# Geoffrey Huntley blocks agents from bypassing diagnostics library with Git hooks

Digest AI · Agents & Tools · published 2026-10-13T13:32:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/geoffrey-huntley-blocks-agents-from-bypassing-diagnostics-library-with

## Summary

Software engineer Geoffrey Huntley shared a technical approach to enforce the use of his diagnostics library in code. Instead of relying on agent introspection, which can drift over time, he implemented a pre-commit Git hook. This hook checks for direct calls to observability modules that bypass his diagnostics module. If such calls are detected, the commit fails and injects a prompt instructing the agent to use the diagnostics library instead.

Huntley’s method ensures compliance with his preferred code structure, achieving a perfect score of ten out of ten. The solution leverages Git’s built-in tools to automate enforcement, reducing manual oversight. His post highlights the challenges of managing agent behavior in codebases and offers a pragmatic workaround for developers.

## Key points

- Huntley uses a pre-commit Git hook to detect bypasses of his diagnostics library
- Failing commits inject a prompt to use the diagnostics library instead
- Method achieves a perfect score of ten out of ten for compliance

## Why it matters

This approach demonstrates how developers can programmatically enforce coding standards in agent-assisted workflows, reducing drift and manual oversight in large codebases.

## Sources

1. [Quoting Geoffrey Huntley](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/13/geoffrey-huntley) (Simon Willison, 2026-10-13)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Geoffrey Huntley blocks agents from bypassing diagnostics library with Git hooks", 13 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/geoffrey-huntley-blocks-agents-from-bypassing-diagnostics-library-with

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