📹 Video Information:

Title: I used HOOKS to make CLAUDE CODE Meow, Beep, and Talk
Duration: 14:28

How Custom Sounds Help You Understand Claude Code Hooks (and Why You Should Try It!)

When Anthropic announced hooks for Claude Code, one Reddit user joked, “I’m going to use this to make Claude meow. I’ve always wanted a cat, but I’m allergic.” That comment sparked an unexpectedly powerful way to get started with hooks: adding custom sounds to different Claude events. Not only is it fun and whimsical, but it’s also an educational deep-dive into how Claude Code operates under the hood.

Let’s walk through how this sound-based project works, why it’s useful, and how it can inspire more advanced, pragmatic uses of hooks.

Understanding the Power of Claude Code Hooks

Claude Code hooks let you assign custom commands to different events in the coding workflow. These events include things like:

• Pre-tool use: Before Claude uses a tool (often Bash commands, editing files, reading files, web requests, etc.)
• Post-tool use: After Claude finishes using a tool.
• Notifications: When Claude is waiting for user input or approval.
• Stop: When the current task is completed.
• Pre-compact: Before Claude auto-compacts session history.

By assigning sounds to each event, you get immediate, sensory feedback as these events are triggered. This helps you see (or hear!) what’s happening in the background, making hooks less abstract and more tangible.

Setting Up Your Project: Where to Configure Hooks

To get started, you’ll edit your settings.json—specifically, the one in your project directory (not your user or local settings). This ensures your hook configuration is committed to your repository and applies across all work trees.

Within your project, create a hooks directory to store all the scripts and sound files. If you eventually want these hooks to work across all projects, you can migrate them to your user settings, but localizing them per project is best for experimentation.

Defining Hooks in settings.json

In your settings.json, hooks are defined as a list, where each hook specifies:

• Type of event (e.g., pre-tool use, stop, notification)
• Command to run (in this case, a Python script)

For simplicity and maintainability, it’s best to keep the JSON configuration minimal and put most of the logic inside your Python script. This allows for easier debugging and flexibility.

Building the Python Hook Handler

The Python script acts as the core logic center. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Log Incoming Data: Whenever Claude triggers a hook, JSON data is piped into your script via standard input. This data contains session information, the event name, the tool being used, and any tool-specific input. Logging this is crucial for understanding what’s happening and for debugging.

2. Map Events to Sounds: Create directories for different types of sounds (beeps, meows, voices, etc.). You can use sound effect services like Epidemic Sound to download fun beeps, cat meows, or even AI-generated voice snippets.

3. Assign Sounds to Actions: Either assign random sounds or, more effectively, map specific sounds to specific events or Bash commands. For example, use a “meow” for file edits, a “beep” for notifications, or a British-accented “committing” for git actions.

4. Optional Patterns: Fine-tune the sound mapping for more granular feedback. For example, distinguish between editing files, reading files, or running specific CLI commands by matching against the command name.

Why Start with Sounds?

Assigning sounds to hooks isn’t just playful—it’s surprisingly educational. You’ll quickly discover:

• Which events are triggered most often (e.g., how many actions are actually Bash commands)
• How Claude interacts with your files and tools
• Opportunities for more advanced hook logic (like intercepting dangerous commands or ensuring tests run before a pull request)

Making abstract processes audible helps demystify Claude’s inner workings and gives you confidence to try more serious customizations.

Beyond Sounds: Unlocking the Full Potential of Hooks

Once you’re comfortable, hooks enable all sorts of productivity and safety improvements:

• Preventing dangerous commands: Block risky Bash operations like rm -rf before they execute.
• Running Linters: Automatically trigger code quality checks after edits.
• Enforcing Test Runs: Ensure tests pass before allowing pull requests.
• Custom Notifications: Replace unreliable system beeps with tailored sounds or even spoken messages.

Hooks give you deterministic control over Claude Code’s behavior—making your coding environment smarter, safer, and more responsive.

Ready to Try? Resources and Next Steps

You can find all the code and examples from this project at hihigh.ai/hooks.

Whether you want to make Claude meow, beep, or speak in a proper British accent, starting with custom sounds is a delightful way to understand hooks. Once you grasp the basics, you’ll be well-equipped to use hooks for more complex, pragmatic workflows.

What creative uses have you found for Claude Code hooks? Share your ideas and let’s build smarter tools together!