gemini-cli/docs/hooks/reference.md

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# Hooks reference
This document provides the technical specification for Gemini CLI hooks,
including JSON schemas and API details.
## Global hook mechanics
- **Communication**: `stdin` for Input (JSON), `stdout` for Output (JSON), and
`stderr` for logs and feedback.
- **Exit codes**:
- `0`: Success. `stdout` is parsed as JSON. **Preferred for all logic.**
- `2`: System Block. The action is blocked; `stderr` is used as the rejection
reason.
- `Other`: Warning. A non-fatal failure occurred; the CLI continues with a
warning.
- **Silence is Mandatory**: Your script **must not** print any plain text to
`stdout` other than the final JSON.
---
## Base input schema
All hooks receive these common fields via `stdin`:
```typescript
{
"session_id": string, // Unique ID for the current session
"transcript_path": string, // Absolute path to session transcript JSON
"cwd": string, // Current working directory
"hook_event_name": string, // The firing event (e.g. "BeforeTool")
"timestamp": string // ISO 8601 execution time
}
```
---
## Common output fields
Most hooks support these fields in their `stdout` JSON:
| Field | Type | Description |
| :--------------- | :-------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `systemMessage` | `string` | Displayed immediately to the user in the terminal. |
| `suppressOutput` | `boolean` | If `true`, hides internal hook metadata from logs/telemetry. |
| `continue` | `boolean` | If `false`, stops the entire agent loop immediately. |
| `stopReason` | `string` | Displayed to the user when `continue` is `false`. |
| `decision` | `string` | `"allow"` or `"deny"` (alias `"block"`). Specific impact depends on the event. |
| `reason` | `string` | The feedback/error message provided when a `decision` is `"deny"`. |
---
## Tool hooks
### Matchers and tool names
For `BeforeTool` and `AfterTool` events, the `matcher` field in your settings is
compared against the name of the tool being executed.
- **Built-in Tools**: You can match any built-in tool (e.g., `read_file`,
`run_shell_command`). See the [Tools Reference](/docs/tools) for a full list
of available tool names.
- **MCP Tools**: Tools from MCP servers follow the naming pattern
`mcp__<server_name>__<tool_name>`.
- **Regex Support**: Matchers support regular expressions (e.g.,
`matcher: "read_.*"` matches all file reading tools).
### `BeforeTool`
Fires before a tool is invoked. Used for argument validation, security checks,
and parameter rewriting.
- **Input Fields**:
- `tool_name`: (`string`) The name of the tool being called.
- `tool_input`: (`object`) The raw arguments generated by the model.
- `mcp_context`: (`object`) Optional metadata for MCP-based tools.
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` (or `"block"`) to prevent the tool from
executing.
- `reason`: Required if denied. This text is sent **to the agent** as a tool
error, allowing it to respond or retry.
- `hookSpecificOutput.tool_input`: An object that **merges with and
overrides** the model's arguments before execution.
- `continue`: Set to `false` to **kill the entire agent loop** immediately.
- **Exit Code 2 (Block Tool)**: Prevents execution. Uses `stderr` as the
`reason` sent to the agent. **The turn continues.**
### `AfterTool`
Fires after a tool executes. Used for result auditing, context injection, or
hiding sensitive output from the agent.
- **Input Fields**:
- `tool_name`: (`string`)
- `tool_input`: (`object`) The original arguments.
- `tool_response`: (`object`) The result containing `llmContent`,
`returnDisplay`, and optional `error`.
- `mcp_context`: (`object`)
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` to hide the real tool output from the agent.
- `reason`: Required if denied. This text **replaces** the tool result sent
back to the model.
- `hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext`: Text that is **appended** to the
tool result for the agent.
- `continue`: Set to `false` to **kill the entire agent loop** immediately.
- **Exit Code 2 (Block Result)**: Hides the tool result. Uses `stderr` as the
replacement content sent to the agent. **The turn continues.**
---
## Agent hooks
### `BeforeAgent`
Fires after a user submits a prompt, but before the agent begins planning. Used
for prompt validation or injecting dynamic context.
- **Input Fields**:
- `prompt`: (`string`) The original text submitted by the user.
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext`: Text that is **appended** to the
prompt for this turn only.
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` to block the turn and **discard the user's
message** (it will not appear in history).
- `continue`: Set to `false` to block the turn but **save the message to
history**.
- `reason`: Required if denied or stopped.
- **Exit Code 2 (Block Turn)**: Aborts the turn and erases the prompt from
context. Same as `decision: "deny"`.
### `AfterAgent`
Fires once per turn after the model generates its final response. Primary use
case is response validation and automatic retries.
- **Input Fields**:
- `prompt`: (`string`) The user's original request.
- `prompt_response`: (`string`) The final text generated by the agent.
- `stop_hook_active`: (`boolean`) Indicates if this hook is already running as
part of a retry sequence.
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` to **reject the response** and force a retry.
- `reason`: Required if denied. This text is sent **to the agent as a new
prompt** to request a correction.
- `continue`: Set to `false` to **stop the session** without retrying.
- `clearContext`: If `true`, clears conversation history (LLM memory) while
preserving UI display.
- **Exit Code 2 (Retry)**: Rejects the response and triggers an automatic retry
turn using `stderr` as the feedback prompt.
---
## Model hooks
### `BeforeModel`
Fires before sending a request to the LLM. Operates on a stable, SDK-agnostic
request format.
- **Input Fields**:
- `llm_request`: (`object`) Contains `model`, `messages`, and `config`
(generation params).
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `hookSpecificOutput.llm_request`: An object that **overrides** parts of the
outgoing request (e.g., changing models or temperature).
- `hookSpecificOutput.llm_response`: A **Synthetic Response** object. If
provided, the CLI skips the LLM call entirely and uses this as the response.
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` to block the request and abort the turn.
- **Exit Code 2 (Block Turn)**: Aborts the turn and skips the LLM call. Uses
`stderr` as the error message.
### `BeforeToolSelection`
Fires before the LLM decides which tools to call. Used to filter the available
toolset or force specific tool modes.
- **Input Fields**:
- `llm_request`: (`object`) Same format as `BeforeModel`.
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `hookSpecificOutput.toolConfig.mode`: (`"AUTO" | "ANY" | "NONE"`)
- `"NONE"`: Disables all tools (Wins over other hooks).
- `"ANY"`: Forces at least one tool call.
- `hookSpecificOutput.toolConfig.allowedFunctionNames`: (`string[]`) Whitelist
of tool names.
- **Union Strategy**: Multiple hooks' whitelists are **combined**.
- **Limitations**: Does **not** support `decision`, `continue`, or
`systemMessage`.
### `AfterModel`
Fires immediately after an LLM response chunk is received. Used for real-time
redaction or PII filtering.
- **Input Fields**:
- `llm_request`: (`object`) The original request.
- `llm_response`: (`object`) The model's response (or a single chunk during
streaming).
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `hookSpecificOutput.llm_response`: An object that **replaces** the model's
response chunk.
- `decision`: Set to `"deny"` to discard the response chunk and block the
turn.
- `continue`: Set to `false` to **kill the entire agent loop** immediately.
- **Note on Streaming**: Fired for **every chunk** generated by the model.
Modifying the response only affects the current chunk.
- **Exit Code 2 (Block Response)**: Aborts the turn and discards the model's
output. Uses `stderr` as the error message.
---
## Lifecycle & system hooks
### `SessionStart`
Fires on application startup, resuming a session, or after a `/clear` command.
Used for loading initial context.
- **Input fields**:
- `source`: (`"startup" | "resume" | "clear"`)
- **Relevant output fields**:
- `hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext`: (`string`)
- **Interactive**: Injected as the first turn in history.
- **Non-interactive**: Prepended to the user's prompt.
- `systemMessage`: Shown at the start of the session.
- **Advisory only**: `continue` and `decision` fields are **ignored**. Startup
is never blocked.
### `SessionEnd`
Fires when the CLI exits or a session is cleared. Used for cleanup or final
telemetry.
- **Input Fields**:
- `reason`: (`"exit" | "clear" | "logout" | "prompt_input_exit" | "other"`)
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `systemMessage`: Displayed to the user during shutdown.
- **Best Effort**: The CLI **will not wait** for this hook to complete and
ignores all flow-control fields (`continue`, `decision`).
### `Notification`
Fires when the CLI emits a system alert (e.g., Tool Permissions). Used for
external logging or cross-platform alerts.
- **Input Fields**:
- `notification_type`: (`"ToolPermission"`)
- `message`: Summary of the alert.
- `details`: JSON object with alert-specific metadata (e.g., tool name, file
path).
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `systemMessage`: Displayed alongside the system alert.
- **Observability Only**: This hook **cannot** block alerts or grant permissions
automatically. Flow-control fields are ignored.
### `PreCompress`
Fires before the CLI summarizes history to save tokens. Used for logging or
state saving.
- **Input Fields**:
- `trigger`: (`"auto" | "manual"`)
- **Relevant Output Fields**:
- `systemMessage`: Displayed to the user before compression.
- **Advisory Only**: Fired asynchronously. It **cannot** block or modify the
compression process. Flow-control fields are ignored.
---
## Stable Model API
Gemini CLI uses these structures to ensure hooks don't break across SDK updates.
**LLMRequest**:
```typescript
{
"model": string,
"messages": Array<{
"role": "user" | "model" | "system",
"content": string // Non-text parts are filtered out for hooks
}>,
"config": { "temperature": number, ... },
"toolConfig": { "mode": string, "allowedFunctionNames": string[] }
}
```
**LLMResponse**:
```typescript
{
"candidates": Array<{
"content": { "role": "model", "parts": string[] },
"finishReason": string
}>,
"usageMetadata": { "totalTokenCount": number }
}
```