Prevent Claude Code Force-Push to Main

In autonomous mode, Claude Code can run git push --force origin main and rewrite your shared branch history. This has happened to real users during overnight sessions.

The Problem

Claude Code has full terminal access, including git. During autonomous sessions (especially at night), it can:

Push directly to main/master without a PR
Force-push and overwrite commits made by other team members
Push untested code to production branches
Amend published commits and force-push

Deep night force-push to main

An autonomous Claude Code session force-pushed to main at 3am while the developer was sleeping. The team discovered rewritten history the next morning.

#36640

Why CLAUDE.md Isn't Enough

You can write "never push to main" in CLAUDE.md. Claude will follow it — until the context window fills up and the rule gets compacted away. In long autonomous sessions, this happens reliably.

The Fix: branch-guard Hook

branch-guard.sh — blocks pushes to protected branches:

#!/bin/bash
INPUT=$(cat)
COMMAND=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty')

# Block push to main/master
if echo "$COMMAND" | grep -qE 'git\s+push.*\b(main|master)\b'; then
  echo "BLOCKED: Push to protected branch" >&2
  exit 2
fi

# Block force-push anywhere
if echo "$COMMAND" | grep -qE 'git\s+push\s+.*(-f|--force)'; then
  echo "BLOCKED: Force-push" >&2
  exit 2
fi

exit 0

exit 2 blocks the command at the process level. The model cannot bypass, ignore, or work around it.

Install Branch Protection + 7 More Safety Hooks

npx cc-safe-setup

Blocks force-push, rm -rf, secret leaks, syntax errors, and more. 9,677 tests 605 examples

GitHub · npm · Getting Started

Also Prevents

rm -rf filesystem deletion
Secret leaks via git add .env
Syntax errors cascading through files
Context window exhaustion without warning

Check Your Safety Score

npx cc-health-check

Free 20-point diagnostic for your Claude Code setup.

Open source, zero dependencies. View source.

New: Hook if field — reduce overhead (v2.1.85)

Learn more: Production Guide · All Tools