diff --git a/scripts/hooks/pre-commit b/scripts/hooks/pre-commit
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..6bbeed6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/hooks/pre-commit
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# JellyTau pre-commit hook — the fast half of CLAUDE.md's "Before Committing"
+# list, enforced instead of remembered.
+#
+# TRACES: | DR-207
+#
+# Install with:   bun run hooks:install      (sets core.hooksPath=scripts/hooks)
+# Skip once with: git commit --no-verify
+#
+# What runs here is deliberately limited to gates that finish in seconds:
+#
+#   bun run check                        svelte-check (types)
+#   bun run test                         vitest, single pass
+#   scripts/check-frontend-boundary.sh   domain-taxonomy tripwire (DR-094)
+#   cargo fmt --all -- --check           only when src-tauri/ is staged
+#
+# NOT here, on purpose: `cargo clippy` and `cargo test`. Both take minutes on a
+# cold target dir, which turns every commit into a coffee break and trains
+# people to reach for --no-verify. CI (.gitea/workflows/build-and-test.yml) is
+# where those run; `bun run test:all` is the local equivalent.
+
+set -uo pipefail
+
+# Merge and rebase commits carry someone else's changes, and conflict resolution
+# is exactly when a slow gate is least welcome. Let them through — CI still
+# gates the merge result.
+GIT_DIR_PATH="$(git rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null)" || exit 0
+if [ -e "$GIT_DIR_PATH/MERGE_HEAD" ] ||
+  [ -d "$GIT_DIR_PATH/rebase-merge" ] ||
+  [ -d "$GIT_DIR_PATH/rebase-apply" ] ||
+  [ -e "$GIT_DIR_PATH/CHERRY_PICK_HEAD" ]; then
+  echo "pre-commit: merge/rebase in progress — skipping checks (CI still gates the result)."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# Nothing staged (e.g. `git commit --amend` that only edits the message): nothing
+# to check.
+STAGED="$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR)"
+if [ -z "$STAGED" ]; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
+cd "$REPO_ROOT" || exit 1
+
+FAILED=0
+
+run_gate() {
+  label="$1"
+  shift
+  echo ""
+  echo "🔎 pre-commit: $label"
+  if ! "$@"; then
+    echo "❌ pre-commit: $label failed"
+    FAILED=1
+  fi
+}
+
+run_gate "svelte-check (bun run check)" bun run check
+run_gate "frontend tests (bun run test)" bun run test
+run_gate "frontend/backend boundary" bash scripts/check-frontend-boundary.sh
+
+# rustfmt only matters when Rust actually changed, and `cargo fmt --check` is
+# cheap (no compilation) whenever it does.
+if printf '%s\n' "$STAGED" | grep -q '^src-tauri/'; then
+  if command -v cargo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "🔎 pre-commit: rustfmt (src-tauri/ is staged)"
+    if ! (cd src-tauri && cargo fmt --all -- --check); then
+      echo "❌ pre-commit: cargo fmt --all -- --check failed"
+      echo "   fix with: cd src-tauri && cargo fmt"
+      FAILED=1
+    fi
+  else
+    echo "⚠️  pre-commit: src-tauri/ staged but cargo is not on PATH — skipping rustfmt."
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ "$FAILED" -ne 0 ]; then
+  echo ""
+  echo "🛑 pre-commit checks failed. Fix them, or bypass deliberately with:"
+  echo "     git commit --no-verify"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "✅ pre-commit checks passed."
diff --git a/scripts/install-hooks.sh b/scripts/install-hooks.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..717a98bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-hooks.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Point git at the repo's tracked hooks directory.
+#
+# TRACES: | DR-207
+#
+#   bun run hooks:install        # or: ./scripts/install-hooks.sh
+#
+# `core.hooksPath` is used rather than copying files into .git/hooks so the
+# hooks stay version-controlled: an update to scripts/hooks/pre-commit reaches
+# everyone on their next pull instead of needing a re-install.
+#
+# The setting is local to this clone (git config, not committed). To undo:
+#   git config --unset core.hooksPath
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
+cd "$REPO_ROOT"
+
+HOOKS_DIR="scripts/hooks"
+
+if [ ! -d "$HOOKS_DIR" ]; then
+  echo "❌ $HOOKS_DIR does not exist — are you in the JellyTau repo?" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Git refuses to run a hook that is not executable, and the bit is easy to lose
+# on a fresh checkout on some filesystems.
+chmod +x "$HOOKS_DIR"/* 2>/dev/null || true
+
+git config core.hooksPath "$HOOKS_DIR"
+
+echo "✅ core.hooksPath = $(git config core.hooksPath)"
+echo ""
+echo "Installed hooks:"
+for hook in "$HOOKS_DIR"/*; do
+  [ -f "$hook" ] || continue
+  echo "  - $(basename "$hook")"
+done
+echo ""
+echo "pre-commit runs: bun run check, bun run test, check-frontend-boundary.sh,"
+echo "and cargo fmt --check when src-tauri/ is staged."
+echo "Bypass a single commit with: git commit --no-verify"