Table of Contents

• Overview
• Key Capabilities
• Quick Start
• Your First Hook (JSON - Claude Code)
• Your First Hook (Python - Claude Agent SDK)
• Hook Event Types
• Claude Code vs SDK
• JSON Hooks (Claude Code)
• Python SDK Hooks
• Security Essentials
• Critical Security Rules
• Example: Secure Logging Hook
• Performance Guidelines
• Performance Best Practices
• Example: Efficient Hook
• Scope Selection
• Decision Framework
• Scope Comparison
• Common Patterns
• Validation Hook
• Logging Hook
• Context Injection Hook
• Testing Hooks
• Unit Testing
• Module References
• Tools
• Related Skills
• Next Steps
• References

Hook Authoring Guide

Overview

Hooks are event interceptors that allow you to extend Claude Code and Claude Agent SDK behavior by executing custom logic at specific points in the agent lifecycle. They enable validation before tool use, logging after actions, context injection, workflow automation, and security enforcement.

This skill teaches you how to write effective, secure, and performant hooks for both declarative JSON (Claude Code) and programmatic Python (Claude Agent SDK) use cases.

Key Capabilities

• PreToolUse: Validate, filter, or transform tool inputs before execution; inject context (2.1.9+)
• PostToolUse: Log, analyze, or modify tool outputs after execution
• UserPromptSubmit: Inject context or filter user messages before processing
• Stop/SubagentStop: Cleanup, final reporting, or result aggregation
• TeammateIdle/TaskCompleted: Multi-agent coordination and orchestration (2.1.33+)
• PreCompact: State preservation before context window compaction

New in 2.1.9: PreToolUse hooks can now return additionalContext to inject information before a tool executes. This enables patterns like cache hints, security warnings, or relevant context injection.

Quick Start

Your First Hook (JSON - Claude Code)

Create a simple logging hook in .claude/settings.json:

{
  "PostToolUse": [
    {
      "matcher": "Bash",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "echo \"$(date): Executed $CLAUDE_TOOL_NAME\" >> ~/.claude/audit.log"
      }]
    }
  ]
}

Note: Use string matchers ("Bash") not object matchers ({"toolName": "Bash"}).

Verification: Run the command with --help flag to verify availability.

This logs every Bash command execution with a timestamp.

Your First Hook (Python - Claude Agent SDK)

Create a validation hook using the SDK:

from claude_agent_sdk import AgentHooks

class ValidationHooks(AgentHooks):
    async def on_pre_tool_use(self, tool_name: str, tool_input: dict) -> dict | None:
        """Validate tool inputs before execution."""
        if tool_name == "Bash":
            command = tool_input.get("command", "")
            if "rm -rf /" in command:
                raise ValueError("Dangerous command blocked by hook")

        # Return None to proceed unchanged, or modified dict to transform
        return None

Verification: Run the command with --help flag to verify availability.

Hook Event Types

Quick reference for all supported hook events:

SessionStart Input Schema (Claude Code 2.1.2+)

The SessionStart hook receives JSON input via stdin with these fields:

{
  "session_id": "abc123",
  "source": "startup",
  "agent_type": "my-agent"
}

Fields: source is one of "startup", "resume", "clear", or "compact". agent_type is populated when the --agent flag is used.

agent_type field: When Claude Code is launched with --agent my-agent, this field contains the agent name, enabling agent-specific initialization:

# Python example: Agent-aware SessionStart hook
input_data = json.loads(sys.stdin.read())
agent_type = input_data.get("agent_type", "")

if agent_type in ["code-reviewer", "quick-query"]:
    # Skip heavy context injection for lightweight agents
    print(json.dumps({"hookSpecificOutput": {"additionalContext": "Minimal context"}}))
else:
    # Full initialization for implementation agents
    print(json.dumps({"hookSpecificOutput": {"additionalContext": full_context}}))

# Bash example: Agent-aware SessionStart hook
HOOK_INPUT=$(cat)
AGENT_TYPE=$(echo "$HOOK_INPUT" | jq -r '.agent_type // empty')

case "$AGENT_TYPE" in
    code-reviewer|quick-query)
        echo '{"hookSpecificOutput": {"additionalContext": "Minimal context"}}'
        ;;
    *)
        echo '{"hookSpecificOutput": {"additionalContext": "Full context"}}'
        ;;
esac

Hooks in Frontmatter (Claude Code 2.1.0+)

New in 2.1.0: Define hooks directly in skill, command, or agent frontmatter. These hooks are scoped to the component's lifecycle.

Skill/Command/Agent Frontmatter Hooks

---
name: validated-skill
description: Skill with lifecycle hooks
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      command: "./validate-command.sh"
      once: true  # NEW: Run only once per session
    - matcher: "Write|Edit"
      command: "./pre-edit-check.sh"
  PostToolUse:
    - matcher: "Write|Edit"
      command: "./format-on-save.sh"
  Stop:
    - command: "./cleanup-and-report.sh"
---

The once: true Configuration

New in 2.1.0: Use once: true to execute a hook only once per session, ideal for:

• One-time setup/initialization
• Resource allocation that shouldn't repeat
• Session-level configuration

hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      command: "./setup-environment.sh"
      once: true  # Runs only on first Bash call
  SessionStart:
    - command: "./initialize-session.sh"
      once: true  # Runs only once at sessi