> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tiny-brain.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The git hooks

> What the commit-msg and post-commit hooks actually do on every commit

A small set of git hooks — installed by `tiny-brain init`, managed with
`tiny-brain hooks` — is the enforcement layer of the whole system.
Everything else (plans, phases, reviews, the dashboard) is built on what
they record. They divide cleanly into a **gate**, which runs before a commit
is accepted, and a **recorder**, which runs after.

## The gate — pre-commit and commit-msg

Everything that can reject a commit happens here, while the commit can
still be stopped:

* **Checks** — typecheck and lint run on every commit; the test suite runs
  for implementation commits (`feat:`/`fix:`) and is skipped for `test:`
  commits, whose new tests are supposed to fail.
* **Commit type** — the conventional prefix (`test:`, `feat:`, `fix:`,
  `refactor:`, `spike:`, `chore:`, `untracked:`).
* **Tracking headers** — tracked types must carry `PRD:`/`Feature:`/`Task:`
  (or `Fix:`/`Task:`) headers, and each `Task:` value must resolve to a real
  task by exact description match.
* **Pipeline position** — a `refactor:` commit is only accepted while a
  review is active for the task.

A commit that fails any of these is **rejected** — the message tells you
which check failed. See [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/overview) for the
common rejections and their fixes.

## post-commit — the recorder

Runs after an accepted commit lands, and does the bookkeeping you never do
by hand — it runs no checks (it can't; the commit is already final):

* attributes the commit to its task (via the `Task:` headers) and records
  its role — RED, GREEN, or review-refactor,
* advances the task's derived [phase](/concepts/phases),
* kicks off the [adversarial review](/concepts/adversarial-review) after an
  implementation commit (in repos with the review gate enabled).

## Working with the hooks

```bash theme={null}
tiny-brain hooks status     # what's installed
tiny-brain hooks install    # (re)install; --force to overwrite custom hooks
tiny-brain hooks uninstall
```

One rule matters above all: **never `--no-verify`.** Bypassing the hooks
doesn't just skip a check — it punches a hole in the record every derived
view depends on. If a hook is blocking you incorrectly, that's a bug to fix
(start with `tiny-brain doctor`), not a gate to jump.