Using Git hooks

Git hooks are scripts that allow you to run custom actions automatically during different stages of the Git workflow (e.g., before a commit or after a push). They reside in your repository's .git/hooks/ directory and are not automatically copied when pulling or pushing.

The pre-commit hook is executed locally on every commit attempt. If the hook returns a non-zero exit code, the commit is aborted. This is a powerful tool for quality control, preventing broken code or syntax errors from entering the repository.

Our WordPress project template includes an example hook in scripts/git-hooks/pre-commit. By default, it checks for PHP syntax errors (php -l) and can be extended to run automated tests.

If you need to bypass the quality checks temporarily, use the -n flag:

When you run git push production, the remote server can trigger a post-receive hook. At Seravo, this hook is not pre-installed. If you want to automate tasks after a deployment, you must create the script yourself.

Common use cases for the post-receive hook:

To make the hook active, the file must be located at /data/wordpress/.git/hooks/post-receive on the server and have executable permissions:

Since Git hooks are regular shell scripts, you can test them by running them directly:

Example output of a well-configured script: