Pre-Commit Hooks

Catch code quality issues locally before they reach your repository. drep pre-commit hooks analyze staged files instantly without requiring platform API tokens.

Overview

Pre-commit hooks run automatically before every commit, analyzing your staged changes to catch:

• Documentation issues: Typos, grammar errors, missing docstrings
• Code quality problems: Bugs, security vulnerabilities, best practice violations (when LLM enabled)
• Formatting issues: Markdown lint errors, inconsistent style

The drep check Command

The drep check command is the foundation of pre-commit integration. It analyzes local files without platform API requirements.

Basic Usage

# Check staged files (pre-commit mode)
drep check --staged

# Check a specific file
drep check path/to/file.py

# Check multiple files
drep check src/**/*.py

# Warning mode (don't block commits)
drep check --staged --exit-zero

Command Options

Output Format

drep check uses a pre-commit-friendly format: file:line:column: severity: message

src/utils.py:15:1: error: Missing docstring for public function 'calculate_total'
src/models.py:42:10: warning: Typo detected: 'recieve' should be 'receive'
README.md:23:1: error: Markdown lint: Line too long (exceeds 120 characters)

Exit Codes

Pre-Commit Framework Setup

The easiest way to use drep pre-commit hooks is via the pre-commit framework.

Step 1: Install pre-commit

pip install pre-commit

Step 2: Create .pre-commit-config.yaml

Create a .pre-commit-config.yaml file in your repository root:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/slb350/drep
    rev: v1.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: drep-check  # Staged files only

Step 3: Install Git Hooks

pre-commit install

This installs the pre-commit hook in .git/hooks/pre-commit. Now drep will run automatically on every commit.

Step 4: Test the Hook

# Run against staged files
pre-commit run

# Run against all files
pre-commit run --all-files

Manual Git Hook Setup

If you prefer not to use the pre-commit framework, you can create a manual git hook.

Create .git/hooks/pre-commit:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Run drep check on staged files
drep check --staged

Make it executable:

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

Configuration

Minimal Configuration

For pre-commit hooks, you don't need platform API configuration. Create a minimal config.yaml:

# Minimal config for pre-commit hooks
documentation:
  enabled: true
  markdown:
    enabled: true
    checks:
      line_length: 120

# Optional: Enable LLM for deeper analysis
llm:
  enabled: false  # Set to true if you have LM Studio running

LLM-Enhanced Analysis

For more intelligent analysis, enable LLM (requires a local LLM server):

documentation:
  enabled: true

llm:
  enabled: true
  endpoint: http://localhost:1234/v1
  model: qwen3-30b-a3b
  temperature: 0.2
  max_tokens: 4000

See the LLM Setup Guide for detailed instructions on running local models.

Example Workflow

Here's what happens when you commit with drep pre-commit hooks enabled:

$ git add src/utils.py
$ git commit -m "Add utility functions"

drep check..........................................................Failed
- hook id: drep-check
- exit code: 1

src/utils.py:15:1: error: Missing docstring for public function 'calculate_total'
src/utils.py:42:10: warning: Typo detected: 'recieve' should be 'receive'

Fix the issues, stage the changes again, and commit:

$ # Fix the issues
$ git add src/utils.py
$ git commit -m "Add utility functions"

drep check..........................................................Passed

Advanced Usage

Warning Mode

To show warnings without blocking commits, use --exit-zero:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/slb350/drep
    rev: v1.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: drep-check
        args: [--exit-zero]  # Warning mode

JSON Output

For programmatic consumption, use JSON output:

drep check --staged --format json

{
  "files_checked": 3,
  "issues_found": 2,
  "findings": [
    {
      "file": "src/utils.py",
      "line": 15,
      "column": 1,
      "severity": "error",
      "message": "Missing docstring for public function 'calculate_total'"
    }
  ]
}

Skipping Hooks

To bypass pre-commit hooks for a specific commit (not recommended):

git commit --no-verify -m "Temporary commit"

Troubleshooting

Hook Not Running

1. Verify pre-commit is installed:
   bash

   pre-commit --version

2. Ensure hooks are installed:
   bash

   pre-commit install

3. Check that .pre-commit-config.yaml exists in repository root

drep Command Not Found

Install drep globally or in your project environment:

pip install drep-ai
# or
brew install drep-ai

Config File Not Found

drep looks for config.yaml or .drep/config.yaml. Create a minimal config:

drep init

Then edit the generated config to remove platform-specific settings (Gitea/GitHub tokens not needed for local checks).

Pre-Commit vs Webhooks

Next Steps