https://github.com/j178/prek
⚡ Better `pre-commit`, re-engineered in Rust
https://github.com/j178/prek
git git-hooks pre-commit
Last synced: about 1 hour ago
JSON representation
⚡ Better `pre-commit`, re-engineered in Rust
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/j178/prek
- Owner: j178
- License: mit
- Created: 2024-10-07T08:21:29.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2026-01-21T14:13:09.000Z (about 17 hours ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-21T15:20:49.302Z (about 16 hours ago)
- Topics: git, git-hooks, pre-commit
- Language: Rust
- Homepage: https://prek.j178.dev/
- Size: 5.62 MB
- Stars: 3,776
- Watchers: 11
- Forks: 118
- Open Issues: 69
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
- Security: SECURITY.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-starred - j178/prek - ⚡ Better `pre-commit`, re-engineered in Rust (Rust)
- awesome-rust-python - prek - Fast reimplementation of the pre-commit framework. (Development Tools)
README
prek
[](https://github.com/j178/prek)
[](https://codecov.io/github/j178/prek)
[](https://github.com/j178/prek/releases)
[](https://pepy.tech/projects/prek)
[](https://discord.gg/3NRJUqJz86)
[pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com/) is a framework to run hooks written in many languages, and it manages the
language toolchain and dependencies for running the hooks.
*prek* is a reimagined version of pre-commit, built in Rust.
It is designed to be a faster, dependency-free and drop-in alternative for it,
while also providing some additional long-requested features.
> [!NOTE]
> Although prek is pretty new, it’s already powering real‑world projects like [CPython](https://github.com/python/cpython), [Apache Airflow](https://github.com/apache/airflow), [FastAPI](https://github.com/fastapi/fastapi), and more projects are picking it up—see [Who is using prek?](#who-is-using-prek). If you’re looking for an alternative to `pre-commit`, please give it a try—we’d love your feedback!
>
> Please note that some subcommands and languages are still missing for full drop‑in parity with `pre-commit`. Track the remaining gaps here: [TODO](https://prek.j178.dev/todo/).
## Features
- 🚀 A single binary with no dependencies, does not require Python or any other runtime.
- ⚡ [Faster](https://prek.j178.dev/benchmark/) than `pre-commit` and more efficient in disk space usage.
- 🔄 Fully compatible with the original pre-commit configurations and hooks.
- 🏗️ Built-in support for monorepos (i.e. [workspace mode](https://prek.j178.dev/workspace/)).
- 🐍 Integration with [`uv`](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) for managing Python virtual environments and dependencies.
- 🛠️ Improved toolchain installations for Python, Node.js, Bun, Go, Rust and Ruby, shared between hooks.
- 📦 [Built-in](https://prek.j178.dev/builtin/) Rust-native implementation of some common hooks.
## Table of contents
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Quick start](#quick-start)
- [Why prek?](#why-prek)
- [Who is using prek?](#who-is-using-prek)
- [Acknowledgements](#acknowledgements)
## Installation
Standalone installer
prek provides a standalone installer script to download and install the tool,
On Linux and macOS:
```bash
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/j178/prek/releases/download/v0.3.0/prek-installer.sh | sh
```
On Windows:
```powershell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://github.com/j178/prek/releases/download/v0.3.0/prek-installer.ps1 | iex"
```
PyPI
prek is published as Python binary wheel to PyPI, you can install it using `pip`, `uv` (recommended), or `pipx`:
```bash
# Using uv (recommended)
uv tool install prek
# Using uvx (install and run in one command)
uvx prek
# Adding prek to the project dev-dependencies
uv add --dev prek
# Using pip
pip install prek
# Using pipx
pipx install prek
```
Homebrew
```bash
brew install prek
```
mise
To use prek with [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev) ([v2025.8.11](https://github.com/jdx/mise/releases/tag/v2025.8.11) or later):
```bash
mise use prek
```
Cargo binstall
Install pre-compiled binaries from GitHub using [cargo-binstall](https://github.com/cargo-bins/cargo-binstall):
```bash
cargo binstall prek
```
Cargo
Build from source using Cargo (Rust 1.89+ is required):
```bash
cargo install --locked prek
```
npmjs
prek is published as a Node.js package, you can install it using `npm`, `pnpm`, or `npx`:
```bash
# Using npm
npm add -D @j178/prek
# Using pnpm
pnpm add -D @j178/prek
# Using npx
npx @j178/prek --version
# or install globally
npm install -g @j178/prek
# then use `prek` command
prek --version
```
Nix
prek is available via [Nixpkgs](https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=unstable&show=prek&query=prek).
```shell
# Choose what's appropriate for your use case.
# One-off in a shell:
nix-shell -p prek
# NixOS or non-NixOS without flakes:
nix-env -iA nixos.prek
# Non-NixOS with flakes:
nix profile install nixpkgs#prek
```
Conda
prek is available as `prek` via [conda-forge](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/prek).
```shell
conda install conda-forge::prek
```
Scoop (Windows)
prek is available via [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/#/apps?q=prek).
```powershell
scoop install main/prek
```
MacPorts
prek is available via [MacPorts](https://ports.macports.org/port/prek/).
```bash
sudo port install prek
```
GitHub Releases
Pre-built binaries are available for download from the [GitHub releases](https://github.com/j178/prek/releases) page.
GitHub Actions
prek can be used in GitHub Actions via the [j178/prek-action](https://github.com/j178/prek-action) repository.
Example workflow:
```yaml
name: Prek checks
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
prek:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v6
- uses: j178/prek-action@v1
```
This action installs prek and runs `prek run --all-files` on your repository.
prek is also available via [`taiki-e/install-action`](https://github.com/taiki-e/install-action) for installing various tools.
If installed via the standalone installer, prek can update itself to the latest version:
```bash
prek self update
```
## Quick start
- **I already use pre-commit:** follow the short migration checklist in the [quickstart guide](https://prek.j178.dev/quickstart/#already-using-pre-commit) to swap in `prek` safely.
- **I'm new to pre-commit-style tools:** learn the basics—creating a config, running hooks, and installing git hooks—in the [beginner quickstart walkthrough](https://prek.j178.dev/quickstart/#new-to-pre-commit-style-workflows).
## Why prek?
### prek is faster
- It is [multiple times faster](https://prek.j178.dev/benchmark/) than `pre-commit` and takes up half the disk space.
- It redesigned how hook environments and toolchains are managed, they are all shared between hooks, which reduces the disk space usage and speeds up the installation process.
- Repositories are cloned in parallel, and hooks are installed in parallel if their dependencies are disjoint.
- Hooks can run in parallel by priority (hooks with the same [`priority`](https://prek.j178.dev/configuration/#priority) may run concurrently), reducing end-to-end runtime.
- It uses [`uv`](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) for creating Python virtualenvs and installing dependencies, which is known for its speed and efficiency.
- It implements some common hooks in Rust, [built in prek](https://prek.j178.dev/builtin/), which are faster than their Python counterparts.
- It supports `repo: builtin` for offline, zero-setup hooks, which is not available in `pre-commit`.
### prek provides a better user experience
- No need to install Python or any other runtime, just download a single binary.
- No hassle with your Python version or virtual environments, prek automatically installs the required Python version and creates a virtual environment for you.
- Built-in support for [workspaces](https://prek.j178.dev/workspace/) (or monorepos), each subproject can have its own `.pre-commit-config.yaml` file.
- [`prek run`](https://prek.j178.dev/cli/#prek-run) has some nifty improvements over `pre-commit run`, such as:
- `prek run --directory ` runs hooks for files in the specified directory, no need to use `git ls-files -- | xargs pre-commit run --files` anymore.
- `prek run --last-commit` runs hooks for files changed in the last commit.
- `prek run [HOOK] [HOOK]` selects and runs multiple hooks.
- [`prek list`](https://prek.j178.dev/cli/#prek-list) command lists all available hooks, their ids, and descriptions, providing a better overview of the configured hooks.
- [`prek auto-update`](https://prek.j178.dev/cli/#prek-auto-update) supports `--cooldown-days` to mitigate open source supply chain attacks.
- prek provides shell completions for `prek run ` command, making it easier to run specific hooks without remembering their ids.
For more detailed improvements prek offers, take a look at [Difference from pre-commit](https://prek.j178.dev/diff/).
## Who is using prek?
prek is pretty new, but it is already being used or recommend by some projects and organizations:
- [apache/airflow](https://github.com/apache/airflow/issues/44995)
- [python/cpython](https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/143148)
- [pdm-project/pdm](https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/pull/3593)
- [fastapi/fastapi](https://github.com/fastapi/fastapi/pull/14572)
- [fastapi/typer](https://github.com/fastapi/typer/pull/1453)
- [fastapi/asyncer](https://github.com/fastapi/asyncer/pull/437)
- [astral-sh/ruff](https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/pull/22505)
- [astral-sh/ty](https://github.com/astral-sh/ty/pull/2469)
- [home-assistant/core](https://github.com/home-assistant/core/pull/160427)
- [DetachHead/basedpyright](https://github.com/DetachHead/basedpyright/pull/1413)
- [OpenLineage/OpenLineage](https://github.com/OpenLineage/OpenLineage/pull/3965)
- [authlib/authlib](https://github.com/authlib/authlib/pull/804)
- [django/djangoproject.com](https://github.com/django/djangoproject.com/pull/2252)
- [Future-House/paper-qa](https://github.com/Future-House/paper-qa/pull/1098)
- [requests-cache/requests-cache](https://github.com/requests-cache/requests-cache/pull/1116)
- [Goldziher/kreuzberg](https://github.com/Goldziher/kreuzberg/pull/142)
- [python-attrs/attrs](https://github.com/python-attrs/attrs/commit/c95b177682e76a63478d29d040f9cb36a8d31915)
- [jlowin/fastmcp](https://github.com/jlowin/fastmcp/pull/2309)
- [apache/iceberg-python](https://github.com/apache/iceberg-python/pull/2533)
- [jcrist/msgspec](https://github.com/jcrist/msgspec/pull/918)
- [python-humanize/humanize](https://github.com/python-humanize/humanize/pull/276)
- [MoonshotAI/kimi-cli](https://github.com/MoonshotAI/kimi-cli/pull/535)
- [simple-icons/simple-icons](https://github.com/simple-icons/simple-icons/pull/14245)
- [ast-grep/ast-grep](https://github.com/ast-grep/ast-grep.github.io/commit/e30818144b2967a7f9172c8cf2f4596bba219bf5)
- [commitizen-tools/commitizen](https://github.com/commitizen-tools/commitizen)
## Acknowledgements
This project is heavily inspired by the original [pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com/) tool, and it wouldn't be possible without the hard work
of the maintainers and contributors of that project.
And a special thanks to the [Astral](https://github.com/astral-sh) team for their remarkable projects, particularly [uv](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv),
from which I've learned a lot on how to write efficient and idiomatic Rust code.