Git Guardrails Claude Code

Set up Claude Code hooks to block dangerous git commands (push, reset --hard, clean, branch -D, etc.) before they execute. Use when user wants to prevent destructive git operations, add git safety hooks, or block git push/reset in Claude Code.

Published by @mattpocock·from mattpocock/skills·0 agent reads / 30d·0 saves·

Setup Git Guardrails

Sets up a PreToolUse hook that intercepts and blocks dangerous git commands before Claude executes them.

What Gets Blocked

  • git push (all variants including --force)
  • git reset --hard
  • git clean -f / git clean -fd
  • git branch -D
  • git checkout . / git restore .

When blocked, Claude sees a message telling it that it does not have authority to access these commands.

Steps

1. Ask scope

Ask the user: install for this project only (.claude/settings.json) or all projects (~/.claude/settings.json)?

2. Copy the hook script

The bundled script is at: scripts/block-dangerous-git.sh

Copy it to the target location based on scope:

  • Project: .claude/hooks/block-dangerous-git.sh
  • Global: ~/.claude/hooks/block-dangerous-git.sh

Make it executable with chmod +x.

3. Add hook to settings

Add to the appropriate settings file:

Project (.claude/settings.json):

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "\"$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR\"/.claude/hooks/block-dangerous-git.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Global (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "~/.claude/hooks/block-dangerous-git.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

If the settings file already exists, merge the hook into existing hooks.PreToolUse array — don't overwrite other settings.

4. Ask about customization

Ask if user wants to add or remove any patterns from the blocked list. Edit the copied script accordingly.

5. Verify

Run a quick test:

echo '{"tool_input":{"command":"git push origin main"}}' | <path-to-script>

Should exit with code 2 and print a BLOCKED message to stderr.

Bundled with this artifact

3 files

Reference files that ship alongside this artifact. Agents pull these in only when the task needs them.

More on the bench

SKILL▲0

Micro SaaS Launcher

Expert in launching small, focused SaaS products fast - the indie hacker approach to building profitable software. Covers idea validation, MVP development, pricing, launch strategies, and growing to sustainable revenue. Ship in weeks, not months.

ai-prompt-engineering+3
⊙ 43
SKILL▲0

Security Compliance Compliance Check

You are a compliance expert specializing in regulatory requirements for software systems including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, PCI-DSS, and other industry standards. Perform comprehensive compliance audits and provide implementation guidance for achieving and maintaining compliance.

ai-prompt-engineering+3
⊙ 40
SKILL▲0

Skill Creator

Create new skills, modify and improve existing skills, and measure skill performance. Use when users want to create a skill from scratch, edit, or optimize an existing skill, run evals to test a skill, benchmark skill performance with variance analysis, or optimize a skill's description for better triggering accuracy.

ai-prompt-engineering+1
⊙ 40