Difference between Husky and pre-commit

In this article, we will discuss about Husky and Pre-commit. Before the differences, let's understand each term in detail with their features.

What is the Husky?

Husky is an npm package that helps to install and use Git hooks in our project. Git hooks are scripts that Git runs on certain events but are not limited to committing code and pushing changes to a repository. With Husky, we can automate multiple tasks that check the code quality before changes are made in the code. Husky is a very common tool in the JavaScript ecosystem, which is mainly related to Git hooks.

Features of Husky:

Several features of Husky are as follows:

• Git Hook Management: Husky helps to configure and automate creating Git hooks in a project so that we can perform scripts at different stages of the Git process (for instance, before applying commits or pushes).
• Pre-commit and Pre-push Hooks: The hooks like pre-commit and pre-push helps to trigger linting, testing, or formatting automatically so that we do not commit errors or push unformatted code.
• Custom Scripts: During the hooks, we can define custom scripts that will be run to automate our process according to our desired workflow.
• Easy Configuration: Husky can be configured in our packages.json or in a dedicated configuration file, which allows this library to be very easy to install, manage, and maintain.
• Cross-Platform Support: It has good compatibility with multiple operating systems, such as macOS, Linux, and Windows.
• Integration with Other Tools: Husky integrates smoothly with other utilities like ESLint, Prettier, and testing frameworks and adds value to our development environment.
• Conditional Hooks: It helps us to establish hooks that will only execute as we desire, which is a practical way to manage resource utilization.
• Version Control: It serves the purpose of maintaining coding standards and practices by ensuring that certain tests are performed uniformly by all contributors with access to the project.

What are the Pre-commit hooks?

Pre-commit hooks are scripts initialized before a code commit is finalized. This code also checks for formatting issues, tests, and other checks that we can establish. By performing all these checks before getting to the actual commit, we avoid situations where a new addition is of very low quality or contains a mistake.

Pre-commit is a tool created for pre-commit hooks and is a multi-language package manager. A list of checks (hooks) specified in a configuration file that will be performed each time the git commit command is entered. If any of the checks fail, the commit is rolled back, letting us fix things up and make the code better before becoming a part of the repository history.

The advantages of pre-commit hooks include preventing multiple people from making similar mistakes and assuring code quality from making it to production harder for developers who have to spend time identifying these errors during the code review process. Pre-commit is the tool that enables other integrations that would perform static code analysis before pushing a commit to the version control system.

Features of Pre-commit:

Several features of Pre-commit are as follows:

• Code Quality Checks: Pre-commit built scripts to perform linters and formatters and many other tools that help to check and maintain the code quality.
• Customizable Hooks: Users can set up custom pre-checks or pre-action scripts to be performed every time a commit is made.
• Multi-language Support: It is compatible with different programming languages and tools, enabling it to generate diverse checks.
• Integration with CI/CD: It can be easily embedded into DevOps tools, such as CI/CD pipelines to maintain code standards.
• Fast Feedback: It gives fast feedback to the developers to identify problems during the developing stage.
• Easy Setup: It is easy to install and a relatively easy configuration as compared to other software that may require extensive input to get working.
• Prevention of Bad Commits: Delays commitment if it will not meet the specified checks so that only quality code gets to be committed to the repository.

Key differences between Husky and Pre-commit

There are several key differences between Husky and pre-commit. Some main differences are as follows:

Conclusion:

Conclusively, Husky and pre-commit are equally important to deal with Git hooks and improve code quality but are appropriate for different plans and needs. Husky is mainly intended for JavaScript and Node.js projects, allowing for simple automated checks and compatibility with other tools like ESLint and Prettier before commits or pushes. It is especially useful for teams that are highly involved in the JavaScript environment. On the other hand, pre-commit is a cross-cutting framework that works with multiple languages, although it provides hooks that can be customized based on a specified project. This makes it a great fit for teams with diverse tech stacks.