Re: git hook question

From: Wesley Schwengle <wesleys@opperschaap.net>
Date: May 29, 2026, 16:11 UTC
Message-ID: <c5527d8c-9147-4355-a07d-153d3977108e@opperschaap.net>
In-Reply-To: <20260529052141.GA1099450@coredump.intra.peff.net>

On 5/29/26 01:21, Jeff King wrote:

Show 16 quoted lines

> On Fri, May 29, 2026 at 01:01:34AM -0400, Wesley Schwengle wrote:
> 
>> I understand the why, normally pre-push gets `<local-ref> SP
>> <local-object-name> SP <remote-ref> SP <remote-object-name> LF'. This has a
>> similar feel, albeit a different syntax. The difference feels like a minor
>> bug, but not one I'm worried about at this moment: you would expect it to
>> get the same arguments/parameters as the regular pre-push hook. But I
>> digress.
> 
> I think the "git hook" command is mostly intended for scripting, and the
> caller is expected to understand the context and provide the appropriate
> arguments. The hook command itself doesn't know about what a "pre-push"
> hook should look like.
> 
> So not a bug, but definitely a gotcha that could perhaps be better
> explained in the documentation.

I think the "normal" pre-push makes more sense than the one I'm seeing right now, but perhaps that's me. But I think that the docs would perhaps need an update to why this `remote url' are the arguments. Especially if you read `githooks(5)' it seems a little strange.

Show 14 quoted lines

>> My actual question is: Is there a way to tell the hook "Don't give me
>> arguments, just run the plain command that is defined". I looked in `man 1
>> git-hook', but I was unable to find something that looks like it.
> 
> I don't think so; the command is expected to handle (or ignore) the
> arguments as appropriate. You could obviously write a wrapper script to
> handle that, but since hook commands are run with a shell you can inline
> it, like:
> 
>    git config hook.npm-test.command 'npm run test #'
> 
> Git will paste together the shell command:
> 
>    npm run test # "$@"

That doesn't work on my side:

$ cat ~/.config/git/js.config && git config --get hook.npm-test.command 
&& GIT_TRACE=1 git poh
[hook "npm-test"]
   event = pre-push
   command = npm run test #
   enabled = true
npm run test

[snip, alias expansion]

11:49:46.746800 run-command.c:673 trace: run_command: git push origin HEAD 11:49:46.746811 run-command.c:765 trace: start_command: /home/wesleys/.local/libexec/git-core/git push origin HEAD 11:49:46.749640 git.c:502 trace: built-in: git push origin HEAD 11:49:46.752107 run-command.c:673 trace: run_command: unset GIT_PREFIX; ssh git@gitlab.com 'git-receive-pack '\''some/repo'\''' 11:49:46.752135 run-command.c:765 trace: start_command: /usr/bin/ssh git@gitlab.com 'git-receive-pack '\''some/repo'\''' 11:49:47.549946 run-command.c:1576 run_processes_parallel: preparing to run up to 1 tasks 11:49:47.549988 run-command.c:673 trace: run_command: 'npm run test' origin git@gitlab.com:some/repo 11:49:47.550012 run-command.c:765 trace: start_command: /bin/sh -c 'npm run test "$@"' 'npm run test' origin git@gitlab.com:some/repo

> @skirbi/semtic@0.0.18 test
> tap origin git@gitlab.com:some/repo

No valid test files found matching "origin" "git@gitlab.com:some/repo" 11:49:48.145805 run-command.c:1604 run_processes_parallel: done error: failed to push some refs to 'gitlab.com:some/repo'

> The more
> general form of this trick is to use a shell function, like:
> 
>    f() { your_cmd_here; }; f

Also seems to fail:

[hook "npm-test"]
   event = pre-push
   command = git npm-test
   enabled = true

[alias]
   npm-test = !f() { npm run test; }; f

11:53:14.678237 run-command.c:673 trace: run_command: 'f() { npm run test' origin git@gitlab.com:some/repo 11:53:14.678248 run-command.c:765 trace: start_command: /bin/sh -c 'f() { npm run test "$@"' 'f() { npm run test' origin git@gitlab.com:some/repo f() { npm run test: 1: Syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting "}")

The wrapper script seems the only viable solution. I do think it's a little annoying, because any linter, tester, thing that gets called by this infra now needs to add wrappers. Which means you either need to start making a githook repo for all the tests that you have.

The following circles back a little to the first response.

Tt kind of diverges from `git hook run pre-push' and how additional arguments are given on the command line with that invocation. Wrappers need to become aware on way it is called, either via hook or via a manual way, because of the `remote url' that gets added.

Normal hooks get that info via their STDIN, wouldn't this also make sense for these type of hooks? It makes differentiation much easier.

Cheers, Wesley

-- 
Wesley Schwengle