Auto-Pause

When the Hook Fires

The PreToolUse hook will block your next tool call if you've been running for more than 5 minutes since the last user message. When it fires, you'll see a block message. Do this:

1. Stop immediately — don't try to work around the block.
2. Summarize what you've done since the last user message: what you tried, what worked, what didn't, where you are now.
3. State clearly what you were about to do next so the user can say "continue" or redirect.
4. Wait for user input.

Example check-in format:

Auto-paused after ~N minutes. Here's where things stand:

• Done: [what completed]
• Current state: [what's true now]
• Was about to: [next action]

Continue, or should I adjust course?

Before Starting a Long-Running Operation

If you're about to start something that legitimately takes more than 5 minutes (Playwright test suite, Docker build, Maven package, long-running migration verification), set an exception before starting:

# Grant a 15-minute exception window (adjust as needed)
echo "$(date -u -v+15M +%s)" > /tmp/claude-aligned-long-running-exception.txt

Then start the operation. When it completes (success or failure), clear the exception:

rm -f /tmp/claude-aligned-long-running-exception.txt

Set the exception duration to match your actual expected runtime — don't just set 60 minutes as a default. If the operation finishes early, clear the file early.

What Counts as a Long-Running Operation

Set an exception for:

• Playwright / Cypress test runs with --timeout flags
• mvn package, mvn verify, mvn spring-boot:run startup wait
• docker compose build or multi-service up
• Any Bash command where you've passed an explicit timeout > 5 minutes to the tool

Don't set an exception just to avoid being paused — the pause exists to catch runaway loops, not legitimate long operations.