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

Source: Dev.to

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:

git add .
git commit -m "Some message"

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

1. Fix the issues
2. git add . again
3. git commit again

…and repeat until all hooks pass. This leads to a frustrating loop of add → commit → fail → fix → add → commit, especially 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"

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"

• 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

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!