Using Git Hooks to reduce build failures, and how to share Git Hooks

When developing software in a team, it is essential to have a consistent development environment. This includes ensuring that all code changes adhere to the same coding standards and quality checks. One way to enforce this consistency is by using Git hooks.

Git hooks are scripts that can be run before or after certain Git actions, such as committing code or pushing changes to a remote repository. In this blog, we will discuss how to use Git hooks to run Maven's verify goal before each Git push and write an installation script to install the Git hook on every developer machine.

Using Git Hooks to Run Maven Verify before Each Git Push

To use Git hooks to run Maven's verify goal before each Git push, follow these steps:

1. Create a pre-push Git hook

2. The first step is to create a pre-push Git hook. A pre-push Git hook is a script that is executed before the Git push command is executed. To create a pre-push Git hook, create a file named pre-push in the .git/hooks/ directory of your Git repository. If the .git/hooks/ directory does not exist, create it.

   1. Add code to the pre-push Git hook

Next, add the following code to the pre-push Git hook:

    #!/bin/bash

    mvn verify

    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
      echo "Maven verify failed. Commit aborted."
      exit 1
    fi

This code runs Maven's verify goal before each Git push. If the verify goal fails, the script will print an error message and exit with a non-zero status code, which will prevent the Git push from executing.

1. Make the pre-push Git hook executable

    chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-push
   

   This command sets the execute permission on the pre-push Git hook script, allowing it to be executed.

   1. Test the pre-push Git hook

Test the pre-push Git hook by attempting to push some code changes to the Git repository. If Maven's verify goal fails, the Git push will be aborted, and an error message will be displayed.

How to share git hooks with the team

writing an Installation Script to Install the Git Hook on Every Developer Machine

To ensure that all developers on your team are using the pre-push Git hook, you can write an installation script to install the Git hook on every developer machine. Here's how:

1. Create an installation script

Create a shell script named install-git-hooks.sh that contains the following code:

#!/bin/bash

set -e

HOOKS_DIR=".git/hooks/"
HOOK_NAME="pre-push"
HOOK_TARGET="$(pwd)/$HOOK_NAME"

echo "Installing Git hook $HOOK_NAME..."

cp "$HOOK_NAME" "$HOOKS_DIR"
chmod +x "$HOOK_TARGET"

echo "Git hook $HOOK_NAME installed successfully."

1. Make the installation script executable

Make the install-git-hooks.sh installation script executable by running the following command:

chmod +x install-git-hooks.sh

This command sets the execute permission on the install-git-hooks.sh installation script, allowing it to be executed.

1. Run the installation script on every developer machine

To install the pre-push Git hook on every developer machine, run the install-git-hooks.sh installation script on each machine. Make sure that the script is executed from the root directory of the Git repository.

You need to commit install-git-hooks.sh and pre-push and run install-git-hooks.sh . With this before every git push, command mentioned in pre-push will run (mvn verify), and if this fails, git push will be stopped.

To skip running a Git pre-hook, you can use the --no-verify flag when you push your code. For example, instead of running git push, you can run git push --no-verify to skip running any pre-hooks that have been configured in your Git repository.

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