safety hooks in 5 minutes

block force pushes, rm -rf /, DROP TABLE, and curl | bash with one hook script.

setup

1. copy the script:

cp hooks/safety-guard.sh ~/.claude/hooks/safety-guard.sh
chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/safety-guard.sh

2. register it in your global settings:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "~/.claude/hooks/safety-guard.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

3. done. every Bash command claude runs now gets checked first.

what it blocks

pattern	why
git push --force to main/master	protects shared branches
rm -rf / and variants	prevents catastrophic deletes
DROP TABLE, DROP DATABASE	protects databases
chmod 777 on sensitive paths	prevents permission disasters
curl | bash, wget | sh	blocks remote code execution

note (v2.1.160+): in addition to safety-guard.sh blocking, claude code now prompts before writing to shell startup files and build-tool config files. this provides a second layer of protection for sensitive writes.

| docker commands with daemon redirects | v2.1.214+ blocks docker/podman with --url, --connection, --identity flags that redirect the daemon | new in v2.1.214 |

note (v2.1.214+): claude code now prompts before writing to shell startup files (.zshenv, .zlogin, .bash_login), git config (~/.config/git/), and build-tool config files (.npmrc, .yarnrc*, bunfig.toml, .bazelrc, .pre-commit-config.yaml, .devcontainer/). this provides a second safety layer before files are written, complementing safety-guard.sh hooks.

how it works

the hook receives JSON on stdin with the tool name and input. it checks the bash command against known dangerous patterns. exit 0 = allow, exit 2 = block.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
INPUT=$(cat)
CMD=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty')

# check for dangerous patterns
if echo "$CMD" | grep -qiE 'push.*--force|push.*-f'; then
  echo "blocked: force push detected" >&2
  exit 2
fi

the full safety-guard.sh covers 6 categories. this example shows the pattern.

try it

after setup, test it:

> run: git push --force origin main

claude will see: "blocked: force push detected" and won't execute it.

full hooks guide →