pc-init

Generate a pre-commit or prek .pre-commit-config.yaml for your project from curated language and framework presets — so you get the right linters, formatters, and quality tools wired up with a single command instead of copying configs between repos. Works with prek and pre-commit

Motivation

Every new repository needs a .pre-commit-config.yaml. Each language and framework has its own recommended linters, formatters, and quality tools, each with its own hook URL and revision. pc-init encodes those choices in version-controlled presets so you run one command instead of copying configs and looking up hook URLs. The bundled presets pin specific hook revisions — run pre-commit autoupdate or prek autoupdate after generation to pull in the latest versions.

Alternatives

If you'd rather run one all-in-one Docker-based linter instead of wiring up individual pre-commit hooks, see MegaLinter. pc-init takes the opposite approach: it generates a .pre-commit-config.yaml of individually-pinned, curated hooks that run natively via pre-commit/prek, so you can see, version, and update each tool independently.

Awesome Pre-commit Hooks

The curated hooks bundled with pc-init are also published as a standalone reference at awesome-pre-commit-hooks — a browsable list of every hook organised by language and framework.

Quickstart

In an existing repository, let pc-init detect what's there and generate a config in one command (no install required):

cd my-project
uvx pc-init --detect

Or specify languages and frameworks explicitly:

uvx pc-init --lang py --framework django

Then install the hooks:

pre-commit install
# or
prek install

Installation

It is recommended that you use pc-init with uvx to get the latest version of the tool and the hooks, but you can install it permanently with:

uv tool install pc-init

Usage

Usage: pc-init [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

  Generate a .pre-commit-config.yaml for your project.

Options:
  --lang       TEXT  Language preset to include (repeatable, or
                     comma-delimited: --lang=py,js). Run `pc-init list` to
                     see supported values from the active catalog.
  --framework  TEXT  Framework preset to layer on top of language baselines
                     (repeatable, or comma-delimited: --framework=react,django).
                     Run `pc-init list` to see supported values from the
                     active catalog.
  --force            Overwrite existing .pre-commit-config.yaml without
                     prompting.
  --detect           Auto-detect languages and frameworks from the current
                     directory and merge them with any explicitly supplied
                     --lang/--framework values.
  --profile    TEXT  Hook profile to include on top of the default preset
                     baseline (repeatable, or comma-delimited:
                     --profile=legacy,experimental). preset hooks are always
                     included. Supported: legacy, experimental.
  --output     TEXT  Output file path.  [default: .pre-commit-config.yaml]
  --presets    TEXT  Preset catalog to use. Accepts a local directory path or
                     a git repository URL (https://, git@, git://, ssh://).
                     The directory / repo root must contain lang/ and
                     framework/ subdirectories. Defaults to the bundled
                     presets.
  --version          Show version and exit.
  --help             Show this message and exit.

Commands:
  list  List available language and framework presets in the active catalog.

List available presets

Run pc-init list to discover all supported languages and frameworks in the active catalog (bundled or custom):

pc-init list

Languages:
  cpp, css, docker, env, go, groovy, img, js, kt, lua, make, md, nb, proto, py, pyx, r, rb, rs, rst, sh, sql, swift, tex, tf, toml, ts, yaml

Frameworks:
  ansible, behave, django, git, k8s, nika, react, skill, sphinx

Profiles (opt in with --profile; preset is always included):
  experimental, legacy

Use --presets to list what a custom catalog provides:

pc-init list --presets /path/to/my-presets
pc-init list --presets https://github.com/org/my-presets

Supported presets

Languages — pass as --lang:

Language aliases python, javascript, typescript, rust, ruby, golang, shell, bash, image, notebook, jupyter, dockerfile, makefile, terraform, c, c++, kotlin, and cython are also accepted.

Frameworks — pass as --framework:

Auto-detecting languages and frameworks

--detect scans the current directory, infers languages from file extensions and frameworks from indicator files, and uses the results exactly as if you had passed them with --lang and --framework.

pc-init --detect

Detected languages: md, py, yaml, sh, js
Detected frameworks: git
Generated .pre-commit-config.yaml with languages: md, py, yaml, sh, js and frameworks: git

Detected values are merged with any explicitly supplied flags — duplicates are dropped:

pc-init --detect --lang sql   # adds sql on top of whatever is detected

If the file already exists and differs, the suggested overwrite command uses explicit --lang and --framework values so the re-run is fully deterministic:

Run with --force to overwrite '.pre-commit-config.yaml'.
  Try: pc-init --lang=md,py,yaml,sh,js --framework=git --force

Language detection is based on file extensions (common vendored directories such as .git, node_modules, .venv, __pycache__, and dist are skipped):

Framework detection is based on indicator files:

Language suggestions for frameworks

Some framework presets declare the languages they are typically used with. If none of your --lang selections match, pc-init prints an informational note and a ready-to-run command that adds the missing languages:

Note: preset 'react' recommends adding: --lang=js,ts
      Try: pc-init --lang=go,js,ts --framework=react

The suggested command preserves your existing --lang values so it is safe to run with --force — no hooks you already selected will be removed.

Pass --recommended to apply all suggestions automatically in a single run:

pc-init --lang go --framework react --recommended

You can also omit --lang entirely when using --recommended with at least one framework — the recommended languages are used as the starting set:

pc-init --framework django --recommended

Hook profiles

Every hook belongs to a category: preset (the curated default, always included), legacy (superseded by a newer hook already in the same preset, but still usable — e.g. Python's mypy/flake8/isort/black/pyright, superseded by ty/ruff), or experimental (brand-new, not-yet-proven hooks). By default only preset hooks are included. Use --profile to add legacy and/or experimental hooks on top of the default baseline:

pc-init --lang py --profile legacy
pc-init --lang py --profile legacy,experimental

--profile is repeatable/comma-delimited, just like --lang/--framework.

Examples

Auto-detect everything:

pc-init --detect

Auto-detect and add an extra language:

pc-init --detect --lang sql

Python project:

pc-init --lang py

JavaScript project with React:

pc-init --lang js --framework react

Python + Django, overwriting an existing config:

pc-init --lang py --framework django --force

Multiple languages (two equivalent forms):

pc-init --lang py --lang js
pc-init --lang=py,js

Django project, letting pc-init pick the language automatically:

pc-init --framework django --recommended

Custom presets

Point --presets at a local directory or a git repository that contains lang/ and framework/ subdirectories in the same layout as the bundled presets.

Local directory:

pc-init --lang py --presets /path/to/my-presets

Git repository:

pc-init --lang py --presets https://github.com/org/my-presets