The commit was green. The build was clean. But a single unvalidated DynamoDB query slipped through, silently opening the door to risk.
Pre-commit security hooks stop that from ever happening. They catch unsafe code before it touches the repository. When combined with DynamoDB query runbooks, they give you a repeatable, automated process to prevent bad queries from reaching production.
A pre-commit security hook runs locally, triggered by git commit. It inspects code for known security issues—query patterns that bypass validation, misuse parameters, or skip access controls. For DynamoDB, hooks can scan for unbounded queries, missing KeyConditionExpression, weak FilterExpression, or inconsistent global secondary index usage.
DynamoDB query runbooks document every safe query pattern. They include parameters, expected throughput, and allowed indexes. They define response handling, pagination rules, and error patterns. A runbook turns best practices into code-enforceable guardrails. For engineers, it’s not just documentation—it’s an enforcement blueprint.
The workflow is direct:
- Developer writes code that uses DynamoDB queries.
- Pre-commit hook runs, comparing queries against the runbook rules.
- Any violation blocks the commit, with a clear, actionable error.
- The fix happens before the code enters the repo.
Integrating both means no ad-hoc query slips through review. You get consistent query performance, predictable costs, and locked-down security. Maintenance becomes easier because the runbook evolves alongside the hooks, giving teams an always-updated security baseline.
Set up your hooks to parse application code for AWS SDK calls to DynamoDB. Match them against the structured runbook JSON or YAML file in your repository. Version-control the runbook so changes to query policies are reviewed as code. Use CI/CD to backstop local hooks with server-side checks.
Security hooks protect the perimeter of your codebase. Runbooks define its language. Together they prevent risk at commit-time and ensure every DynamoDB call meets the exact safety and performance profile you define.
See it live in minutes at hoop.dev—and make unsafe commits impossible before they ever leave your machine.