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How Claude Code hook matchers work
A hook configuration is organized by event name. Inside an event group, matcher is a filter evaluated against that event’s own field. A tool event matches a tool name, while SessionStart matches a startup reason and Notification matches a notification type. Consequently, a value that is valid for one event may be meaningless for another.
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The official event catalog currently contains these keys: SessionStart, Setup, InstructionsLoaded, UserPromptSubmit, UserPromptExpansion, MessageDisplay, PreToolUse, PermissionRequest, PostToolUse, PostToolUseFailure, PostToolBatch, PermissionDenied, Notification, SubagentStart, SubagentStop, TaskCreated, TaskCompleted, Stop, StopFailure, TeammateIdle, ConfigChange, CwdChanged, DirectoryAdded, FileChanged, WorktreeCreate, WorktreeRemove, PreCompact, PostCompact, PreModelSwitch, PostModelSwitch, SessionEnd, Elicitation and ElicitationResult. The presence of an event does not by itself mean that it accepts a matcher.
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Matcher syntax and matching rules
Match every occurrence
Omit matcher, set it to an empty string, or use * to match every occurrence of that event. This is the safest choice when the handler should run regardless of the event’s value.
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Exact values and lists
A matcher containing only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens, spaces, commas and vertical bars is parsed as an exact value or an exact-value list. A vertical bar separates alternatives. For most events, a comma can also separate alternatives. For example, startup|resume targets either session reason, and Edit|Write targets either tool.
Regular expressions
If any character outside that simple character set appears, Claude Code treats the matcher as an unanchored JavaScript regular expression. Use anchors when the entire value must match: ^Edit$. A pattern such as mcp__.* intentionally matches any tool name beginning with mcp__. Because the expression is unanchored by default, a pattern can match a substring unless you add ^ and $.
Special parsing for file and failure events
FileChanged and StopFailure use a narrower simple-character set: letters, digits, underscores and vertical bars. A hyphen, space or comma sends those matchers through the regular-expression path. FileChanged also has special watch-list behavior documented in the official reference, so follow that event’s example rather than assuming ordinary list parsing.
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Five events filter by tool name: PreToolUse, PermissionRequest, PostToolUse, PostToolUseFailure and PermissionDenied. The documented examples are below.
| Event | Matcher filters | Documented values or patterns | When it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
PreToolUse |
Tool name | Bash, Edit|Write, mcp__.* |
Before a tool call; a hook can block it |
PermissionRequest |
Tool name | Bash, Edit|Write, mcp__.* |
When a call needs a permission decision |
PostToolUse |
Tool name | Bash, Edit|Write, mcp__.* |
After a successful call |
PostToolUseFailure |
Tool name | Bash, Edit|Write, mcp__.* |
After a failed call |
PermissionDenied |
Tool name | Bash, Edit|Write, mcp__.* |
When an automatic-mode permission is denied |
Choose among these events by timing. Use PreToolUse for a preventive check, PermissionRequest for a decision-time handler, PostToolUse for success processing and PostToolUseFailure for recovery or diagnostics. Use PermissionDenied specifically for an auto-mode denial. The official example adds an optional if condition such as Bash(rm *) to narrow when a handler executes after the event and matcher have selected a tool.
A command hook that exits with status 0 does not itself approve a tool call. Normal Claude Code permission handling continues, so a successful hook exit should not be described as an authorization grant.
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Session, setup and shutdown matchers
SessionStart
The matcher filters how the session began. The documented values are:
startup— a new startup.resume— a resumed session.clear— a session created after clearing.compact— a session path associated with compaction.fork— a forked session.
Use an exact list such as startup|resume when initialization should run for only those entry paths.
Setup
Setup filters the CLI flag that triggered setup. The documented values are init and maintenance. Match those exact strings rather than the broader idea of “setup.”
SessionEnd
SessionEnd filters the reason a session ended: clear, resume, logout, prompt_input_exit or other. A cleanup hook can therefore distinguish a logout from a session that ended for another reason.
Notification matchers
Notification matches the notification type. The current documented values are:
permission_promptidle_promptauth_successelicitation_dialogelicitation_url_dialogelicitation_completeelicitation_responseagent_needs_inputagent_completedquota_auto_resume_firedquota_auto_resume_stalequota_auto_resume_disabled
These are notification categories, not event names. For example, agent_completed belongs in the Notification event’s matcher; it is not a replacement for SubagentStop.
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Subagent and task lifecycle events
SubagentStart and SubagentStop
Both events filter the agent type. Documented choices include general-purpose, Explore, Plan, custom agent names and plugin-scoped names such as ^my-plugin:reviewer$. The caret and dollar sign make that last example a whole-string regular expression, preventing a partial match.
TaskCreated, TaskCompleted and TeammateIdle
These event keys are part of the catalog, but the current reference does not provide a matcher-value table for them. Do not infer that task status, teammate name or another guessed value is accepted. If you need to react to every occurrence, use an omitted, empty or * matcher only where the event’s hook implementation supports a matcher; otherwise follow the event-specific documentation.
Compaction and model-switch matchers
PreCompact and PostCompact
These events filter the compaction trigger: manual or auto. A handler can therefore run before or after only automatic compaction, or only when a user explicitly requests it.
PreModelSwitch and PostModelSwitch
These events match the canonical name of the target model. The reference gives examples including claude-opus-5, the exact-value list claude-opus-4-6|claude-opus-5, and the regular expression .*opus.*. Match canonical names, not display labels or an informal model nickname.
Configuration and workspace matchers
ConfigChange
The matcher filters the configuration source that changed. Values are user_settings, project_settings, local_settings, policy_settings and skills. This lets a hook respond differently to a project edit than to a user-level or policy-level update.
DirectoryAdded
The documented reasons are slash_command and register_repo_root. Select the reason, not the directory path; path matching is not the field described for this event.
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FileChanged
This event watches literal filenames. The reference shows .envrc|.env as an example and documents special watch-list behavior. Because this event uses the narrower matcher parser, punctuation such as a hyphen, space or comma changes parsing to regular-expression mode. Keep filenames literal and consult the official event instructions when adding more watched files.
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CwdChanged
CwdChanged expressly has no matcher support. It fires for each occurrence, so do not add a guessed directory or path matcher.
Failure and instruction-loading matchers
StopFailure
StopFailure filters the error type. Documented values are rate_limit, overloaded, authentication_failed, oauth_org_not_allowed, account_on_hold, billing_error, invalid_request, model_not_found, server_error, max_output_tokens, cloud_credential_error and unknown. This event uses the narrower letters-digits-underscore-and-vertical-bar parser, so commas, spaces and hyphens invoke regular-expression handling.
InstructionsLoaded
The matcher identifies why instructions were loaded: session_start, nested_traversal, path_glob_match, include or compact. A hook can use these reasons to distinguish initial instruction loading from an include or a compaction-related reload.
UserPromptExpansion
This event matches the command name being expanded, such as a skill or command name. The reference does not provide a closed list because names come from the commands and skills configured in your environment.
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Elicitation and ElicitationResult match the MCP server name. Use the server name exactly as configured in Claude Code. These are server identifiers, not generic values such as mcp or a tool name.
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Events with no documented matcher catalog
The event list also includes UserPromptSubmit, MessageDisplay, PostToolBatch, WorktreeCreate and WorktreeRemove, in addition to the task and teammate events discussed above. The current reference does not publish matcher values for every one of these keys. Do not manufacture a value list from the event name. Check the live Hooks reference for the event’s current schema and use an all-occurrences matcher only when that event documents matcher support.
Practical configuration patterns
Run for every session start
{
"hooks": {
"SessionStart": [
{ "matcher": "*", "hooks": ["...handler..."] }
]
}
}The asterisk selects every documented start reason. Replace it with startup|resume when the handler should skip clear, compact and fork starts.
Target one tool before execution
{
"hooks": {
"PreToolUse": [
{ "matcher": "^Bash$", "hooks": ["...handler..."] }
]
}
}The anchors make the intent explicit. A simple Bash matcher is also an exact match under the ordinary parser.
Handle a family of MCP tools
{
"hooks": {
"PostToolUse": [
{ "matcher": "mcp__.*", "hooks": ["...handler..."] }
]
}
}The dot and asterisk force regular-expression parsing, matching any tool name with the mcp__ prefix.
Choosing a matcher without surprises
- Identify the lifecycle event first; never start with a value copied from another event.
- Determine the field that event filters: tool, reason, notification type, model name, filename, error type or MCP server.
- Use an omitted, empty or
*matcher for all occurrences when supported. - Use exact text or a vertical-bar list for a fixed set of values.
- Use a regular expression only when you need a pattern, and anchor it for whole-string matching.
- Check special parsing rules for
FileChangedandStopFailure. - Test permission behavior separately: a hook’s zero exit status does not grant approval.
- Recheck the live documentation before publishing or deploying, because event names and matcher catalogs are version-sensitive and maintained over time.
Claude Code is software installed and used in a development environment; the official setup guide covers installation and initial use. Hook matcher behavior itself is defined by the versioned Hooks reference, so keep that page as the authority when your installed version exposes a newer event or value.
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