Add Buildkite agent lifecycle hooks to run custom logic at checkout and command stages of a job
domain: buildkite.com/docs · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Decide the hook scope: agent-level hooks (apply to every job on that agent, stored in the agent's hooks path) versus per-repository hooks checked into a .buildkite/hooks directory.
Create checkout-related hook scripts (pre-checkout, checkout, post-checkout) for logic that must run before or around the repository clone; these execute only in the checkout phase/container.
Create command-related hook scripts (pre-command, command, post-command) for logic around the actual build/test/deploy command; these execute only in the command phase/container(s).
Use the environment hook — executed both in the checkout container and in each command container — to export variables needed across phases, since variables set in checkout hooks don't automatically carry into command hooks.
Test hook exit-code behavior: a failing pre-command (or earlier) hook aborts the job before the command runs, while a failing post-command or pre-exit hook overrides the job's exit code even if the command itself succeeded.
Known gotchas
Environment variables exported in checkout-phase hooks are not visible in command-phase hooks — use the environment hook if a variable needs to cross that boundary, especially on Kubernetes-based agents where phases run in separate containers.
A failing post-command or pre-exit hook overrides an otherwise-successful command's exit code, which can make a passing build look failed if cleanup logic isn't hardened.
Agent-level and repository-level hooks of the same name can both run (agent hooks typically wrap repository hooks) — duplicated logic in both places can execute twice.
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