Claude Code Hook Monitors WIP Accumulation in AI Coding Workflows

Monitoring WIP in AI Coding Workflows

A developer has created a UserPromptSubmit hook for Claude Code that addresses a common issue in AI-assisted development: AI agents lack visibility into accumulating work-in-progress. While the AI focuses on the current prompt, uncommitted changes can grow, commits can pile up without being pushed, changesets can go unwritten, and release PRs can remain open for extended periods.

How the Hook Works

The hook implements four checks that monitor different points where code accumulates between the editor and production:

• Check 1: Uncommitted changes exceeding 200 lines (both tracked and untracked)
• Check 2: Three or more unpushed commits
• Check 3: Pushed commits without a changeset file (which prevents release PR creation)
• Check 4: Release PRs that have been open longer than 24 hours

Checks 1 and 2 run locally using git commands and execute with every prompt submission, providing near-instant feedback. Checks 3 and 4 require GitHub API calls, so they run once after each push operation.

Design Philosophy

The key design decision was to implement these as nudges rather than gates. The hook doesn't block the AI from working but instead provides visibility through two channels:

• additionalContext injected into the AI's context
• A systemMessage printed in the user's terminal

This approach means there's no permissionDecision component - both the AI and the developer can see the current state of the workflow without interrupting the coding process.

This type of tool is useful for developers who want to maintain better oversight of their AI-assisted development workflows, particularly when working on larger projects where WIP can easily accumulate unnoticed.