Problem Statement

Investigating why pre-commit hooks didn’t prevent PR 92 from being committed without following the established workflow for DEVLOG.md and TASKS.md files.

Root Cause Analysis

Found that the repository was using Husky v9.1.7 but with a deprecated v8-style configuration:

  1. Deprecated Hook Structure: The .husky/_/pre-commit file contained only deprecated wrapper code that didn’t execute our custom pre-commit logic
  2. Missing Call to Custom Script: Git was looking for hooks in .husky/_/ but the actual pre-commit file wasn’t calling our custom .husky/pre-commit script
  3. Husky v9 Migration: The repository wasn’t properly migrated to Husky v9’s simpler structure

Actions Taken

  • Fixed Hook Configuration: Updated .husky/_/pre-commit to properly call our custom .husky/pre-commit script
  • Tested Hook Functionality: Verified that the hook now properly:
    • Blocks attempts to edit DEVLOG.md and TASKS.md directly
    • Provides clear error messages explaining the directory-based workflow
    • Allows normal commits to proceed without issues
    • Continues to check for unstaged changes and untracked files

Technical Implementation

Before (Broken):

#!/usr/bin/env sh
. "$(dirname "$0")/h"

After (Fixed):

#!/usr/bin/env sh
.husky/pre-commit

Testing Results

  1. ✅ Hook correctly blocks DEVLOG.md modifications with helpful error message
  2. ✅ Hook correctly blocks TASKS.md modifications
  3. ✅ Normal commits (not touching legacy files) proceed successfully
  4. ✅ Hook continues to enforce staging requirements for all changes
  5. ✅ Error messages provide clear guidance on directory-based workflow

Impact

This fix ensures that future commits will be properly validated by the pre-commit hooks, preventing issues like PR 92 where workflow requirements were bypassed. Contributors will now receive immediate feedback when they attempt to edit legacy files directly.

Prevention

The fixed hook configuration means:

  • No commits can bypass the workflow requirements
  • Clear error messages guide contributors to the correct process
  • The repository maintains its directory-based approach to prevent merge conflicts