The Complete Hookify Guide: Generate Claude Code Hooks by Chat Instead of Handwriting JSON

Content source note

This article is compiled from @affaanmustafa's Claude Code thread, the official Anthropic GitHub docs, the claude-plugins-official repository, and related community writeups, with real configuration examples added.

Tags: Claude Code Hookify Hooks AI Coding Automation Productivity

Why Hookify?

Claude Code has a powerful Hooks system. It can run scripts before or after tools execute, when files are changed, when messages arrive, or when Claude finishes a response. That makes it useful for things like:

• checking formatting
• blocking dangerous commands
• warning about secrets
• sending reminders or notifications

The problem is that the native setup path creates friction. You usually have to write nested configuration by hand, keep the format correct, and manage the files yourself. Many people know hooks would help them, but never set them up because the setup cost feels too high.

Hookify removes that friction. Instead of manually shaping config, you describe the behavior you want in natural language:

/hookify Warn me when I use rm -rf commands

Hookify turns that into a rule file and activates it immediately, with no restart required.

Table of Contents

• 01. Install Hookify
• 02. Three Ways to Use It
• 03. Rule File Format
• 04. Ten Practical Rules You Can Use Right Away
• 05. Multi-condition Rules
• 06. Management and Debugging
• 07. Performance Tips
• 08. Key Takeaways
• References

01. Install Hookify

Option 1: Install from the plugin marketplace

Inside Claude Code, run:

/plugin install hookify

If that does not find it, run /plugin, switch to the Discover tab, and search for hookify manually.

Option 2: Install through npm

npx claudepluginhub anthropics/claude-plugins-official --plugin hookify

Requirements

• Python 3.7 or newer
• Claude Code installed and working normally

To verify the installation:

/hookify:list

If it returns a rule list, even an empty one, the plugin is installed correctly.

02. Three Ways to Use It

Hookify has three core workflows, and each one fits a different stage of usage.

Method 1: Describe the behavior and let Hookify generate the rule

This is the most common path. Tell Hookify what you want to block, warn about, or monitor, and it generates a rule file for you in the .claude/ directory.

# basic syntax
/hookify <describe the behavior you want>

# safety examples
/hookify Warn me when I use rm -rf commands
/hookify Block any command that touches the home directory
/hookify Warn before executing anything with "production" or "prod"

# code quality examples
/hookify Don't use console.log in TypeScript files
/hookify Warn when adding hardcoded API keys or secrets to any file
/hookify Require tests to be run before stopping

# workflow examples
/hookify Remind me to update the changelog before committing
/hookify Warn if I'm editing more than 5 files at once

Typical output looks like this:

Created: .claude/hookify.warn-dangerous-rm.local.md
Rules are active immediately - no restart needed!

Method 2: Let Hookify analyze your conversation history and suggest rules

If you are not sure what rules to create, run Hookify with no arguments:

/hookify

Hookify can analyze the current conversation history and identify patterns such as:

• places where you explicitly said "do not do that"
• actions you corrected Claude for
• repeated points of friction or frustration

It can then suggest or generate rules from those patterns.

This is especially useful after you have been working in a project for a while and want to turn repeated lessons into permanent guardrails.

Method 3: Manage existing rules interactively

# view all loaded rules
/hookify:list

# enable or disable a rule interactively
/hookify:configure

# show help
/hookify:help

Example output from /hookify:list:

Active rules (3):
  ✓ warn-dangerous-rm         [bash]  pattern: rm\s+-rf
  ✓ no-console-log-ts        [file]  pattern: console\.log\(
  ✗ require-tests-before-stop [stop]  disabled

03. Rule File Format

Hookify generates Markdown files, not JSON. The YAML frontmatter controls the rule logic, and the Markdown body contains the message Claude sees when the rule triggers.

The file path format is:

.claude/hookify.<rule-name>.local.md

Basic structure

---
name: warn-dangerous-rm
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: rm\s+-rf
action: warn
---
Warning: a dangerous rm command was detected.

Please confirm before continuing:
- Is the path correct?
- Do you have a backup?
- Is there a safer alternative?

Event types

Actions

04. Ten Practical Rules You Can Use Right Away

The following rules come from real incidents or common day-to-day use cases.

Rule 1: Block dangerous delete commands

---
name: block-dangerous-rm
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: rm\s+-rf\s+.*(/|~)
action: block
---
Detected an rm -rf command that targets the root or home directory.

This can cause irreversible data loss.
Use a safer path or run the command manually only after confirming it yourself.

Rule 2: Prevent hardcoded API keys and secrets

---
name: block-hardcoded-secrets
enabled: true
event: file
pattern: (API_KEY|SECRET|TOKEN|PASSWORD)\s*[=:]\s*["'][A-Za-z0-9_\-]{16,}
action: block
---
Possible hardcoded secret detected.

Use environment variables instead:
- store secrets in `.env`
- reference them with `process.env.YOUR_KEY`
- make sure `.env` is included in `.gitignore`

Rule 3: Warn about console.log in TypeScript

---
name: no-console-log-typescript
enabled: true
event: file
pattern: console\.log\(|console\.error\(|console\.warn\(
action: warn
---
Console debugging statements were detected.

Remove them before committing, or replace them with the project's logging tool.

Rule 4: Ask for a second check before production commands

---
name: warn-production-commands
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: (production|prod|--prod|PROD)
action: warn
---
This command appears to target production.

Before continuing, confirm:
1. You are on the correct branch.
2. The relevant people know about the change.
3. You have a rollback plan.

Rule 5: Require tests before stopping

---
name: require-tests-before-stop
enabled: false
event: stop
action: block
conditions:
  - field: transcript
    operator: not_contains
    pattern: npm test|pytest|cargo test|go test|jest
---
No test run was detected in this session.

Run the relevant tests before ending the task.

This rule is disabled by default. Turn it on only when you want strict enforcement.

Rule 6: Warn when editing .env files

---
name: warn-env-file-edit
enabled: true
event: file
pattern: \.env$|\.env\.local$|\.env\.production$
action: warn
---
You are editing an environment variable file.

Please confirm:
- no real secrets will be committed
- `.env.example` also gets updated if needed

Rule 7: Warn about bulk deletion

---
name: warn-bulk-delete
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: rm\s+.*\*|\bfind\b.*-delete|\brimraf\b
action: warn
---
Bulk deletion operation detected.

Please confirm the deletion scope before continuing.
It is usually safer to preview targets with `ls` or `find` first.

Rule 8: Block direct force pushes

---
name: block-force-push
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: git\s+push.*--force|git\s+push.*-f\b
action: block
---
Direct force push was blocked.

Use `--force-with-lease` instead. It is safer and reduces the risk of overwriting other people's commits.

Rule 9: Notify when a long task finishes

---
name: notify-on-stop
enabled: true
event: stop
action: warn
---
Claude has finished the current task and is waiting for your next instruction.

Rule 10: Remind yourself before committing

---
name: warn-console-in-commit
enabled: true
event: bash
pattern: git\s+(commit|add)
action: warn
---
Pre-commit reminder:

- remove all `console.log` and `debugger` statements
- confirm lint passes
- confirm related tests were updated and passed

05. Multi-condition Rules

When a single regex is not precise enough, you can combine checks with conditions.

Example: detect API keys only inside TypeScript files.

---
name: api-key-in-typescript
enabled: true
event: file
conditions:
  - field: file_path
    operator: regex_match
    pattern: \.tsx?$
  - field: new_text
    operator: regex_match
    pattern: (API_KEY|SECRET|TOKEN)\s*=\s*["']
action: block
---
Hardcoded secret detected inside a TypeScript file.
Use `process.env.YOUR_KEY` instead.

Condition fields

Operators

06. Management and Debugging

Check whether the rules are active

/hookify:list

Where rule files live

All Hookify rule files belong in the project root inside .claude/:

your-project/
  .claude/
    hookify.warn-dangerous-rm.local.md
    hookify.no-console-log-ts.local.md
    hookify.block-hardcoded-secrets.local.md

They need to live in the project's .claude/ directory, not inside the plugin's install directory.

Test a regex manually

If a rule is not triggering, test the regex directly:

python3 -c "import re; print(re.search(r'rm\s+-rf', 'rm -rf /tmp/test'))"

If the output is not None, the regex matched successfully.

Common troubleshooting

07. Performance Tips

Hooks are effectively scripts that run around tool calls. The more rules you enable, and the more complex the regexes become, the more latency you introduce.

Best practices:

• prefer specific event types such as bash or file instead of all
• start with simple regex patterns and add complexity only when needed
• keep the number of active rules roughly within 10 to 15
• be especially careful with rules tied to high-frequency events like file writes
• set rarely used rules to enabled: false and turn them on only when needed

08. Key Takeaways

Core points:

1. Hooks are deterministic guardrails, not suggestions. A block rule stops the action regardless of what Claude "intends" to do.
2. Rule files are Markdown, not JSON. They are readable, editable, and easy to put under version control.
3. No restart is required. New or updated rule files take effect on the next relevant tool call.
4. Start with one rule. Pick the one failure mode you most want to prevent, watch it for a week, then expand gradually.

One-line summary:

Hookify reduces the friction of hook configuration almost to zero. Most people already know which guardrails they should add. The real reason they never did it was that the setup felt too annoying.

References

• Hookify docs: github.com/anthropics/claude-code/tree/main/plugins/hookify
• Claude Code Hooks reference: code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks-guide
• claude-plugins-official repository: github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official
• Hookify plugin page: claude.com/plugins/hookify

This article is a practical consolidation. If anything here is inaccurate, refine it against the official docs and your own workflow.