diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9c88c4a..b768169 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 .pre-commit-config.yaml
+lefthook.yml
 .direnv
 result
-template/flake.lock
\ No newline at end of file
+template/flake.lock
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a2f539c..1e0d73b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -66,11 +66,14 @@ outputs = { self, nixpkgs, repo-lib, ... }:
 `mkRepo` generates:
 
 - `devShells.${system}.default`
-- `checks.${system}.pre-commit-check`
+- `checks.${system}.hook-check`
+- `checks.${system}.lefthook-check`
 - `formatter.${system}`
 - `packages.${system}.release` when `config.release != null`
 - merged `packages` and `apps` from `perSystem`
 
+Checks are installed through `lefthook`, with `pre-commit` and `pre-push` commands configured to run in parallel.
+
 ## Tool banners
 
 Tools are declared once. Package-backed tools are added to the shell automatically, and both package-backed and command-backed tools are rendered in the startup banner.
diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
index 73bcd98..b48d1cd 100644
--- a/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -1,79 +1,26 @@
 {
   "nodes": {
-    "flake-compat": {
-      "flake": false,
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1767039857,
-        "narHash": "sha256-vNpUSpF5Nuw8xvDLj2KCwwksIbjua2LZCqhV1LNRDns=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "flake-compat",
-        "rev": "5edf11c44bc78a0d334f6334cdaf7d60d732daab",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "flake-compat",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "git-hooks": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "flake-compat": "flake-compat",
-        "gitignore": "gitignore",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs"
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1772024342,
-        "narHash": "sha256-+eXlIc4/7dE6EcPs9a2DaSY3fTA9AE526hGqkNID3Wg=",
-        "owner": "cachix",
-        "repo": "git-hooks.nix",
-        "rev": "6e34e97ed9788b17796ee43ccdbaf871a5c2b476",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "cachix",
-        "repo": "git-hooks.nix",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "gitignore": {
+    "lefthook-nix": {
       "inputs": {
         "nixpkgs": [
-          "git-hooks",
           "nixpkgs"
         ]
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1709087332,
-        "narHash": "sha256-HG2cCnktfHsKV0s4XW83gU3F57gaTljL9KNSuG6bnQs=",
-        "owner": "hercules-ci",
-        "repo": "gitignore.nix",
-        "rev": "637db329424fd7e46cf4185293b9cc8c88c95394",
+        "lastModified": 1770377107,
+        "narHash": "sha256-/QEXSDeAo5RK81PtM0yDhmt9k3v1/pse/jsrT1yXNhU=",
+        "owner": "sudosubin",
+        "repo": "lefthook.nix",
+        "rev": "9cdaf7ce95ae77cbabc5b556bdd35d3cf0b849f5",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
-        "owner": "hercules-ci",
-        "repo": "gitignore.nix",
+        "owner": "sudosubin",
+        "repo": "lefthook.nix",
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
     "nixpkgs": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1770073757,
-        "narHash": "sha256-Vy+G+F+3E/Tl+GMNgiHl9Pah2DgShmIUBJXmbiQPHbI=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "47472570b1e607482890801aeaf29bfb749884f6",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "ref": "nixpkgs-unstable",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs_2": {
       "locked": {
         "lastModified": 1772542754,
         "narHash": "sha256-WGV2hy+VIeQsYXpsLjdr4GvHv5eECMISX1zKLTedhdg=",
@@ -89,7 +36,7 @@
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
-    "nixpkgs_3": {
+    "nixpkgs_2": {
       "locked": {
         "lastModified": 1770107345,
         "narHash": "sha256-tbS0Ebx2PiA1FRW8mt8oejR0qMXmziJmPaU1d4kYY9g=",
@@ -107,14 +54,14 @@
     },
     "root": {
       "inputs": {
-        "git-hooks": "git-hooks",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs_2",
+        "lefthook-nix": "lefthook-nix",
+        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs",
         "treefmt-nix": "treefmt-nix"
       }
     },
     "treefmt-nix": {
       "inputs": {
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs_3"
+        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs_2"
       },
       "locked": {
         "lastModified": 1770228511,
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 240a5d0..5587636 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 
   inputs = {
     nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs?ref=nixos-unstable";
-    git-hooks.url = "github:cachix/git-hooks.nix";
+    lefthook-nix.url = "github:sudosubin/lefthook.nix";
+    lefthook-nix.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
     treefmt-nix.url = "github:numtide/treefmt-nix";
   };
 
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
       self,
       nixpkgs,
       treefmt-nix,
-      git-hooks,
+      lefthook-nix,
       ...
     }:
     let
       lib = nixpkgs.lib;
       repoLib = import ./packages/repo-lib/lib.nix {
-        inherit nixpkgs treefmt-nix git-hooks;
+        inherit nixpkgs treefmt-nix;
+        lefthookNix = lefthook-nix;
         releaseScriptPath = ./packages/release/release.sh;
         shellHookTemplatePath = ./packages/repo-lib/shell-hook.sh;
       };
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@
                 nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [
                   bash
                   git
+                  nix
                   gnused
                   coreutils
                   gnugrep
diff --git a/packages/release/release.nix b/packages/release/release.nix
index 3aa8df3..be985b3 100644
--- a/packages/release/release.nix
+++ b/packages/release/release.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   nixpkgs,
   treefmt-nix,
-  git-hooks,
+  lefthookNix,
   releaseScriptPath ? ./release.sh,
   shellHookTemplatePath ? ../repo-lib/shell-hook.sh,
 }:
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import ../repo-lib/lib.nix {
   inherit
     nixpkgs
     treefmt-nix
-    git-hooks
+    lefthookNix
     releaseScriptPath
     shellHookTemplatePath
     ;
diff --git a/packages/repo-lib/lib.nix b/packages/repo-lib/lib.nix
index cfbf4f8..6db4f96 100644
--- a/packages/repo-lib/lib.nix
+++ b/packages/repo-lib/lib.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   nixpkgs,
   treefmt-nix,
-  git-hooks,
+  lefthookNix,
   releaseScriptPath,
   shellHookTemplatePath,
 }:
@@ -159,6 +159,88 @@ let
         stages = [ check.stage ];
       };
 
+  normalizeHookStage =
+    hookName: stage:
+    if
+      builtins.elem stage [
+        "pre-commit"
+        "pre-push"
+        "commit-msg"
+      ]
+    then
+      stage
+    else
+      throw "repo-lib: hook '${hookName}' has unsupported stage '${stage}' for lefthook";
+
+  hookStageFileArgs =
+    stage: passFilenames:
+    if !passFilenames then
+      ""
+    else if stage == "pre-commit" then
+      " {staged_files}"
+    else if stage == "pre-push" then
+      " {push_files}"
+    else if stage == "commit-msg" then
+      " {1}"
+    else
+      throw "repo-lib: unsupported lefthook stage '${stage}'";
+
+  hookToLefthookConfig =
+    name: hook:
+    let
+      supportedFields = [
+        "description"
+        "enable"
+        "entry"
+        "name"
+        "package"
+        "pass_filenames"
+        "stages"
+      ];
+      unsupportedFields = builtins.filter (field: !(builtins.elem field supportedFields)) (
+        builtins.attrNames hook
+      );
+      stages = builtins.map (stage: normalizeHookStage name stage) (hook.stages or [ "pre-commit" ]);
+      passFilenames = hook.pass_filenames or false;
+    in
+    if unsupportedFields != [ ] then
+      throw ''
+        repo-lib: hook '${name}' uses unsupported fields for lefthook: ${lib.concatStringsSep ", " unsupportedFields}
+      ''
+    else if !(hook ? entry) then
+      throw "repo-lib: hook '${name}' is missing 'entry'"
+    else
+      lib.foldl' lib.recursiveUpdate { } (
+        builtins.map (
+          stage:
+          lib.setAttrByPath [ stage "commands" name ] {
+            run = "${hook.entry}${hookStageFileArgs stage passFilenames}";
+          }
+        ) stages
+      );
+
+  hookStages =
+    hooks:
+    lib.unique (
+      [
+        "pre-commit"
+        "commit-msg"
+      ]
+      ++ lib.concatMap (hook: hook.stages or [ "pre-commit" ]) (builtins.attrValues hooks)
+    );
+
+  parallelHookStageConfig =
+    stage:
+    if
+      builtins.elem stage [
+        "pre-commit"
+        "pre-push"
+      ]
+    then
+      lib.setAttrByPath [ stage "parallel" ] true
+    else
+      { };
+
   normalizeReleaseStep =
     step:
     if step ? writeFile then
@@ -277,7 +359,7 @@ let
 
   buildShellHook =
     {
-      preCommitShellHook,
+      hooksShellHook,
       shellEnvScript,
       bootstrap,
       shellBannerScript,
@@ -289,7 +371,7 @@ let
     in
     builtins.replaceStrings
       [
-        "\${pre-commit-check.shellHook}"
+        "@HOOKS_SHELL_HOOK@"
         "@TOOL_LABEL_WIDTH@"
         "@SHELL_ENV_SCRIPT@"
         "@BOOTSTRAP@"
@@ -297,7 +379,7 @@ let
         "@EXTRA_SHELL_TEXT@"
       ]
       [
-        preCommitShellHook
+        hooksShellHook
         (toString toolLabelWidth)
         shellEnvScript
         bootstrap
@@ -345,23 +427,28 @@ let
 
       normalizedChecks = lib.mapAttrs (name: check: normalizeCheck pkgs name check) checkSpecs;
       hooks = mergeUniqueAttrs "hook" rawHookEntries normalizedChecks;
-
-      pre-commit-check = git-hooks.lib.${system}.run {
+      lefthookCheck = lefthookNix.lib.${system}.run {
         inherit src;
-        hooks = {
-          treefmt = {
-            enable = true;
-            entry = "${treefmtEval.config.build.wrapper}/bin/treefmt --ci";
-            pass_filenames = true;
-          };
-          gitlint.enable = true;
-          gitleaks = {
-            enable = true;
-            entry = "${pkgs.gitleaks}/bin/gitleaks protect --staged";
-            pass_filenames = false;
-          };
-        }
-        // hooks;
+        config = lib.foldl' lib.recursiveUpdate { } (
+          [
+            (parallelHookStageConfig "pre-commit")
+            (lib.setAttrByPath [ "pre-commit" "commands" "treefmt" ] {
+              run = "${treefmtEval.config.build.wrapper}/bin/treefmt --ci {staged_files}";
+            })
+            (lib.setAttrByPath [ "pre-commit" "commands" "gitleaks" ] {
+              run = "${pkgs.gitleaks}/bin/gitleaks protect --staged";
+            })
+            (lib.setAttrByPath [ "commit-msg" "commands" "gitlint" ] {
+              run = "${pkgs.gitlint}/bin/gitlint --staged --msg-filename {1}";
+            })
+          ]
+          ++ builtins.map parallelHookStageConfig (hookStages hooks)
+          ++ lib.mapAttrsToList hookToLefthookConfig hooks
+        );
+      };
+      selectedCheckOutputs = {
+        hook-check = lefthookCheck;
+        lefthook-check = lefthookCheck;
       };
 
       toolNames = builtins.map (tool: tool.name) tools;
@@ -469,19 +556,21 @@ let
           '';
     in
     {
-      inherit pre-commit-check;
+      checks = selectedCheckOutputs;
       formatter = treefmtEval.config.build.wrapper;
       shell = pkgs.mkShell {
-        packages = lib.unique (selectedStandardPackages ++ extraPackages ++ toolPackages);
-        buildInputs = pre-commit-check.enabledPackages;
+        packages = lib.unique (
+          selectedStandardPackages ++ extraPackages ++ toolPackages ++ [ pkgs.lefthook ]
+        );
         shellHook = buildShellHook {
-          preCommitShellHook = pre-commit-check.shellHook;
+          hooksShellHook = lefthookCheck.shellHook;
           inherit toolLabelWidth shellEnvScript shellBannerScript;
           bootstrap = shellConfig.bootstrap;
           extraShellText = shellConfig.extraShellText;
         };
       };
-    };
+    }
+    // selectedCheckOutputs;
 in
 rec {
   systems = {
@@ -762,9 +851,7 @@ rec {
         default = systemResults.${system}.env.shell;
       });
 
-      checks = lib.genAttrs systems (system: {
-        inherit (systemResults.${system}.env) pre-commit-check;
-      });
+      checks = lib.genAttrs systems (system: systemResults.${system}.env.checks);
 
       formatter = lib.genAttrs systems (system: systemResults.${system}.env.formatter);
       packages = lib.genAttrs systems (system: systemResults.${system}.packages);
diff --git a/packages/repo-lib/shell-hook.sh b/packages/repo-lib/shell-hook.sh
index 696f3be..ce892f0 100644
--- a/packages/repo-lib/shell-hook.sh
+++ b/packages/repo-lib/shell-hook.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-${pre-commit-check.shellHook}
+@HOOKS_SHELL_HOOK@
 
 if [ -t 1 ]; then
   command -v tput >/dev/null 2>&1 && tput clear || printf '\033c'
diff --git a/skills/repo-lib-consumer/references/api.md b/skills/repo-lib-consumer/references/api.md
index 110a375..657ea57 100644
--- a/skills/repo-lib-consumer/references/api.md
+++ b/skills/repo-lib-consumer/references/api.md
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ repo-lib.lib.mkRepo {
 Generated outputs:
 
 - `devShells.${system}.default`
-- `checks.${system}.pre-commit-check`
+- `checks.${system}.hook-check`
+- `checks.${system}.lefthook-check`
 - `formatter.${system}`
 - `packages.${system}.release` when `config.release != null`
 - merged `packages` and `apps` from `perSystem`
@@ -112,7 +113,8 @@ Defaults:
 Rules:
 
 - Only `pre-commit` and `pre-push` are supported.
-- The command is wrapped as a script and connected into `git-hooks.nix`.
+- The command is wrapped as a script and connected into `lefthook.nix`.
+- `pre-commit` and `pre-push` commands are configured to run in parallel.
 
 ## Tools
 
diff --git a/template/.gitignore b/template/.gitignore
index 2f88ca4..8e18ed9 100644
--- a/template/.gitignore
+++ b/template/.gitignore
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 .direnv/
 .pre-commit-config.yaml
+lefthook.yml
 
 bazel-*
 build/
 dist/
 
-node_modules/
\ No newline at end of file
+node_modules/
diff --git a/template/flake.nix b/template/flake.nix
index 38e6f83..2a52236 100644
--- a/template/flake.nix
+++ b/template/flake.nix
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
         };
 
         formatting = {
+          # nixfmt is enabled by default and wired into lefthook.
           programs = {
             # shfmt.enable = true;
             # gofmt.enable = true;
@@ -50,14 +51,31 @@
           };
         };
 
-        checks.tests = {
-          command = "echo 'No tests defined yet.'";
-          stage = "pre-push";
-          passFilenames = false;
+        # These checks become lefthook commands in the generated `lefthook.yml`.
+        # repo-lib runs `pre-commit` and `pre-push` hook commands in parallel.
+        checks = {
+          tests = {
+            command = "echo 'No tests defined yet.'";
+            stage = "pre-push";
+            passFilenames = false;
+          };
+
+          # fmt = {
+          #   command = "nix fmt";
+          #   stage = "pre-commit";
+          #   passFilenames = false;
+          # };
         };
 
+        # repo-lib also installs built-in hooks for:
+        # - treefmt / nixfmt on `pre-commit`
+        # - gitleaks on `pre-commit`
+        # - gitlint on `commit-msg`
+
+        # release = null;
         release = {
           steps = [
+            # Write a generated version file during release.
             # {
             #   writeFile = {
             #     path = "src/version.ts";
@@ -66,6 +84,8 @@
             #     '';
             #   };
             # }
+
+            # Replace a version string while preserving surrounding captures.
             # {
             #   replace = {
             #     path = "README.md";
@@ -73,6 +93,16 @@
             #     replacement = ''\1$FULL_VERSION\2'';
             #   };
             # }
+
+            # Run any extra release step with declared runtime inputs.
+            # {
+            #   run = {
+            #     runtimeInputs = [ pkgs.git ];
+            #     script = ''
+            #       git status --short
+            #     '';
+            #   };
+            # }
           ];
         };
       };
@@ -113,9 +143,16 @@
           ];
 
           # checks.lint = {
-          #   command = "go test ./...";
+          #   command = "bun test";
           #   stage = "pre-push";
-          #   runtimeInputs = [ pkgs.go ];
+          #   passFilenames = false;
+          #   runtimeInputs = [ pkgs.bun ];
+          # };
+
+          # checks.generated = {
+          #   command = "git diff --exit-code";
+          #   stage = "pre-commit";
+          #   passFilenames = false;
           # };
 
           # packages.my-tool = pkgs.writeShellApplication {
diff --git a/tests/release.sh b/tests/release.sh
index 1377064..0655c7c 100755
--- a/tests/release.sh
+++ b/tests/release.sh
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ write_legacy_flake() {
           };
         in
         {
-          inherit (env) pre-commit-check;
+          inherit (env) lefthook-check;
         }
       );
 
@@ -1124,7 +1124,7 @@ run_mk_repo_case() {
 	CURRENT_LOG="$workdir/mk-repo.log"
 
 	run_capture_ok "$case_name: flake show failed" nix flake show --json --no-write-lock-file "$repo_dir"
-	assert_contains '"pre-commit-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing pre-commit-check"
+	assert_contains '"lefthook-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing lefthook-check"
 	assert_contains '"release"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing release package"
 	assert_contains '"example"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing merged package"
 
@@ -1146,7 +1146,7 @@ run_mk_repo_command_tool_case() {
 	CURRENT_LOG="$workdir/mk-repo-command-tool.log"
 
 	run_capture_ok "$case_name: flake show failed" nix flake show --json --no-write-lock-file "$repo_dir"
-	assert_contains '"pre-commit-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing pre-commit-check"
+	assert_contains '"lefthook-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing lefthook-check"
 	assert_contains '"release"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing release package"
 
 	run_capture_ok "$case_name: system nix should be available in shell" bash -c 'cd "$1" && nix develop --no-write-lock-file . -c nix --version' _ "$repo_dir"
@@ -1202,7 +1202,7 @@ run_legacy_api_eval_case() {
 	CURRENT_LOG="$workdir/legacy.log"
 
 	run_capture_ok "$case_name: flake show failed" nix flake show --json "$repo_dir"
-	assert_contains '"pre-commit-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing pre-commit-check"
+	assert_contains '"lefthook-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing lefthook-check"
 	assert_contains '"release"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing release package"
 
 	rm -rf "$workdir"
@@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ run_template_eval_case() {
 	CURRENT_LOG="$workdir/template.log"
 
 	run_capture_ok "$case_name: flake show failed" nix flake show --json "$repo_dir"
-	assert_contains '"pre-commit-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing pre-commit-check"
+	assert_contains '"lefthook-check"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing lefthook-check"
 	assert_contains '"release"' "$CURRENT_LOG" "$case_name: missing release package"
 
 	rm -rf "$workdir"