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8 Lifecycle Hooks for Perfect AI Agent Coordination

Your AI agents work in isolation. They overwrite each other’s changes. Critical context disappears before compaction. Important messages get missed. ULPI Hooks fixes all of this—automatically.

Zero Merge Conflicts

Pre-edit hooks check file reservations and block conflicting changes before they happen

Context Preserved

Pre-compact hooks create memory snapshots before Claude compresses context

Never Miss Messages

User-prompt hooks alert agents to urgent coordination messages

Clean Shutdowns

Session-end hooks release all file reservations and complete pending tasks

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The Problem: AI Assistants Work in Silos

You’ve experienced this frustration working with multiple AI coding assistants:
  • Constant merge conflicts when two agents edit the same file
  • Lost context when Claude compacts your conversation history
  • Missed urgent messages from other agents on your team
  • Orphaned file locks when sessions crash without cleanup
  • No coordination between Claude Code, Cursor, and other tools
Your AI team needs integration points. Hooks provides them.

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The Solution: Deep Lifecycle Integration

ULPI Hooks intercepts 8 critical lifecycle events in your AI coding assistant and enables:
  • Without Hooks
  • With ULPI Hooks

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The Chaos of Uncoordinated Agents

File Conflicts:
  • Agent A edits auth.ts
  • Agent B edits auth.ts at the same time
  • Merge conflict requires manual resolution
  • 15 minutes lost
Lost Context:
  • Important architecture decision discussed
  • Context approaches token limit
  • Claude compacts conversation
  • Decision details lost forever
  • Must re-explain from scratch
Missed Messages:
  • Security issue found by Agent A
  • Agent B doesn’t see the urgent message
  • Deploys vulnerable code
  • Critical bug reaches production

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8 Strategic Lifecycle Hooks

Each hook intercepts a critical moment in your AI assistant’s lifecycle:
Fires when: Your AI coding assistant starts a new sessionWhat it enables:
  • Automatic agent registration with ULPI Coordination
  • Display coordination dashboard with active agents
  • Show file reservations from other agents
  • Initialize memory context from previous sessions
  • Present urgent messages waiting for acknowledgment
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Allow session to start normally
  • 2 - Block session (e.g., critical pending acknowledgments)
Performance: ~150ms average latency
Fires before: Any file edit operationWhat it enables:
  • Check file reservations in Coordination system
  • Block edits if another agent has claimed the file
  • Auto-reserve files on first edit (shared or exclusive mode)
  • Show which agent has the file reserved
  • Suggest coordination via messaging
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Allow edit (file available or already reserved by this agent)
  • 2 - Block edit (file reserved by another agent)
Performance: ~120ms average latencyResult: Zero merge conflicts, guaranteed
Fires after: Any file edit operation completesWhat it enables:
  • Show pending tasks related to edited file
  • Display required acknowledgments
  • Track what needs review after modification
  • Update file reservation status
  • Log edit for audit trail
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Always allow (non-blocking hook)
Performance: ~80ms average latency
Fires before: Claude compacts conversation historyWhat it enables:
  • Create memory snapshot of current context
  • Extract architecture decisions and learnings
  • Preserve critical technical details
  • Store important code patterns
  • Save pending tasks and obligations
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Allow compaction to proceed
  • 2 - Block compaction (rarely used)
Performance: ~200ms average latencyResult: Never lose critical context again
Fires before: Agent responds to user inputWhat it enables:
  • Check for urgent unread messages
  • Display critical coordination alerts
  • Show pending acknowledgments that require attention
  • Present important file reservation conflicts
  • Alert to high-priority tasks
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Allow response (no urgent messages)
  • 2 - Block response (critical message requires acknowledgment)
Performance: ~100ms average latencyResult: Never miss critical coordination info
Fires when: User attempts to stop agent executionWhat it enables:
  • Check for pending critical acknowledgments
  • Warn about incomplete file reservations
  • Block shutdown if critical tasks incomplete
  • Allow graceful completion of obligations
  • Prevent orphaned locks
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Allow stop (all clear)
  • 2 - Block stop (pending critical tasks)
Performance: ~90ms average latency
Fires when: Session ends normallyWhat it enables:
  • Release all file reservations automatically
  • Mark agent as offline in Coordination
  • Store final memory snapshot
  • Complete logging and audit trail
  • Clean handoff to next session
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Always allow (cleanup hook)
Performance: ~110ms average latencyResult: Zero orphaned file locks
Fires when: A spawned subagent completes its taskWhat it enables:
  • Store subagent learnings to shared memory
  • Release subagent file reservations
  • Report results to parent agent
  • Update task status
  • Clean up subagent resources
Exit Codes:
  • 0 - Always allow (cleanup hook)
Performance: ~95ms average latency

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Real-World Use Cases

Multi-Agent Development Team

Scenario: 3 developers (Alice, Bob, Charlie) work on the same repositoryHow Hooks Help:
  • Alice edits auth.ts → pre-edit hook reserves it
  • Bob tries to edit → blocked with clear message
  • Bob messages Alice through Coordination
  • They coordinate the changes
  • Result: Zero merge conflicts

Parallel Task Execution

Scenario: Main agent spawns 5 subagents for parallel workflowsHow Hooks Help:
  • Each subagent claims unique files via pre-edit hooks
  • Subagent-stop hooks consolidate learnings to memory
  • Session-end hooks clean up all reservations
  • Result: 6x faster execution, zero conflicts

Context Preservation

Scenario: Long architecture discussion approaching token limitHow Hooks Help:
  • Pre-compact hook fires automatically
  • Creates memory snapshot of key decisions
  • Claude compacts conversation safely
  • Architecture details preserved
  • Result: Never re-explain critical context

Emergency Code Freeze

Scenario: Security issue discovered, must stop all editsHow Hooks Help:
  • Admin sends urgent message to all agents
  • User-prompt hooks show alert before every response
  • Pre-edit hooks can be configured to block all edits
  • Result: Immediate coordination across team

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Compatible AI Assistants

ULPI Hooks works with any AI coding assistant that supports lifecycle hooks (MCP-compatible):
  • Full Support (8/8 Hooks)
  • Partial Support (6/8 Hooks)
  • Coming Soon

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✅ Fully Supported

These assistants support all 8 lifecycle hooks out of the box:
  • Claude Code - Official Anthropic IDE with complete hook support
  • Cursor - Full lifecycle integration including subagent hooks
  • Windsurf - Complete hook implementation with MCP bridge
Setup: Run ulpi setup and hooks are installed automatically

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Performance Metrics

Hooks are optimized for minimal latency impact:
HookAvg LatencyMCP CallsCan Block?
session-start150ms3-5✅ Yes
pre-tool-use:edit120ms1-2✅ Yes
post-tool-use:edit80ms1❌ No
pre-compact200ms2-3✅ Yes
user-prompt-submit100ms1-2✅ Yes
stop90ms1✅ Yes
session-end110ms2-3❌ No
subagent-stop95ms1-2❌ No
Total overhead: ~140ms average per hook execution Network calls: 14 MCP tool calls across all hooks User impact: Imperceptible in normal workflows
Blocking hooks (session-start, pre-edit, user-prompt, stop) only fire when necessary to prevent conflicts or ensure safety. Non-blocking hooks run asynchronously.

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Automatic Setup

Getting started with Hooks takes one command:
1

Install ULPI Package

One package contains CLI, MCP bridge, and hooks—everything you need:
# Install globally (recommended)
npm install -g ulpi

# Or locally in your project
npm install ulpi
2

Run Guided Setup

Interactive setup configures hooks automatically for all supported IDEs:
# Run the setup wizard
ulpi setup

# Follow the prompts:
# 1. Enter your API token
# 2. Select your IDE(s)
# 3. Hooks are installed automatically
#
# That's it! Setup handles everything.
3

Restart Your IDE

Hooks activate automatically—zero manual configuration needed:
# Restart your IDE (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)
# Hooks will start intercepting lifecycle events
# Check terminal for hook execution logs
#
# All 8 hooks are now active and coordinating your agents!
Setup complete! Your AI assistants are now coordinated through ULPI Hooks.

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Integration with Other ULPI Products

Hooks supercharges other ULPI products by providing automatic integration:

Coordination

File Reservations: Pre-edit hooks check and create reservations automaticallyMessaging: User-prompt hooks display urgent agent messagesContact Policies: Session-start hooks enforce contact policies

Memory

Snapshots: Pre-compact hooks create memory snapshots automaticallyContext Loading: Session-start hooks retrieve relevant memoriesLearning Storage: Subagent-stop hooks consolidate learnings

Tasks

Task Updates: Post-edit hooks update task status after file changesDependencies: Pre-edit hooks check task dependencies before editsObligation Tracking: Session-end hooks ensure task completion

Skills

Workflow Hooks: Skills can define custom hook behaviorsBest Practices: Pre-edit hooks enforce skill-defined patternsLearning Loop: Post-edit hooks improve skill recommendations

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Pricing

FREE with Coordination + Memory

Hooks are included FREE with any Coordination + Memory subscription.
  • Starter: $29/month includes Hooks
  • Professional: $99/month includes Hooks
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing includes Hooks
No additional cost. No setup fees. No per-hook charges.
Why FREE? Hooks maximize the value of Coordination and Memory by automating their integration. When your agents coordinate seamlessly and preserve context automatically, you get exponentially more value from both products.

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Success Metrics

Teams using ULPI Hooks report:
  • Zero merge conflicts (down from 12-20 per week)
  • 100% context preservation (vs 40% loss without hooks)
  • 85% reduction in coordination overhead
  • 3x faster multi-agent collaboration
  • 60% fewer manual file conflict resolutions

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FAQ

No! Running ulpi setup automatically installs and configures all 8 hooks for your IDE. Zero manual configuration required.
Minimal impact. Average hook latency is ~140ms, which is imperceptible in normal workflows. Blocking hooks only fire when necessary to prevent conflicts.
Hooks fail gracefully. If a hook times out or errors, the default behavior is to allow the operation to proceed (except for safety-critical hooks like pre-edit).
Yes! The ULPI config file allows you to enable/disable individual hooks. However, we recommend keeping all hooks active for full coordination benefits.
Hooks require network access to the ULPI API for coordination and memory features. Local-only models won’t benefit from multi-agent coordination.
Enable debug logging in your ULPI config: ulpi config set debug=true. Hook execution logs appear in your IDE’s terminal/console.

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Next Steps

Quick Start

Install hooks in 5 minutes with our guided setup wizard

Lifecycle Events

Deep dive into all 8 hooks and their trigger conditions

File Conflict Prevention

Learn how pre-edit hooks guarantee zero merge conflicts

Use Cases

Real-world scenarios where hooks save hours of coordination time