonfile or in a file given by a custom path to thehooksfield. - When a plugin is enabled, its hooks are merged with user and project hooks
- Multiple hooks from different sources can respond to the same event
- Plugin hooks use the
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}environment variable to reference plugin files
Plugin hooks use the same format as regular hooks with an optional
description field to explain the hook’s purpose.Plugin hooks run alongside your custom hooks. If multiple hooks match an event, they all execute in parallel.
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}: Absolute path to the plugin directory${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}: Project root directory (same as for project hooks)- All standard environment variables are available
Hook Events
PreToolUse
Runs after Claude creates tool parameters and before processing the tool call. Common matchers:Task- Subagent tasks (see subagents documentation)Bash- Shell commandsGlob- File pattern matchingGrep- Content searchRead- File readingEdit- File editingWrite- File writingWebFetch,WebSearch- Web operations
PostToolUse
Runs immediately after a tool completes successfully. Recognizes the same matcher values as PreToolUse.Notification
Runs when Claude Code sends notifications. Notifications are sent when:- Claude needs your permission to use a tool. Example: “Claude needs your permission to use Bash”
- The prompt input has been idle for at least 60 seconds. “Claude is waiting for your input”
UserPromptSubmit
Runs when the user submits a prompt, before Claude processes it. This allows you to add additional context based on the prompt/conversation, validate prompts, or block certain types of prompts.Stop
Runs when the main Claude Code agent has finished responding. Does not run if the stoppage occurred due to a user interrupt.SubagentStop
Runs when a Claude Code subagent (Task tool call) has finished responding.PreCompact
Runs before Claude Code is about to run a compact operation. Matchers:manual- Invoked from/compactauto- Invoked from auto-compact (due to full context window)
SessionStart
Runs when Claude Code starts a new session or resumes an existing session (which currently does start a new session under the hood). Useful for loading in development context like existing issues or recent changes to your codebase, installing dependencies, or setting up environment variables. Matchers:startup- Invoked from startupresume- Invoked from--resume,--continue, or/resumeclear- Invoked from/clearcompact- Invoked from auto or manual compact.
Persisting environment variables
SessionStart hooks have access to theCLAUDE_ENV_FILE environment variable, which provides a file path where you can persist environment variables for subsequent bash commands.
Example: Setting individual environment variables
nvm use), capture and persist all changes by diffing the environment:
CLAUDE_ENV_FILE is only available for SessionStart hooks. Other hook types do not have access to this variable.SessionEnd
Runs when a Claude Code session ends. Useful for cleanup tasks, logging session statistics, or saving session state. Thereason field in the hook input will be one of:
clear- Session cleared with /clear commandlogout- User logged outprompt_input_exit- User exited while prompt input was visibleother- Other exit reasons
Hook Input
Hooks receive JSON data via stdin containing session information and event-specific data:PreToolUse Input
The exact schema fortool_input depends on the tool.
PostToolUse Input
The exact schema fortool_input and tool_response depends on the tool.
Notification Input
UserPromptSubmit Input
Stop and SubagentStop Input
stop_hook_active is true when Claude Code is already continuing as a result of
a stop hook. Check this value or process the transcript to prevent Claude Code
from running indefinitely.
PreCompact Input
Formanual, custom_instructions comes from what the user passes into
/compact. For auto, custom_instructions is empty.
SessionStart Input
SessionEnd Input
Hook Output
There are two ways for hooks to return output back to Claude Code. The output communicates whether to block and any feedback that should be shown to Claude and the user.Simple: Exit Code
Hooks communicate status through exit codes, stdout, and stderr:- Exit code 0: Success.
stdoutis shown to the user in transcript mode (CTRL-R), except forUserPromptSubmitandSessionStart, where stdout is added to the context. - Exit code 2: Blocking error.
stderris fed back to Claude to process automatically. See per-hook-event behavior below. - Other exit codes: Non-blocking error.
stderris shown to the user and execution continues.
Reminder: Claude Code does not see stdout if the exit code is 0, except for
the
UserPromptSubmit hook where stdout is injected as context.Exit Code 2 Behavior
| Hook Event | Behavior |
|---|---|
PreToolUse | Blocks the tool call, shows stderr to Claude |
PostToolUse | Shows stderr to Claude (tool already ran) |
Notification | N/A, shows stderr to user only |
UserPromptSubmit | Blocks prompt processing, erases prompt, shows stderr to user only |
Stop | Blocks stoppage, shows stderr to Claude |
SubagentStop | Blocks stoppage, shows stderr to Claude subagent |
PreCompact | N/A, shows stderr to user only |
SessionStart | N/A, shows stderr to user only |
SessionEnd | N/A, shows stderr to user only |
Advanced: JSON Output
Hooks can return structured JSON instdout for more sophisticated control:
Common JSON Fields
All hook types can include these optional fields:continue is false, Claude stops processing after the hooks run.
- For
PreToolUse, this is different from"permissionDecision": "deny", which only blocks a specific tool call and provides automatic feedback to Claude. - For
PostToolUse, this is different from"decision": "block", which provides automated feedback to Claude. - For
UserPromptSubmit, this prevents the prompt from being processed. - For
StopandSubagentStop, this takes precedence over any"decision": "block"output. - In all cases,
"continue" = falsetakes precedence over any"decision": "block"output.
stopReason accompanies continue with a reason shown to the user, not shown
to Claude.
PreToolUse Decision Control
PreToolUse hooks can control whether a tool call proceeds.
"allow"bypasses the permission system.permissionDecisionReasonis shown to the user but not to Claude."deny"prevents the tool call from executing.permissionDecisionReasonis shown to Claude."ask"asks the user to confirm the tool call in the UI.permissionDecisionReasonis shown to the user but not to Claude.
The
decision and reason fields are deprecated for PreToolUse hooks.
Use hookSpecificOutput.permissionDecision and
hookSpecificOutput.permissionDecisionReason instead. The deprecated fields
"approve" and "block" map to "allow" and "deny" respectively.PostToolUse Decision Control
PostToolUse hooks can provide feedback to Claude after tool execution.
"block"automatically prompts Claude withreason.undefineddoes nothing.reasonis ignored."hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext"adds context for Claude to consider.
UserPromptSubmit Decision Control
UserPromptSubmit hooks can control whether a user prompt is processed.
"block"prevents the prompt from being processed. The submitted prompt is erased from context."reason"is shown to the user but not added to context.undefinedallows the prompt to proceed normally."reason"is ignored."hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext"adds the string to the context if not blocked.
Stop/SubagentStop Decision Control
Stop and SubagentStop hooks can control whether Claude must continue.
"block"prevents Claude from stopping. You must populatereasonfor Claude to know how to proceed.undefinedallows Claude to stop.reasonis ignored.
SessionStart Decision Control
SessionStart hooks allow you to load in context at the start of a session.
"hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext"adds the string to the context.- Multiple hooks’
additionalContextvalues are concatenated.
SessionEnd Decision Control
SessionEnd hooks run when a session ends. They cannot block session termination
but can perform cleanup tasks.
Exit Code Example: Bash Command Validation
JSON Output Example: UserPromptSubmit to Add Context and Validation
For
UserPromptSubmit hooks, you can inject context using either method:- Exit code 0 with stdout: Claude sees the context (special case for
UserPromptSubmit) - JSON output: Provides more control over the behavior
JSON Output Example: PreToolUse with Approval
Working with MCP Tools
Claude Code hooks work seamlessly with Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools. When MCP servers provide tools, they appear with a special naming pattern that you can match in your hooks.MCP Tool Naming
MCP tools follow the patternmcp__<server>__<tool>, for example:
mcp__memory__create_entities- Memory server’s create entities toolmcp__filesystem__read_file- Filesystem server’s read file toolmcp__github__search_repositories- GitHub server’s search tool
Configuring Hooks for MCP Tools
You can target specific MCP tools or entire MCP servers:Examples
For practical examples including code formatting, notifications, and file protection, see More Examples in the get started guide.
Security Considerations
Disclaimer
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: Claude Code hooks execute arbitrary shell commands on your system automatically. By using hooks, you acknowledge that:- You are solely responsible for the commands you configure
- Hooks can modify, delete, or access any files your user account can access
- Malicious or poorly written hooks can cause data loss or system damage
- Anthropic provides no warranty and assumes no liability for any damages resulting from hook usage
- You should thoroughly test hooks in a safe environment before production use
Security Best Practices
Here are some key practices for writing more secure hooks:- Validate and sanitize inputs - Never trust input data blindly
- Always quote shell variables - Use
"$VAR"not$VAR - Block path traversal - Check for
..in file paths - Use absolute paths - Specify full paths for scripts (use “$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR” for the project path)
- Skip sensitive files - Avoid
.env,.git/, keys, etc.
Configuration Safety
Direct edits to hooks in settings files don’t take effect immediately. Claude Code:- Captures a snapshot of hooks at startup
- Uses this snapshot throughout the session
- Warns if hooks are modified externally
- Requires review in
/hooksmenu for changes to apply
Hook Execution Details
- Timeout: 60-second execution limit by default, configurable per command.
- A timeout for an individual command does not affect the other commands.
- Parallelization: All matching hooks run in parallel
- Deduplication: Multiple identical hook commands are deduplicated automatically
- Environment: Runs in current directory with Claude Code’s environment
- The
CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIRenvironment variable is available and contains the absolute path to the project root directory (where Claude Code was started) - The
CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTEenvironment variable indicates whether the hook is running in a remote (web) environment ("true") or local CLI environment (not set or empty). Use this to run different logic based on execution context.
- The
- Input: JSON via stdin
- Output:
- PreToolUse/PostToolUse/Stop/SubagentStop: Progress shown in transcript (Ctrl-R)
- Notification/SessionEnd: Logged to debug only (
--debug) - UserPromptSubmit/SessionStart: stdout added as context for Claude
Debugging
Basic Troubleshooting
If your hooks aren’t working:- Check configuration - Run
/hooksto see if your hook is registered - Verify syntax - Ensure your JSON settings are valid
- Test commands - Run hook commands manually first
- Check permissions - Make sure scripts are executable
- Review logs - Use
claude --debugto see hook execution details
- Quotes not escaped - Use
\"inside JSON strings - Wrong matcher - Check tool names match exactly (case-sensitive)
- Command not found - Use full paths for scripts
Advanced Debugging
For complex hook issues:- Inspect hook execution - Use
claude --debugto see detailed hook execution - Validate JSON schemas - Test hook input/output with external tools
- Check environment variables - Verify Claude Code’s environment is correct
- Test edge cases - Try hooks with unusual file paths or inputs
- Monitor system resources - Check for resource exhaustion during hook execution
- Use structured logging - Implement logging in your hook scripts
Debug Output Example
Useclaude --debug to see hook execution details:
- Which hook is running
- Command being executed
- Success/failure status
- Output or error messages