pre-commit SKIP env silently skips hooks in CI

pre-commit reads the SKIP environment variable and skips any hook id listed in it. A SKIP value set at the workflow or org level can silently disable the hooks you rely on in CI.

What this error means

A specific hook prints "Skipped" while others run, and the job passes. The hook is not disabled in the config; a SKIP env value names it.

flake8...............................................(SKIP=flake8)Skipped
black....................................................................Passed

Common causes

A SKIP value is set in the environment

A workflow env, a job env, or an organization-level variable sets SKIP to a comma-separated list of hook ids, and pre-commit honours it.

A debugging SKIP was left in place

Someone set SKIP to bypass a hook temporarily and the value persisted into CI.

How to fix it

Unset or correct SKIP in CI

1. Search workflow and org env for a SKIP value.
2. Remove it, or narrow it to hooks you truly want skipped.
3. Re-run and confirm the previously skipped hook now executes.

env:
  SKIP: ""

Gate on the SKIP value explicitly

Fail the job if a critical hook id appears in SKIP so it cannot be silently bypassed.

- run: |
    case ",$SKIP," in *,flake8,*) echo "flake8 must not be skipped"; exit 1;; esac

How to prevent it

• Do not set SKIP at the workflow or org level.
• Audit env for leftover SKIP values that disable gates.
• Fail CI if a required hook id is present in SKIP.

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