PreToolUse hook displayed instead of actual tool invocation

Status Closed — not planned

Maintainer reply None cached

Activity 10 comments · opened Oct 16, 2025 · closed Feb 12, 2026

Bug Description

When a PreToolUse hook is configured, Claude Code displays the hook execution in the UI instead of (or in addition to) the actual tool invocation. The actual tool (e.g., Bash(pwd)) is not shown to the user at all, only the PreToolUse hook command appears.

This bug occurs in normal Claude Code sessions, not just in debug mode. Debug mode was used here to gather logs for investigation.

Environment

Claude Code Version: v2.0.15
Model: Sonnet 4.5
OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)

Steps to Reproduce

Configure a PreToolUse hook in .claude/settings.local.json:

{
  "hooks": [
    {
      "trigger": "PreToolUse:Bash",
      "command": "jq -r '\"\(.tool_input.command) - \(.tool_input.description // \"No description\")\"' >> ~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt"
    }
  ]
}

Run Claude Code (with or without debug mode): claude

Execute any bash command, e.g., "Run the pwd command"

Expected Behavior

The UI should display something like:

⏺ I'll run the pwd command to show the current working directory.

Bash(pwd) completed successfully
  ⎿  /Users/maximelas/Projects/project-name

⏺ The current working directory is:
  /Users/maximelas/Projects/project-name

Note: I'm not 100% certain whether PreToolUse hooks are meant to be displayed to the user (and if so, in what format), but regardless, the current behavior is clearly incorrect since the actual tool invocation is completely missing.

Actual Behavior

The UI displays:

⏺ I'll run the pwd command to show the current working directory.

PreToolUse:Bash [jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - 
\(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> 
~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt] completed successfully
  ⎿  /Users/maximelas/Projects/project-name

PreToolUse:Bash [jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - 
\(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> 
~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt] completed successfully

⏺ The current working directory is:
  /Users/maximelas/Projects/project-name

Issues:

The PreToolUse hook command is displayed prominently to the user
The hook appears twice
The actual Bash(pwd) tool invocation is completely missing from the display

Debug Log Evidence

From ~/.claude/debug/latest (collected by running claude --debug):

[DEBUG] executePreToolHooks called for tool: Bash
[DEBUG] Executing hooks for PreToolUse:Bash
[DEBUG] Getting matching hook commands for PreToolUse with query: Bash
[DEBUG] Found 1 hook matchers in settings
[DEBUG] Matched 1 unique hooks for query "Bash" (1 before deduplication)
[DEBUG] Found 1 hook commands to execute
[DEBUG] Executing hook command: jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - \(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> ~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt with timeout 60000ms
[DEBUG] Hook command completed with status 0: jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - \(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> ~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt
[DEBUG] Hook output does not start with {, treating as plain text
[DEBUG] Executing hooks for PostToolUse:Bash

Note: The hook itself is working correctly - it successfully logs to ~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt with the correct entry: pwd - Print current working directory. The issue is purely a UI display bug.

Additional Context

The line [DEBUG] Hook output does not start with {, treating as plain text suggests that Claude Code may be incorrectly treating the hook's execution result as user-visible output. The core issue is that the actual tool invocation (Bash(pwd)) is completely missing from the UI display.

View original on GitHub ↗

10 Comments

MaximeLas · 12 months ago

Additional Evidence: Bug Also Occurs on Tool Interruption

The display bug also manifests when a tool use is interrupted/declined by the user:

PreToolUse:Bash [jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - 
\(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> 
~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt] completed successfully
  ⎿  Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?

PreToolUse:Bash [jq -r '"\(.tool_input.command) - 
\(.tool_input.description // "No description")"' >> 
~/.claude/bash-command-log.txt] completed successfully

This shows the issue is systematic across different tool execution states (success, interruption, etc.), further confirming it's a core display rendering problem rather than an edge case.

github-actions[bot] · 12 months ago

Found 2 possible duplicate issues:

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

MaximeLas · 12 months ago

Not a Duplicate - Here's Why

Thank you for flagging the related issues. After thoroughly reviewing both #8990 and #8235 (including all comments), I can confirm this issue shares the same root cause but provides critical new information that warrants keeping it open:

Comparison with Referenced Issues

Issue #8990 - Very similar symptoms:

PreToolUse hooks displaying instead of actual tool commands
User reports "you can no longer see things like Bash(foo)"
Their hook output shows JSON ({"permissionDecision": "allow"})
Linux v2.0.8

Issue #8235 - Related but started differently:

Initially about tool commands disappearing entirely (no hooks involved)
Later comments (from @mfyz with screenshot) evolved to show the exact same symptom: hook output visible, actual tool commands hidden
One comment claims "resolved in 2.0.19" but this is clearly not the case

Why This Issue Should Remain Open

Version Evidence: I'm on v2.0.15 (macOS), demonstrating this bug persists after the claimed fix in v2.0.19
Comprehensive Debug Logs: This issue provides the most detailed technical investigation with:

Complete debug output showing the exact rendering flow
Evidence of [DEBUG] Hook output does not start with {, treating as plain text
Proof that the bug occurs across multiple scenarios (successful execution + user interruption)

Clear Reproduction: Provides exact steps, expected vs actual behavior, and confirms the hook itself works correctly (it's purely a display bug)
Different Symptom Pattern: Unlike #8990's JSON output, my hooks show the actual command text, suggesting multiple manifestations of the same underlying rendering bug

Core Issue

The actual tool invocation (e.g., Bash(pwd)) is completely missing from the display, replaced by PreToolUse hook execution details. This makes it impossible to monitor what Claude is actually doing, which is a critical usability and transparency issue.

I believe this issue provides the freshest evidence and most thorough investigation of an ongoing systemic problem with hook/tool display rendering. Please keep it open to help the team fix the root cause.

cc: @KJ7LNW (author of #8990) - you might want to check if your issue persists in v2.0.15+

github-actions[bot] · 10 months ago

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

jpwinans · 9 months ago

It's still occurring for me.

eliseorobles · 9 months ago

Issue happening for me still

github-actions[bot] · 8 months ago

This issue has been automatically closed due to 60 days of inactivity. If you're still experiencing this issue, please open a new issue with updated information.

marcindulak · 8 months ago

This issue was closed incorrectly despite recent human comments. This behavior of the bot is reported at https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/16497. Please upvote that issue, so maybe it gets noticed.

eliseorobles · 8 months ago

issue is still very much active

github-actions[bot] · 7 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.