Git pre-commit secret scanning

· Tech

TLDR: Set up infisical scan as a pre-commit hook. One git push with a hardcoded API key and it is in the repo history forever. AI-generated code is especially risky. Takes 5 minutes to set up.

All the Docker isolation in the world does not help if you commit a secret to git.

Setup

Infisical CLI detects 140+ secret types (AWS keys, Stripe tokens, JWTs, private keys):

Terminal window
infisical scan              # scan current directory and git history
infisical scan --no-git     # scan files only, skip git history

Pre-commit hook

Create .git/hooks/pre-commit:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Scanning for secrets..."
git diff --cached --name-only -z | xargs -0 infisical scan --no-git 2>&1


if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo ""
  echo "ERROR: Secrets detected in staged files."
  echo "Remove them and try again."
  echo "Override: git commit --no-verify"
  exit 1
fi
Terminal window
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

Team enforcement

Use a shared hooks directory so everyone gets the hook automatically:

Terminal window
mkdir -p .githooks
cp .git/hooks/pre-commit .githooks/pre-commit
git config core.hooksPath .githooks

Commit .githooks/ to the repo.

AI-generated code is especially risky

AI agents sometimes generate code with hardcoded credentials from training data or context. Always review AI-generated commits. The pre-commit scanner is your safety net.

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