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Bypassing Hooks in the Content Hook vs Using --no-verify

Overview

This design document explains the rationale behind using an environment variable (i.e., COMMITIZARD_BYPASS) to bypass specific hooks inside the content hook, as opposed to using the --no-verify option when running git commands.

Background

Git hooks allow custom scripts to be run during specific git events, such as committing changes. In our use case, we have one hook, prepare-commit-msg. The prepare-commit-msg hook generates a commit message.

To avoid an infinite loop when the prepare-commit-msg hook runs the same command it is triggered by, we use an environment variable COMMITIZARD_BYPASS to bypass the hook execution.

An alternative approach to bypass hooks is to use the --no-verify option with git commands, such as git commit --no-verify.

Problem Statement

Determine whether it is better to bypass hooks using an environment variable inside the content hook or using the --no-verify option when running git commands.

Design Rationale

Bypassing Hooks Using an Environment Variable

Using an environment variable like COMMITIZARD_BYPASS to bypass hooks has the following benefits:

  1. Selective bypass: It allows developers to selectively bypass certain hooks while still running others. This provides fine-grained control over hook execution.

  2. Consistency: It ensures that the hook bypass mechanism is consistent across different platforms and environments. This is important because different platforms may have different ways of handling environment variables.

Bypassing Hooks Using --no-verify

Using the --no-verify option to bypass hooks has the following drawbacks:

  1. All-or-nothing approach: The --no-verify option bypasses all hooks associated with a git command, not just specific ones. This is less flexible and could cause unintended side effects.

  2. Potential for misuse: The --no-verify option may be inadvertently used by developers, causing hooks to be skipped when they should be run. This could lead to unexpected behavior and decreased code quality.

Conclusion

Given the design rationale, using an environment variable like COMMITIZARD_BYPASS to selectively bypass specific hooks inside the content hook is a better solution than using the --no-verify option when running git commands. This approach provides greater flexibility, consistency, and control over hook execution.