SVN hooks Tutorials & Guide

What is Hooks?

A hook script is a program triggered by some repository event, such as the creation of a new revision or the modification of an unversioned property. Each hook is handed enough information to tell what that event is, what target(s) it’s operating on, and the username of the person who triggered the event.

Server hooks are scripts that run automatically every time a particular event occurs in the StarTeam repository. Server hooks allow the user to trigger customizable actions at key points in the development life cycle.

The subversion version control system has a wonderfully handy feature called hooks. Hooks are essentially scripts that are triggered by a version control event (such as a commits, or revision property changes).

Subversion Hooks are located in your repository directory (so if you have multiple repositories you have to setup hooks for each one) in a directory called hooks, perhaps something like this: /home/svn/projectName/hooks.

What is SVN Hooks?

Subversion repositories provide a number of event hooks which are essentially opportunities for administrators to extend Subversion’s functionality at key moments of key operations. Repository hooks are implemented as programs executed by Subversion itself at those key moments—before and after a commit, before and after a user locks a file, and so on.

Subversion repositories provide a number of event hooks which are essentially opportunities for administrators to extend Subversion’s functionality at key moments of key operations.

How to setup SVN SVN Hooks

Types of SVN Hooks

• start-commit – Notification of the beginning of a commit.
• pre-commit – Notification just prior to commit completion.
• post-commit – Notification of a successful commit.
• pre-revprop-change – Notification of a revision property change attempt.
• post-revprop-change – Notification of a successful revision property change.
• pre-lock – Notification of a path lock attempt.
• post-lock – Notification of a successful path lock.
• pre-unlock – Notification of a path unlock attempt.
• post-unlock – Notification of a successful path unlock.

What is pre-commit hook in SVN?

A pre-commit hook is a feature available in the Subversion version control system that allows code to be validated before it is committed to the repository. The PHP_CodeSniffer pre-commit hook allows you to check code for coding standard errors and stop the commit process if errors are found.

Where are SVN hooks stored?.

Subversion Hooks are located in your repository directory (so if you have multiple repositories you have to setup hooks for each one) in a directory called hooks , perhaps something like this: /home/svn/projectName/hooks .

How To setup an SVN Pre-Commit Hook?

• Find the hooks directory for your repo.
• There should be a pre-commit. tmpl file there – rename it to pre-commit (no extension)
• Restart the SVN server.

How to write SVN Hooks Script?

You can write your hook using C or C++ if you like. Most people use Perl or Python.

The main thing is that svnlook should be used in your hook script and not svn. svnlook is faster and safer than svn. In fact, in pre-commit scripts, you have to use svnlook since you don’t have a repository revision.

Use Cases of SVN Hooks?

Reference

• https://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.8/svn.ref.reposhooks.html
• http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/subversion/trunk/tools/hook-scripts/
• http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/subversion/trunk/contrib/hook-scripts/
• http://svn.code.sf.net/p/tortoisesvn/code/trunk/contrib/hook-scripts/

Some Example SVN Hooks Code

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

I publish technical articles at DevOps School, travel stories at Holiday Landmark, stock market insights at Stocks Mantra, health and fitness guidance at My Medic Plus, product reviews at TrueReviewNow, and SEO and digital marketing strategies at Wizbrand.