What are Git hooks?

Git hooks are scripts that Git executes automatically before or after specific Git events, allowing you to automate tasks and enforce policies. They live in .git/hooks/ as executable scripts (shell, Python, Node.js, etc.). Hooks are not committed to the repo by default (they're in .git/) — to share hooks, use tools like husky (Node.js) or put them in a directory and symlink. Common client-side hooks: pre-commit — runs before a commit is created; used to run linters, formatters, tests. Exit non-zero to abort the commit; commit-msg — validates the commit message format (e.g., enforce conventional commits); pre-push — runs before pushing; used to run full test suite; post-commit — runs after commit (notifications); pre-rebase — can prevent rebasing certain branches. Server-side hooks (on the remote): pre-receive — validate pushes before accepting; enforce branch protection; post-receive — trigger deployments, send notifications after push. Tools: Husky — popular Node.js tool for managing Git hooks in package.json; lint-staged — run linters only on staged files.