Debug Hooks

Systematic workflow for debugging Claude Code hooks.

When to Use

• "Hook isn't firing"
• "Hook produces wrong output"
• "SessionEnd not working"
• "PostToolUse hook not triggering"
• "Why didn't my hook run?"

Workflow

1. Check Outputs First (Observe Before Editing)

# Check project cache
ls -la $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/cache/

# Check specific outputs
ls -la $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/cache/learnings/

# Check for debug logs
tail $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/cache/*.log 2>/dev/null

# Also check global (common mistake: wrong path)
ls -la ~/.claude/cache/ 2>/dev/null

2. Verify Hook Registration

# Project settings
cat $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/settings.json | grep -A 20 '"SessionEnd"\|"PostToolUse"\|"UserPromptSubmit"'

# Global settings (hooks merge from both)
cat ~/.claude/settings.json | grep -A 20 '"SessionEnd"\|"PostToolUse"\|"UserPromptSubmit"'

3. Check Hook Files Exist

# Shell wrappers
ls -la $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/*.sh

# Compiled bundles (if using TypeScript)
ls -la $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/dist/*.mjs

4. Test Hook Manually

# SessionEnd hook
echo '{"session_id": "test-123", "reason": "clear", "transcript_path": "/tmp/test"}' | \
  $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/session-end-cleanup.sh

# PostToolUse hook (Write tool example)
echo '{"tool_name": "Write", "tool_input": {"file_path": "test.md"}, "session_id": "test-123"}' | \
  $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/handoff-index.sh

5. Check for Silent Failures

If using detached spawn with stdio: 'ignore':

// This pattern hides errors!
spawn(cmd, args, { detached: true, stdio: 'ignore' })

Fix: Add temporary logging:

const logFile = fs.openSync('.claude/cache/debug.log', 'a');
spawn(cmd, args, {
  detached: true,
  stdio: ['ignore', logFile, logFile]  // capture stdout/stderr
});

6. Rebuild After Edits

If you edited TypeScript source, you MUST rebuild:

cd $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks
npx esbuild src/session-end-cleanup.ts \
  --bundle --platform=node --format=esm \
  --outfile=dist/session-end-cleanup.mjs

Source edits alone don't take effect - the shell wrapper runs the bundled .mjs.

Common Issues

Debug Checklist

• Outputs exist? (ls -la .claude/cache/)
• Registered? (grep -A10 '"hooks"' .claude/settings.json)
• Files exist? (ls .claude/hooks/*.sh)
• Bundle current? (ls -la .claude/hooks/dist/)
• Manual test works? (echo '{}' | ./hook.sh)
• No silent failures? (check for stdio: 'ignore')

Source Sessions

Derived from 10 sessions (83% of all learnings):

• a541f08a, 1c21e6c8, 6a9f2d7a, a8bd5cea, 2ca1a178, 657ce0b2, 3998f3a2, 2a829f12, 0b46cfd7, 862f6e2c