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PreToolUse/PostToolUse hooks don't fire in non-interactive -p mode #30143
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Your matcher syntax is invalid:
Bash(*)isn't a valid pattern. The(*)makes it an invalid regex (quantifier with nothing to repeat), so it silently matches nothing. Instead use:"matcher": "Bash"Thanks @dicksontsai — good catch on the matcher syntax, that was definitely wrong in my repro.
That said, the underlying question still stands: do PreToolUse/PostToolUse hooks fire in non-interactive
-pmode? Issue #20063 reports the same behavior (hooks not running in headless mode) and is still open.Our workaround (git pre-commit hooks) works fine for enforcement, but it'd be great to get confirmation on whether
-pmode hook support is intended or a known limitation.This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.
- locked as resolved and limited conversation to collaborators
on Mar 12, 2026
Description
When running Claude Code in non-interactive prompt mode (
-p), project-level hooks defined in.claude/settings.json(PreToolUse, PostToolUse) do not fire. This appears to affect all hook types, not just PermissionRequest (which is documented as not firing in-pmode).Steps to Reproduce
.claude/settings.json:{ "hooks": { "PreToolUse": [ { "matcher": "Bash(*)", "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "echo HOOK_FIRED >> .hook-breadcrumb.log", "timeout": 5 } ] } ] } }CLAUDECODE= claude -p "Run 'echo hello' using Bash." \ --model haiku \ --dangerously-skip-permissions \ --output-format stream-json.hook-breadcrumb.log— it does not exist. The hook never fired.Expected Behavior
PreToolUse and PostToolUse hooks should fire in
-pmode, just as they fire in interactive mode. The documentation states PermissionRequest hooks don't fire in non-interactive mode, but does not mention this limitation for PreToolUse/PostToolUse.Actual Behavior
No hooks fire at all in
-pmode. Tested with:--dangerously-skip-permissionsand withoutPreToolUseandPostToolUsematchersEnvironment
Impact
We use
-pmode for automated behavioral testing (SBTF — Sovereign Behavioral Testing Framework). Hooks are the primary enforcement mechanism for governance gates (e.g., requiringverify.shto pass before commits). Without hooks in-pmode, we had to fall back to git pre-commit hooks as a workaround.Workaround
Git pre-commit hooks (
.git/hooks/pre-commit) fire at the git level regardless of Claude Code mode. We use these for enforcement in automated test runs.