Global core.hooksPath already points to {}. Re-run with `f p

Error message

Global core.hooksPath already points to {}.
Re-run with `f push hooks install --force` to overwrite it.

What it means

Raised by install_hooks in src/push_hook.rs when the global git config already defines core.hooksPath pointing to a directory different from the Flow hooks directory, and --force was not passed. Installing would hijack the existing global hooks location, so the tool refuses unless explicitly forced.

Source

Thrown at src/push_hook.rs:78

            cmd.remote_name.as_deref(),
            cmd.remote_url.as_deref(),
            current_branch.as_deref(),
            decision.policy.home_branch.as_deref(),
        )?;
    }

    Ok(())
}

pub fn install_hooks(force: bool) -> Result<()> {
    let hooks_path = push_policy::effective_global_hooks_path()?;
    let current_hooks_path = current_global_hooks_path()?;

    if let Some(current) = current_hooks_path.as_ref()
        && normalize_path(current) != normalize_path(&hooks_path)
        && !force
    {
        bail!(
            "Global core.hooksPath already points to {}.\nRe-run with `f push hooks install --force` to overwrite it.",
            current.display()
        );
    }

    fs::create_dir_all(&hooks_path)
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to create {}", hooks_path.display()))?;
    let hook_path = hooks_path.join("pre-push");
    if hook_path.exists() && !is_flow_managed_hook(&hook_path)? && !force {
        bail!(
            "Refusing to overwrite non-Flow hook at {}.\nRe-run with `f push hooks install --force` to replace it.",
            hook_path.display()
        );
    }

    fs::write(&hook_path, render_pre_push_hook_script())
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to write {}", hook_path.display()))?;
    #[cfg(unix)]

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

If you accept replacing it, re-run with `f push hooks install --force`
Inspect the existing setting with `git config --global core.hooksPath` and decide whether to keep it (skip installing Flow hooks)
Uninstall the other hook manager's global hooksPath first (`git config --global --unset core.hooksPath`), then install Flow hooks without force

Example fix

// before
$ f push hooks install
Global core.hooksPath already points to /home/u/.husky.
// after
$ f push hooks install --force

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

let current = std::process::Command::new("git")
    .args(["config", "--global", "--get", "core.hooksPath"])
    .output()?;
if current.status.success() {
    let p = String::from_utf8_lossy(&current.stdout).trim();
    eprintln!("existing global core.hooksPath = {p}; pass --force to replace");
}

Try / catch

match result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("core.hooksPath already points to") => {
        eprintln!("decide: keep existing hooks or re-run install with --force");
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
    Ok(v) => Ok(v),
}

Prevention

Check `git config --global core.hooksPath` before installing
Uninstall other global hook managers (husky/pre-commit) first
Use --force only when you intentionally replace the hooks location

When it happens

Trigger: Running `f push hooks install` when `git config --global core.hooksPath` returns a path that normalizes to something other than Flow's effective global hooks path, without --force.

Common situations: Another tool (Husky, pre-commit, lefthook) previously installed global hooks; user moved or renamed Flow's hooks directory; switching between Flow and another hook manager on the same machine.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6a6cf6339992b6d4. Report an issue: GitHub.