Global Setup Guide - Enforcement Across All Repositories

Question: Will This Work With All Repos?

Answer: It depends on how you set it up:

Option 1: Current (Per-Repository) Setup

git config core.hooksPath=/Users/kevin/devkit/.git-templates/hooks

Scope: Only this repository (/Users/kevin/devkit) Issue: Other repos won't have the hooks Need to: Configure each repo separately

Option 2: Global Setup (Recommended) ✓

git config --global init.templateDir ~/.git-templates
git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

Scope: ALL repositories on this machine Benefit: Works automatically for every repo No: Need to configure each repo individually

How It Works: Git Template Directory

When you run git init in a new repository:

git init
  ↓
Git checks: Does ~/.git-templates exist?
  ↓
YES: Copy all files from ~/.git-templates to new repo's .git/
     (including hooks in .git-templates/hooks)
  ↓
Result: Hooks are automatically available in new repo

Key Point: Git automatically copies templates when initializing repos.

Global Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create Global Templates Directory

mkdir -p ~/.git-templates/hooks
mkdir -p ~/.devkit/git

Step 2: Copy Hooks to Global Location

# Copy from devkit repo to global location
cp /Users/kevin/devkit/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit ~/.git-templates/hooks/
cp /Users/kevin/devkit/.git-templates/hooks/post-commit ~/.git-templates/hooks/
cp /Users/kevin/devkit/.git-templates/hooks/commit-msg ~/.git-templates/hooks/
cp /Users/kevin/devkit/.git-templates/hooks/prepare-commit-msg ~/.git-templates/hooks/

# Make them executable
chmod +x ~/.git-templates/hooks/*

Step 3: Configure Git Globally

# Set global template directory
git config --global init.templateDir ~/.git-templates

# Set global hooks path
git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# Verify
git config --global --list | grep -E "init.templateDir|core.hooksPath"

Output:

init.templateDir=/Users/kevin/.git-templates
core.hooksPath=/Users/kevin/.git-templates/hooks

Step 4: Test With Existing Repositories

For existing repositories that were cloned before the global setup:

# Option A: Manually set hooks path (one-time per repo)
cd /path/to/repo
git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# Option B: Use Ansible role to automate (recommended)
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -t git

# Option C: Create small script to apply to all repos
# See "Batch Setup" section below

Verification

Check Current Configuration

# Check global settings
git config --global core.hooksPath
# Output: /Users/kevin/.git-templates/hooks

# Check per-repo settings (if overridden)
git config --local core.hooksPath
# Output: (empty, using global)

# View all git config
git config --list | grep hooksPath

Verify Hooks Are Accessible

# List global hooks
ls -la ~/.git-templates/hooks/

# Check hook is executable
test -x ~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit && echo "✓ Executable" || echo "✗ Not executable"

Test In a Repository

cd /path/to/any/repo
git config --list | grep hooksPath  # Should show global path
ls -la .git/hooks/pre-commit        # Should exist

How It Works Across Repositories

New Repository (after global setup)

cd /tmp
mkdir new-project
cd new-project
git init
  ↓
Git automatically copies ~/.git-templates to .git/
  ↓
Result: .git/hooks/pre-commit exists automatically
         No configuration needed!

Existing Repository (before global setup)

Without global hooks:

cd /path/to/existing/repo
ls .git/hooks/pre-commit  # Not there

After setting global hooks:

git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks
  ↓
.git/hooks/pre-commit     # Still not copied, but hooks path is set
                          # Git looks in ~/.git-templates/hooks instead

Batch Setup for Multiple Existing Repositories

If you have many existing repositories:

Script 1: Apply to All Repos in a Directory

#!/bin/bash
# apply-hooks-to-repos.sh

REPOS_DIR="$HOME/projects"
HOOKS_PATH="$HOME/.git-templates/hooks"

echo "Applying global hooks to all repos in $REPOS_DIR"

for repo_dir in $REPOS_DIR/*/; do
    if [ -d "$repo_dir/.git" ]; then
        echo "Setting hooks for: $repo_dir"
        cd "$repo_dir"
        git config core.hooksPath "$HOOKS_PATH"
        echo "  ✓ Done"
    fi
done

Usage:

chmod +x apply-hooks-to-repos.sh
./apply-hooks-to-repos.sh

Script 2: Use find to Get All Repos

#!/bin/bash
# apply-hooks-all-repos.sh

echo "Finding all git repositories..."
find ~ -name ".git" -type d 2>/dev/null | while read git_dir; do
    repo_dir=$(dirname "$git_dir")
    echo "Setting hooks for: $repo_dir"
    git -C "$repo_dir" config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks
done

Automation with Ansible

The Ansible git role can automate this setup:

Using the Git Role

# Deploy to machine
ansible-playbook -i inventory/localhost.yml site.yml -t git

# Specifies:
# - init.templateDir = ~/.git-templates
# - core.hooksPath = ~/.git-templates/hooks
# - Copies all hook templates
# - Makes hooks executable

Configuration

File: group_vars/all.yml

# Git global configuration
git_global_config: true
git_template_dir: "{{ home_dir }}/.git-templates"
git_hooks_path: "{{ home_dir }}/.git-templates/hooks"

# This applies to ALL repositories on the machine

How Hooks Are Applied

Scenario 1: New Repository

git init
  ↓
Git sees: init.templateDir = ~/.git-templates
  ↓
Git copies: ~/.git-templates/* → .git/
  ↓
Result: Hooks are in .git/hooks/
         Pre-commit hook runs on every commit

Scenario 2: Existing Repository Without Hooks Path

git commit (pre-commit hook not found in .git/hooks/)
  ↓
Git checks: core.hooksPath setting
  ↓
Found: core.hooksPath = ~/.git-templates/hooks
  ↓
Git runs: ~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit
  ↓
Pre-commit validation happens (even though hook not copied)

Scenario 3: Repository-Specific Override

git config core.hooksPath  # Set locally in repo
  ↓
Git uses: Local setting (ignores global)
  ↓
Can use different hooks for specific repo if needed

Multiple Hook Versions

You can have different hooks for different purposes:

Example: Multiple Environments

~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit          # Strict (production)
~/strict-hooks/pre-commit                  # Extra strict
~/dev-hooks/pre-commit                     # Less strict

Configure per repository:

# Production repo
cd ~/production-app
git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# Development repo
cd ~/experimental
git config core.hooksPath ~/dev-hooks

Troubleshooting

Hooks Not Running

Problem: Pre-commit hook not executing

Solutions:

# 1. Check configuration
git config core.hooksPath
git config init.templateDir

# 2. Verify hook exists and is executable
ls -la ~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit
chmod +x ~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit

# 3. Set explicitly if needed
git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# 4. Test manually
bash ~/.git-templates/hooks/pre-commit

Hooks Exist But Not Running in New Repo

Problem: New repo initialized but hook not running

Solution: Git only copies templates on git init, not on clone:

# For cloned repos, set hooks path
cd /cloned/repo
git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# Or set globally and new repos will have it automatically
git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

Permission Issues

Problem: Permission denied when hook runs

Solution:

# Make all hooks executable
chmod +x ~/.git-templates/hooks/*

# Verify
ls -la ~/.git-templates/hooks/
# Should show: -rwxr-xr-x for each hook

Current Status

Already Configured Globally

✅ Global template directory created: ~/.git-templates ✅ Global hooks path configured: ~/.git-templates/hooks ✅ Hooks copied to global location:

pre-commit
post-commit
commit-msg
prepare-commit-msg ✅ All hooks executable

Verification

$ git config --global --get core.hooksPath
/Users/kevin/.git-templates/hooks

$ ls -la ~/.git-templates/hooks/
-rwxr-xr-x  pre-commit
-rwxr-xr-x  post-commit
-rwxr-xr-x  commit-msg
-rwxr-xr-x  prepare-commit-msg

What This Means

For Existing Repositories

✓ Set hooks path once: git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks ✓ Works immediately: Next commit uses hooks ✓ Hooks run automatically: No per-repo setup needed

For New Repositories

✓ After git init: Hooks automatically available ✓ After git clone: Set path once or use global config ✓ Global config applies: All future repos use hooks automatically

For Team Distribution

✓ Commit this configuration to your dotfiles ✓ Teams clone dotfiles during setup ✓ All team members get same hooks ✓ Consistent quality standards across team

Best Practice: Universal Application

Option A: Global Config + Ansible Role

Most reliable:

# 1. Set global git config
git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks

# 2. Deploy via Ansible to set up all repos
ansible-playbook site.yml -t git

# 3. Verify in all repos
git config core.hooksPath  # All show global path

Result: Consistent hooks across machine and all repositories

Option B: Git Hooks Directory Only (without config)

Not recommended - requires per-repo setup

Option C: Include in Dotfiles

Best for teams:

# dotfiles/git/hooks/pre-commit
# dotfiles/git/hooks/post-commit
# dotfiles/git/config.global
[init]
    templateDir = ~/.git-templates
[core]
    hooksPath = ~/.git-templates/hooks

When team clones dotfiles, hooks automatically apply.

Summary

Question	Answer
Will it work with all repos?	Yes, if configured globally
Need per-repo setup?	No, global setup covers all
New repos get hooks?	Yes, automatically via `git init`
Existing repos need config?	Yes, one-time: `git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks`
Can I override per-repo?	Yes, local config takes precedence
How to apply to many repos?	Use batch script or Ansible role
Current status?	✅ Global setup complete

Next Steps

✅ Global configuration is complete
✅ Hooks are in place at ~/.git-templates/hooks
For existing repos, apply: git config core.hooksPath ~/.git-templates/hooks
For new repos: Hooks apply automatically
(Optional) Use Ansible role for automatic application

Result: Quality enforcement works across ALL repositories on this machine.

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File metadata and controls

Global Setup Guide - Enforcement Across All Repositories

Question: Will This Work With All Repos?

Option 1: Current (Per-Repository) Setup

Option 2: Global Setup (Recommended) ✓

How It Works: Git Template Directory

Global Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create Global Templates Directory

Step 2: Copy Hooks to Global Location

Step 3: Configure Git Globally

Step 4: Test With Existing Repositories

Verification

Check Current Configuration

Verify Hooks Are Accessible

Test In a Repository

How It Works Across Repositories

New Repository (after global setup)

Existing Repository (before global setup)

Batch Setup for Multiple Existing Repositories

Script 1: Apply to All Repos in a Directory

Script 2: Use find to Get All Repos

Automation with Ansible

Using the Git Role

Configuration

How Hooks Are Applied

Scenario 1: New Repository

Scenario 2: Existing Repository Without Hooks Path

Scenario 3: Repository-Specific Override

Multiple Hook Versions

Example: Multiple Environments

Troubleshooting

Hooks Not Running

Hooks Exist But Not Running in New Repo

Permission Issues

Current Status

Already Configured Globally

Verification

What This Means

For Existing Repositories

For New Repositories

For Team Distribution

Best Practice: Universal Application

Option A: Global Config + Ansible Role

Option B: Git Hooks Directory Only (without config)

Option C: Include in Dotfiles

Summary

Next Steps