post-merge hook in Git - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using a Git post-merge Hook to Automate Tasks

📖 Scenario: You work on a team project using Git. After merging changes from others, you want to automatically run a script that updates dependencies to keep your project ready to use.

🎯 Goal: Create a Git post-merge hook script that runs npm install automatically after every merge.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a post-merge hook file in the .git/hooks directory

Make the post-merge hook executable

Write a script inside the hook that runs npm install

Test the hook by performing a merge and observing the output

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Automating tasks after Git merges saves time and reduces errors by running commands like dependency installs or tests automatically.

💼 Career

Many DevOps and developer roles require knowledge of Git hooks to automate workflows and improve team productivity.

1

Create the post-merge hook file

Create a file named post-merge inside the .git/hooks directory.

Git

# Create the file .git/hooks/post-merge
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use the touch command in your terminal to create the file.

2

Make the post-merge hook executable

Make the .git/hooks/post-merge file executable by running chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge.

Git

# Create the file .git/hooks/post-merge
# Make the file executable
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use chmod +x to allow the script to run.

3

Write the script to run npm install

Edit the .git/hooks/post-merge file to add the line npm install so it runs automatically after a merge.

Git

# Create the file .git/hooks/post-merge
# Make the file executable
chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge

# Add the command to run npm install
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Start the script with #!/bin/sh and then add npm install on the next line.

4

Test the post-merge hook

Perform a Git merge and observe that npm install runs automatically by checking the output in your terminal.

Git

# Create the file .git/hooks/post-merge
# Make the file executable
chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge

#!/bin/sh
npm install

# Now perform a git merge in your terminal to test
# Your code here

Need a hint?

After merging, you should see npm installing packages automatically.