Using Pre-Receive Hooks in GitLab

Introduction

Pre-receive hooks allow custom validation scripts to run on the GitLab server before commits are accepted.

Creating a Pre-Receive Hook

1. On the GitLab server, navigate to the repository’s custom_hooks directory.
2. Create an executable script named pre-receive.
3. Implement checks such as validating commit messages, scanning for secrets, or enforcing file size limits.
4. Save the script and ensure it has execute permission:

   chmod +x pre-receive

Example: Block Missing JIRA ID

#!/bin/sh
while read oldrev newrev refname; do
  if ! git log --format=%s $oldrev..$newrev | grep -q '^[A-Z]\+-[0-9]\+'; then
    echo "JIRA ID missing in commit message" >&2
    exit 1
  fi
done

Best Practices

• Keep hook scripts in version control for traceability.
• Log hook failures to assist developers.
• Test hooks in a staging environment before production use.

Further Reading

• GitLab Server Hooks Documentation