Now You Too Can Become A Syntax Tyrant

⌚ 12 Nov 2015 🔖 code

So I really like code linters. My coworkers know this. Actually, I got called a syntax Nazi today by a fellow developer. I’m OK with that. I believe in readability and consistency.

In my projects I make it impossible to make a git commit before the source code passes a flake8 check. How to perform this minor miracle you ask? With a simple git pre-commit hook:

myproject/.git/hooks/pre-commit

#!/bin/sh
flake8 .

When I commit, the hook executes. Since git knows a return of anything besides 0 means abort, it stops the commit from happening. Awesome.

Here is a terminal recording of it in action:

Don’t forget to make your pre-commit hook file executable!