diff --git a/.githooks/pre-commit b/.githooks/pre-commit
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..9e733867
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.githooks/pre-commit
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Pre-commit hook wrapper for secret leak detection.
+#
+# Installation:
+#   git config core.hooksPath .githooks
+#
+# To bypass temporarily:
+#   git commit --no-verify
+#
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+exec python3 "${SCRIPT_DIR}/pre-commit.py" "$@"
diff --git a/.githooks/pre-commit.py b/.githooks/pre-commit.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..a48ade0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.githooks/pre-commit.py
@@ -0,0 +1,327 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Pre-commit hook for detecting secret leaks in staged files.
+
+Scans staged diffs and full file contents for common secret patterns,
+token file paths, private keys, and credential strings.
+
+Installation:
+    git config core.hooksPath .githooks
+
+To bypass:
+    git commit --no-verify
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Iterable, List, Callable, Union
+
+# ANSI color codes
+RED = "\033[0;31m"
+YELLOW = "\033[1;33m"
+GREEN = "\033[0;32m"
+NC = "\033[0m"
+
+
+class Finding:
+    """Represents a single secret leak finding."""
+
+    def __init__(self, filename: str, line: int, message: str) -> None:
+        self.filename = filename
+        self.line = line
+        self.message = message
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        return f"Finding({self.filename!r}, {self.line}, {self.message!r})"
+
+    def __eq__(self, other: object) -> bool:
+        if not isinstance(other, Finding):
+            return NotImplemented
+        return (
+            self.filename == other.filename
+            and self.line == other.line
+            and self.message == other.message
+        )
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Regex patterns
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+_RE_SK_KEY = re.compile(r"sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{20,}")
+_RE_BEARER = re.compile(r"Bearer\s+[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{20,}")
+
+_RE_ENV_ASSIGN = re.compile(
+    r"^(?:export\s+)?"
+    r"(OPENAI_API_KEY|GITEA_TOKEN|ANTHROPIC_API_KEY|KIMI_API_KEY"
+    r"|TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN|DISCORD_TOKEN)"
+    r"\s*=\s*(.+)$"
+)
+
+_RE_TOKEN_PATHS = re.compile(
+    r'(?:^|["\'\s])'
+    r"(\.(?:env)"
+    r"|(?:secrets|keystore|credentials|token|api_keys)\.json"
+    r"|~/\.hermes/credentials/"
+    r"|/root/nostr-relay/keystore\.json)"
+)
+
+_RE_PRIVATE_KEY = re.compile(
+    r"-----BEGIN (PRIVATE KEY|RSA PRIVATE KEY|OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY)-----"
+)
+
+_RE_URL_PASSWORD = re.compile(r"https?://[^:]+:[^@]+@")
+
+_RE_RAW_TOKEN = re.compile(r'"token"\s*:\s*"([^"]{10,})"')
+_RE_RAW_API_KEY = re.compile(r'"api_key"\s*:\s*"([^"]{10,})"')
+
+# Safe patterns (placeholders)
+_SAFE_ENV_VALUES = {
+    "<YOUR_API_KEY>",
+    "***",
+    "REDACTED",
+    "",
+}
+
+_RE_DOC_EXAMPLE = re.compile(
+    r"\b(?:example|documentation|doc|readme)\b",
+    re.IGNORECASE,
+)
+
+_RE_OS_ENVIRON = re.compile(r"os\.environ(?:\.get|\[)")
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def is_binary_content(content: Union[str, bytes]) -> bool:
+    """Return True if content appears to be binary."""
+    if isinstance(content, str):
+        return False
+    return b"\x00" in content
+
+
+def _looks_like_safe_env_line(line: str) -> bool:
+    """Check if a line is a safe env var read or reference."""
+    if _RE_OS_ENVIRON.search(line):
+        return True
+    # Variable expansion like $OPENAI_API_KEY
+    if re.search(r'\$\w+\s*$', line.strip()):
+        return True
+    return False
+
+
+def _is_placeholder(value: str) -> bool:
+    """Check if a value is a known placeholder or empty."""
+    stripped = value.strip().strip('"').strip("'")
+    if stripped in _SAFE_ENV_VALUES:
+        return True
+    # Single word references like $VAR
+    if re.fullmatch(r"\$\w+", stripped):
+        return True
+    return False
+
+
+def _is_doc_or_example(line: str, value: str | None = None) -> bool:
+    """Check if line appears to be documentation or example code."""
+    # If the line contains a placeholder value, it's likely documentation
+    if value is not None and _is_placeholder(value):
+        return True
+    # If the line contains doc keywords and no actual secret-looking value
+    if _RE_DOC_EXAMPLE.search(line):
+        # For env assignments, if value is empty or placeholder
+        m = _RE_ENV_ASSIGN.search(line)
+        if m and _is_placeholder(m.group(2)):
+            return True
+    return False
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Scanning
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def scan_line(line: str, filename: str, line_no: int) -> Iterable[Finding]:
+    """Scan a single line for secret leak patterns."""
+    stripped = line.rstrip("\n")
+    if not stripped:
+        return
+
+    # --- API keys ----------------------------------------------------------
+    if _RE_SK_KEY.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, "Potential API key (sk-...) found")
+        return  # One finding per line is enough
+
+    if _RE_BEARER.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, "Potential Bearer token found")
+        return
+
+    # --- Env var assignments -----------------------------------------------
+    m = _RE_ENV_ASSIGN.search(stripped)
+    if m:
+        var_name = m.group(1)
+        value = m.group(2)
+        if _looks_like_safe_env_line(stripped):
+            return
+        if _is_doc_or_example(stripped, value):
+            return
+        if not _is_placeholder(value):
+            yield Finding(
+                filename,
+                line_no,
+                f"Potential secret assignment: {var_name}=...",
+            )
+            return
+
+    # --- Token file paths --------------------------------------------------
+    if _RE_TOKEN_PATHS.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, "Potential token file path found")
+        return
+
+    # --- Private key blocks ------------------------------------------------
+    if _RE_PRIVATE_KEY.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, "Private key block found")
+        return
+
+    # --- Passwords in URLs -------------------------------------------------
+    if _RE_URL_PASSWORD.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, "Password in URL found")
+        return
+
+    # --- Raw token patterns ------------------------------------------------
+    if _RE_RAW_TOKEN.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, 'Raw "token" string with long value')
+        return
+
+    if _RE_RAW_API_KEY.search(stripped):
+        yield Finding(filename, line_no, 'Raw "api_key" string with long value')
+        return
+
+
+def scan_content(content: Union[str, bytes], filename: str) -> List[Finding]:
+    """Scan full file content for secrets."""
+    if isinstance(content, bytes):
+        try:
+            text = content.decode("utf-8")
+        except UnicodeDecodeError:
+            return []
+    else:
+        text = content
+
+    findings: List[Finding] = []
+    for line_no, line in enumerate(text.splitlines(), start=1):
+        findings.extend(scan_line(line, filename, line_no))
+    return findings
+
+
+def scan_files(
+    files: List[str],
+    content_reader: Callable[[str], bytes],
+) -> List[Finding]:
+    """Scan a list of files using the provided content reader."""
+    findings: List[Finding] = []
+    for filepath in files:
+        content = content_reader(filepath)
+        if is_binary_content(content):
+            continue
+        findings.extend(scan_content(content, filepath))
+    return findings
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Git helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def get_staged_files() -> List[str]:
+    """Return a list of staged file paths (excluding deletions)."""
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "diff", "--cached", "--name-only", "--diff-filter=ACMR"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return []
+    return [f for f in result.stdout.strip().split("\n") if f]
+
+
+def get_staged_diff() -> str:
+    """Return the diff of staged changes."""
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "diff", "--cached", "--no-color", "-U0"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return ""
+    return result.stdout
+
+
+def get_file_content_at_staged(filepath: str) -> bytes:
+    """Return the staged content of a file."""
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "show", f":{filepath}"],
+        capture_output=True,
+    )
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return b""
+    return result.stdout
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Main
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    print(f"{GREEN}🔍 Scanning for secret leaks in staged files...{NC}")
+
+    staged_files = get_staged_files()
+    if not staged_files:
+        print(f"{GREEN}✓ No files staged for commit{NC}")
+        return 0
+
+    # Scan both full staged file contents and the diff content
+    findings = scan_files(staged_files, get_file_content_at_staged)
+
+    diff_text = get_staged_diff()
+    if diff_text:
+        for line_no, line in enumerate(diff_text.splitlines(), start=1):
+            # Only scan added lines in the diff
+            if line.startswith("+") and not line.startswith("+++"):
+                findings.extend(scan_line(line[1:], "<diff>", line_no))
+
+    if not findings:
+        print(f"{GREEN}✓ No potential secret leaks detected{NC}")
+        return 0
+
+    print(f"{RED}✗ Potential secret leaks detected:{NC}\n")
+    for finding in findings:
+        loc = finding.filename
+        print(
+            f"  {RED}[LEAK]{NC} {loc}:{finding.line} — {finding.message}"
+        )
+
+    print()
+    print(f"{RED}╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗{NC}")
+    print(f"{RED}║  COMMIT BLOCKED: Potential secrets detected!               ║{NC}")
+    print(f"{RED}╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝{NC}")
+    print()
+    print("Recommendations:")
+    print("  1. Remove secrets from your code")
+    print("  2. Use environment variables or a secrets manager")
+    print("  3. Add sensitive files to .gitignore")
+    print("  4. Rotate any exposed credentials immediately")
+    print()
+    print("If you are CERTAIN this is a false positive, you can bypass:")
+    print("  git commit --no-verify")
+    print()
+    return 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/tests/test_pre_commit_secret_leak.py b/tests/test_pre_commit_secret_leak.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b51e7c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_pre_commit_secret_leak.py
@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+"""
+Unit tests for the pre-commit secret leak scanner.
+
+Follows TDD: tests were written before implementation.
+"""
+
+import re
+import sys
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+# Add .githooks to path so we can import pre-commit.py as a module
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".githooks"))
+
+# The module name contains a hyphen, so we import via importlib
+import importlib.util
+
+_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
+    "pre_commit_secret_leak",
+    str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".githooks" / "pre-commit.py"),
+)
+pre_commit = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
+_spec.loader.exec_module(pre_commit)
+
+
+class TestSecretPatterns(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Tests for individual secret detection patterns."""
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # API keys
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_openai_sk_key(self):
+        line = 'api_key = "sk-abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+        self.assertIn("sk-", findings[0].message)
+
+    def test_detects_bearer_token(self):
+        line = 'headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234"}'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+        self.assertIn("Bearer", findings[0].message)
+
+    def test_short_bearer_ignored(self):
+        line = 'Authorization: Bearer short'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Environment variable assignments
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_openai_api_key_assignment(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_gitea_token_assignment(self):
+        line = 'GITEA_TOKEN=gtl_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_anthropic_key_assignment(self):
+        line = 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_kimi_key_assignment(self):
+        line = 'KIMI_API_KEY=abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_telegram_token_assignment(self):
+        line = 'TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_discord_token_assignment(self):
+        line = 'DISCORD_TOKEN=MzIwNDE5MzA1NjUyNDgzMjY0.DSDsdQ.oM6WmR2i_uIvJhMZZZz0'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Safe env reads / placeholders
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_os_environ_get_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'key = os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY")'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_placeholder_your_api_key_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY>'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_placeholder_stars_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY=***'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_placeholder_redacted_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY=REDACTED'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_env_var_reference_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY=$OPENAI_API_KEY'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_empty_env_assignment_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'OPENAI_API_KEY='
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Token file paths
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_dotenv_path(self):
+        line = 'load_dotenv(".env")'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_secrets_json_path(self):
+        line = 'with open("secrets.json") as f:'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_keystore_json_path(self):
+        line = 'keystore = "/root/nostr-relay/keystore.json"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_hermes_credentials_path(self):
+        line = 'creds_path = "~/.hermes/credentials/default.json"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_credentials_json(self):
+        line = 'with open("credentials.json") as f:'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_token_json(self):
+        line = 'token_file = "token.json"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_api_keys_json(self):
+        line = 'keys = "api_keys.json"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Private key blocks
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_begin_private_key(self):
+        line = '-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_begin_rsa_private_key(self):
+        line = '-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    def test_detects_begin_openssh_private_key(self):
+        line = '-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Passwords in URLs
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_password_in_https_url(self):
+        line = 'url = "https://user:secretpassword@example.com/repo.git"'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+        self.assertIn("password", findings[0].message.lower())
+
+    def test_detects_password_in_http_url(self):
+        line = 'http://admin:password123@internal.local'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Raw token patterns in strings
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_detects_raw_token_in_json(self):
+        line = '{"token": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"}'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+        self.assertIn("token", findings[0].message.lower())
+
+    def test_detects_raw_api_key_in_json(self):
+        line = '{"api_key": "1234567890abcdef"}'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertTrue(findings)
+        self.assertIn("api_key", findings[0].message.lower())
+
+    def test_short_token_ignored(self):
+        line = '{"token": "short"}'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Documentation / example safe patterns
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def test_documentation_reference_is_safe(self):
+        line = 'See the documentation at https://docs.example.com'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        # No specific pattern should match a doc URL without a password
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_example_code_comment_is_safe(self):
+        line = '# Example: OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY>'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+    def test_doc_string_with_placeholder_is_safe(self):
+        line = '"""Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in production."""'
+        findings = list(pre_commit.scan_line(line, "test.py", 1))
+        self.assertFalse(findings)
+
+
+class TestScanContent(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Tests for scanning multi-line content."""
+
+    def test_scan_content_finds_multiple_leaks(self):
+        content = """
+OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-12345678901234567890
+Some normal code here
+GITEA_TOKEN=gtl_12345678901234567890
+"""
+        findings = pre_commit.scan_content(content, "test.py")
+        self.assertEqual(len(findings), 2)
+        # Should have line numbers
+        self.assertIn(2, [f.line for f in findings])
+        self.assertIn(4, [f.line for f in findings])
+
+    def test_scan_content_returns_empty_when_clean(self):
+        content = "print('hello world')\n"
+        findings = pre_commit.scan_content(content, "test.py")
+        self.assertEqual(findings, [])
+
+
+class TestScanFiles(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Tests for the file-list scanning entrypoint."""
+
+    def test_scan_files_skips_binary(self):
+        files = ["image.png", "test.py"]
+        content_map = {
+            "image.png": b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n",
+            "test.py": "OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-12345678901234567890\n",
+        }
+        findings = pre_commit.scan_files(files, lambda f: content_map.get(f, b""))
+        self.assertEqual(len(findings), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(findings[0].filename, "test.py")
+
+    def test_scan_files_ignores_safe_lines(self):
+        files = ["test.py"]
+        content_map = {
+            "test.py": "key = os.environ.get('OPENAI_API_KEY')\n",
+        }
+        findings = pre_commit.scan_files(files, lambda f: content_map.get(f, b""))
+        self.assertEqual(findings, [])
+
+
+class TestCliHelpers(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Tests for CLI helper functions."""
+
+    def test_color_codes_present(self):
+        self.assertIn("\033[", pre_commit.RED)
+        self.assertIn("\033[", pre_commit.GREEN)
+
+    def test_is_binary_content_true(self):
+        self.assertTrue(pre_commit.is_binary_content(b"\x00\x01\x02"))
+
+    def test_is_binary_content_false(self):
+        self.assertFalse(pre_commit.is_binary_content(b"hello world\n"))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()