why it is not possible to git add .git/hooks/my-hook

Question

I would like to have some hooks always present in a clone of a given repository. Is there a way to add a file in .git/hooks in the repository?

Thanks

Answer 1

It is possible to define your own hooks in a git template, but even there, those hooks would be non-executable ones.

I.e. the user would still have to activate them (rename or activate the executable bit) once the repo is cloned.
That way, said user won't have any unwanted script executed without his/her full knowledge and explicit approval.
Doing otherwise would be too much of a security risk for anyone "blindly" cloning a repo.

Answer 2

Sounds like a security risk to me. Just because you clone some repository doesn't mean you want to give it the right to execute code.

You could put a copy of hooks into the versioned code and include some script file to allow the user to copy them to his hooks directory easily. And of course one you have hooks installed you can use them to keep themselves up-to-date.