Install Lefthook on Ubuntu 26.04

Lefthook is a fast and flexible Git hooks manager designed to simplify repository automation. It enables running scripts on Git events such as commits, pushes, and merges while keeping configuration centralized in a single YAML file. This tutorial demonstrates how to install Lefthook on Ubuntu 26.04.

Prepare environment

A working Git setup is required before Lefthook installation. Ensure Git is available on the system, as it is used to initialize repositories and trigger hooks. Refer to a post on how to install it.

Install Lefthook

Get the latest available release number from the official repository:

LEFTHOOK_VERSION=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/evilmartians/lefthook/releases/latest" | grep -Po '"tag_name": "v\K[0-9.]+')

Download the appropriate binary:

sudo curl -sSLo /usr/local/bin/lefthook https://github.com/evilmartians/lefthook/releases/latest/download/lefthook_${LEFTHOOK_VERSION}_Linux_x86_64

Grant execution permissions:

sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/lefthook

Confirm installation by checking Lefthook version:

lefthook --version

Testing Lefthook

A simple repository setup can be used to validate hook execution. Create and initialize a sample project:

mkdir myproject && cd myproject && git init

Add a basic Lefthook configuration:

nano lefthook.yml

Example configuration:

pre-commit:
  commands:
    simple-check:
      run: echo 'Hello from Lefthook!'

Activate hooks in the repository:

lefthook install

Create a test commit flow:

touch test.txt

git add .

git commit -m 'test'

Expected output:

Uninstall Lefthook

If Lefthook is no longer needed, run the following command to remove the binary:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/lefthook