diff --git a/HOOKS.md b/HOOKS.md
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+# Hooks
+
+Claude Code hooks that run automatically in response to events. Source of truth lives here; symlinks point from `~/.claude/hooks/` back to this directory.
+
+## Available Hooks
+
+| Hook | Event | File |
+|------|-------|------|
+| Pre-compact backup | PreCompact (auto + manual) | `hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh` |
+
+## Pre-compact Backup
+
+Saves a copy of the session transcript before context compaction so no conversation history is lost. Backs up to `~/.claude/transcript-backups/` with timestamped filenames. Auto-prunes backups older than 30 days.
+
+**Triggers:** Both auto-compaction (context window full) and manual (`/compact` command).
+
+**Requires:** `python3` (for JSON parsing from stdin).
+
+## Installation
+
+1. Symlink each hook into `~/.claude/hooks/`:
+   ```bash
+   mkdir -p ~/.claude/hooks
+   ln -sf "$(pwd)/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh" ~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh
+   ```
+
+2. Add the hook configuration to `~/.claude/settings.json`:
+   ```json
+   {
+     "hooks": {
+       "PreCompact": [
+         {
+           "matcher": "auto",
+           "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh", "timeout": 15 }]
+         },
+         {
+           "matcher": "manual",
+           "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh", "timeout": 15 }]
+         }
+       ]
+     }
+   }
+   ```
+
+## Adding New Hooks
+
+1. Create the script in `hooks/`
+2. Add an entry to this file
+3. Symlink into `~/.claude/hooks/`
+4. Add the matcher config to `~/.claude/settings.json`
diff --git a/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh b/hooks/pre-compact-backup.sh
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+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Pre-compact hook: save a copy of the session transcript before compaction.
+# Claude Code pipes JSON to stdin with session_id, transcript_path, cwd, etc.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Parse stdin JSON for transcript path and session ID
+INPUT="$(cat)"
+TRANSCRIPT_PATH="$(echo "$INPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('transcript_path',''))" 2>/dev/null)"
+SESSION_ID="$(echo "$INPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('session_id',''))" 2>/dev/null)"
+TRIGGER="$(echo "$INPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('trigger','unknown'))" 2>/dev/null)"
+
+if [ -z "$TRANSCRIPT_PATH" ] || [ ! -f "$TRANSCRIPT_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "pre-compact-backup: no transcript found, skipping" >&2
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Save to ~/.claude/transcript-backups/ with timestamp
+BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/.claude/transcript-backups"
+mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
+
+TIMESTAMP="$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
+BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/${TIMESTAMP}-${SESSION_ID:0:8}-${TRIGGER}.jsonl"
+
+cp "$TRANSCRIPT_PATH" "$BACKUP_FILE"
+
+# Prune backups older than 30 days
+find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "*.jsonl" -mtime +30 -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "pre-compact-backup: saved $(wc -l < "$BACKUP_FILE") lines to ${BACKUP_FILE##*/}" >&2