Claude Code Hook Capabilities

Reference for what hooks can do in Claude Code.

Why Hooks Matter: The Only Guarantee

Hook = 100% execution guarantee (event-based)
Skill/Agent/MCP = ~20-80% (Claude's judgment)

Key insight: Hooks are the ONLY mechanism that executes without Claude's decision. See orchestration-patterns.md for forcing skill/agent activation.

5 Hook Roles

Role	Description	Examples
Gate	Block/allow tool execution	Prevent dangerous commands, workflow precondition checks
Side Effect	Auto-actions after tool execution	Formatters, linters, auto-commit
State Manager	Workflow state management	State file creation/deletion, phase tracking
External Integrator	External system integration	MCP calls, HTTP API, WebSocket, Slack
Context Injector	Session context injection	Load project settings, activate services

Event Types and Characteristics

Event	Block	Special Features	Verification
SessionStart	No	source (compact/new)	Verified
UserPromptSubmit	Yes	stdout auto-injects into Claude context	Verified
PreToolUse	Yes	updatedInput modifies input, tool_use_id	Verified
PermissionRequest	Yes	allow/deny/ask + input modification	Unverified
PostToolUse	No	tool_response (access results)	Verified
Stop	Yes	stop_hook_active (loop prevention)	Verified
SubagentStop	Yes	parent-child correlation via tool_use_id	Unverified
Notification	No	includes notification_type	Verified
PreCompact	No	trigger (auto/manual)	Verified
SessionEnd	No	On session end	Unverified

22 Universal Approaches

Control Patterns

Approach	Description	Event
Iteration Control	Track iteration count + max limit	Stop
Force Continuation	Use exit 2 to continue Claude work	Stop
Promise Detection	Detect Claude response patterns, conditional exit	Stop
Infinite Loop Prevention	Prevent recursion via parent_tool_use_id	UserPromptSubmit
Threshold Branching	Branch based on error/warning count	Stop

Input Manipulation

Approach	Description	Event
Input Modification	Modify tool input via updatedInput	PreToolUse, PermissionRequest
Path Normalization	Auto-convert relative to absolute paths	PreToolUse
Environment Injection	Auto-inject environment variables	PreToolUse
Dry-run Enforcement	Auto-add --dry-run to dangerous commands	PreToolUse

Context Management

Approach	Description	Event
Context Injection	stdout auto-injects into Claude context	UserPromptSubmit
Progressive Loading	Load context/skills on demand	UserPromptSubmit
Skill Auto-Activation	Keywords trigger skill suggestions	UserPromptSubmit
Transcript Parsing	Read and analyze previous responses	Stop
Transcript Backup	Backup session transcript	PreCompact

State Management

Approach	Description	Event
Session Cache	Accumulate per-session state + aggregate results	PostToolUse
Session Lifecycle	Initialize/cleanup state via SessionStart/End	SessionStart/End
Checkpoint Commit	Checkpoint on every change, then squash	PostToolUse, Stop
Session Branching	Auto-isolate Git branches per session	Pre/PostToolUse

External Integration

Approach	Description	Event
Notification Forwarding	Forward notifications to Slack/Discord/external	Notification
Desktop/Audio Alert	osascript, notify-send, TTS	Notification
Subagent Correlation	Track parent-child via tool_use_id	SubagentStop

Security & Compliance

Approach	Description	Event
Auto-Approval	Auto-approve specific tools/commands	PermissionRequest
Secret Scanning	Detect and block API keys/secrets	PreToolUse
Compliance Audit	Compliance logging + violation detection	PostToolUse

Implementation Techniques

Approach	Description	Event
TypeScript Delegation	Delegate complex logic to .ts	Any
Hook Chaining	Execute multiple hooks sequentially	Any
Background Execution	Async via run_in_background	Any
Argument Pattern Matching	Match arguments like `Bash(npm test*)`	PreToolUse
MCP Tool Matching	Match MCP like `mcp__memory__.*`	PreToolUse
Prompt-Type Hook	LLM evaluation via type: "prompt"	Any

Capabilities vs Limitations

Possible	Not Possible
File create/delete/modify	Block in PostToolUse
MCP/HTTP/WebSocket calls	Direct Claude context modification
UserPromptSubmit stdout to context	Delete existing context
PreToolUse/PermissionRequest input modification	Cancel already-executed tools
Continue work from Stop	Unlimited forcing (infinite loop risk)

Data Passing Methods (Important)

stdin JSON (Verified)

All session/project info is passed via stdin JSON:

session_id - Session UUID
cwd - Project directory
transcript_path - Session log file path
tool_use_id - Tool call ID (PreToolUse/PostToolUse)

stdin JSON Structure by Event

bash

# UserPromptSubmit
{"prompt": "user message", "session_id": "...", "cwd": "/path"}

# PreToolUse / PostToolUse
{"tool_name": "Bash", "tool_input": {"command": "npm test"}, "session_id": "..."}

# PermissionRequest
{"tool_name": "Bash", "tool_input": {...}, "permission_type": "execute"}

# Stop
{"stop_reason": "end_turn", "session_id": "..."}

# SubagentStop
{"agent_name": "backend-dev", "result": "...", "session_id": "..."}

Environment Variables (Verified)

CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR, CLAUDE_SESSION_ID etc. are NOT environment variables!

Actually set environment variables:

bash

CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_CFC="false"
CLAUDE_CODE_ENTRYPOINT="cli"

Settings Reload

settings.json changes only apply in new sessions

Exit Code Reference

Exit Code	Meaning	Behavior
0	Success/Allow	Normal proceed
1	Error	Hook failure, show warning
2	Block/Continue	Varies by event

Exit 2 behavior by event:

Event	exit 2 Behavior
PreToolUse	Block tool execution
PostToolUse	Ignore result (prompt retry)
PermissionRequest	Deny permission request
Stop	Force Claude to continue
UserPromptSubmit	Abort prompt processing

Hook Execution Order

Multiple hooks on same event → Sequential execution (definition order)
One hook exits 2 → Subsequent hooks don't run

Timeout Setting

json

{"type": "command", "command": "script.sh", "timeout": 10000}

Default: 60000ms (1 minute)

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Solution
Not reading stdin	Missing JSON input	`INPUT=$(cat)` required
stdout debug output	Context pollution	Use stderr (`>&2`)
exit 1 vs exit 2 confusion	Unintended behavior	exit 1=error, exit 2=block
Parsing without jq	Unstable	Install and use jq

References

Event Details - 10 event specifications
Pattern Details - Role, usage, examples
Orchestration Patterns - Force skill/agent activation
Real-World Examples - Implementation case studies
Advanced Patterns - Complex combinations

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