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Ajit Kumar
Ajit Kumar

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How I Escaped the Commit-Hook Loop in My Django Project

#git #commit #devops #python

As developers, we all want clean, consistent code. Tools like pre-commit make this possible by automatically running linters, formatters, and other checks before a commit. However, if you’ve used them in a real project, you’ve probably encountered the dreaded commit-hook loop.

I recently faced this issue while working on a Django project. Let me walk you through the problem and how I fixed it.

The Context

I’m building a Django project with a typical Python stack:

  • Django 5.x
  • Python 3.12
  • Black for formatting
  • Flake8 for linting
  • isort for import sorting
  • pre-commit for managing all hooks

The goal is simple: enforce code quality automatically on every commit.

The Problem: Commit-Hook Loop

Here’s the workflow I was using:

  1. git add .
  2. git commit -m "Some message"

At this point, pre-commit hooks run automatically. If a hook fails (say Black reformats a file), the commit is aborted. Then I have to:

  • Fix the issues
  • git add . again
  • git commit again

…and repeat until all hooks pass.

This leads to a frustrating loop of add → commit → fail → fix → add → commit.

It’s particularly annoying when working on large Django projects with many files.

The Solution: Run Pre-Commit Before Committing

Instead of relying solely on the commit to trigger hooks, I started running pre-commit manually before committing.

pre-commit run --all-files
git add .
git commit -m "Your commit message"
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Here’s why this works better:

  • Hooks run on all files, not just staged files.
  • Auto-fixable issues (like formatting) are resolved before the commit.
  • You avoid the commit rejection loop entirely.

Making It Even Smoother: One Command

You can combine everything in a single command:

pre-commit run --all-files && git add . && git commit -m "Your commit message"
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  • Runs pre-commit first
  • Stages auto-fixed files
  • Commits cleanly without interruption

Optional: Enforcing Hooks on Push

If you want to ensure your team never bypasses hooks, you can install them on pre-push:

pre-commit install --hook-type pre-push
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Now, every push checks code quality too, adding an extra safety net for CI/CD pipelines.

Final Thoughts

Using pre-commit in this way has saved me hours of frustration in Django projects. The key takeaway:

Don’t wait for the commit to catch issues. Run pre-commit first, stage fixes, then commit.

For Django and Python developers, this workflow keeps code clean, consistent, and push-ready, without the dreaded commit-hook loop.

💡 Tip: Add this command as a git alias or a shell script to make it a seamless part of your workflow. Over time, you’ll barely notice it’s there — except for how much time it saves!

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