sniffercommit

Fast, C++20-powered pre-commit hook and CI generator. Ensures code quality before every push with zero runtime dependencies — a single static binary that replaces Python- and Node-based pre-commit frameworks.

Features

• Parallel check execution : run linters concurrently via Bash background jobs
• Pattern-aware filtering : apply checks only to matching file extensions (.cpp, .hpp, etc.)
• Zero runtime dependencies : single static binary; no Python/Node required
• Auto-generate CI workflow : GitHub Actions workflow mirroring local hooks
• .clang-format scaffolding : generate .clang-format with configurable style presets
• .clang-tidy integration : static analysis with curated check preset (minimal, standard, strict)
• Hook syntax validation : generated bash hooks are validated with bash -n before install
• Git worktree support : works in worktrees, submodules, and detached checkouts

Dependencies

Dependency	Purpose	Version
tomlplusplus	Header-only TOML config file parser and serializer	v3.4.0
fmt	Modern formatting library	v11.0.2

Both are fetched automatically at configure time via CMake's FetchContent. No system installation required. Optional system packages (if SNIFFERCOMMIT_USE_SYSTEM_FMT=ON):

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get install libfmt-dev

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install fmt

# Arch
sudo pacman -S fmt

Build

# Release build (recommended)
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --parallel

# Verify
./build/sniffercommit --version

Option	Default	Description
SNIFFERCOMMIT_ENABLE_SANITIZERS	OFF	AddressSanitizer + UBSan (Debug only)
SNIFFERCOMMIT_ENABLE_STATIC_LINK	OFF	Fully portable static binary (Linux only)
SNIFFERCOMMIT_VERBOSE_CONFIG	ON	Print platform/compiler summary at configure
SNIFFERCOMMIT_USE_SYSTEM_FMT	ON	Use system libfmt instead of FetchContent
SNIFFERCOMMIT_USE_SYSTEM_TOMLPLUSPLUS	OFF	Use system tomlplusplus instead of FetchContent

Compiler Requirements

• GCC >= 11
• Clang >= 14
• MSVC >= 2022 17.0

# System-wide install
sudo cmake --install build

# Or create Debian package
cd build && cpack -G DEB
sudo dpkg -i sniffercommit_*.deb

# Install via pacman (AUR)
yay -S sniffercommit

Usage

Initialize Project

cd /path/to/projects
sniffercommit init

This creates: - .sniffercommit.toml : check configuration with sensible defaults - .clang-format : formatter style matching your chosen preset

With clang-tidy (static analysis)

# enable clang-tidy with the standard preset
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy

# use strict preset (all checks minus noisy ones)
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy --tidy-preset strict

# custom severity
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy --tidy-severity warning

When --enable-clang-tidy is used, three files are created: - .sniffercommit.toml : includes clang-tidy check - .clang-format : formatter config - .clang-tidy : static analysis config with curated check preset

Formatter & Analyzer Options

# available styles: google, llvm, chromium, mozilla, webkit, microsoft, gnu
sniffercommit init --style llvm

# with clang-tidy static analysis (generates .clang-tidy)
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy --tidy-preset standard

# tidy severity levels: note (off), warning (compiler only), error (all)
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy --tidy-severity warning

# header filter: 0=none, 1=project, 2=all
sniffercommit init --enable-clang-tidy --tidy-header-filter 1

# full customization
sniffercommit init \
  --style google \
  --name my-project \
  --indent-width 4 \
  --column-limit 120 \
  --pointer-alignment Left \
  --brace-style Attach \
  --enable-clang-tidy \
  --tidy-preset strict \
  --tidy-severity error

Install pre-commit hooks

sniffercommit install

Generates and installs: - .git/hooks/pre-commit : bash hook with parallel execution - .github/workflows/sniffercommit.yml : GitHub Actions workflow (if github_actions = true in config)

The hook is validated with bash -n before installation to prevent broken hooks.

Tidy Presets (used with --enable-clang-tidy):

Preset	Scope
minimal	cppcoreguidelines + bugprone + clang-analyzer
standard (default)	minimal + modernize + performance
strict	All checks minus noisy ones (abseil, altera, fuchsia, llvm, zircon)
custom	User-defined via extra_checks / exclude_checks

Uninstall hooks:

# remove the pre-commit hooks
rm .git/hooks/pre-commit

# or regenerate from config
sniffercommit install

Generate CI workflow only (always writes, ignores github_actions config)

sniffercommit generate-gha

Run check manually

# all tracked files
sniffercommit run --all-files

# staged files only (default)
sniffercommit run

# specific files
sniffercommit run src/main.cpp include/foo.hpp

# dry-run (list files without executing)
sniffercommit run --dry-run --all-files

# verbose output (print each command)
sniffercommit run --verbose --all-files

Acknowledgements

• pre-commit — inspiration for hook management workflow

This project was inspired by an internal tool developed at a previous company for enforcing C/C++ naming conventions. Due to licensing constraints, sniffercommit was built from scratch with the same functionality but a distinct architecture and open-source ethos.