diff --git a/hooks/hooks.json b/hooks/hooks.json
index 2d62dcd..d40bde1 100644
--- a/hooks/hooks.json
+++ b/hooks/hooks.json
@@ -1,9 +1,18 @@
 {
   "hooks": {
-    "Stop": [{
+    "SessionStart": [{
       "hooks": [{
-        "type": "prompt",
-        "prompt": "--- skill detect ---\nRead the user's prompt. Detect what language, framework, tool, or topic they are asking about. If it matches any hub-guide skill concept (see available skills), activate that skill's rules for your response.\n\nDetection is concept-based, not keyword-based — works regardless of what language the user speaks.\n---"
+        "type": "command",
+        "command": "bash \"$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/hooks/scripts/detect-project.sh\"",
+        "timeout": 10
+      }]
+    }],
+    "PreToolUse": [{
+      "matcher": "Write|Edit",
+      "hooks": [{
+        "type": "command",
+        "command": "bash \"$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/hooks/scripts/detect-file-type.sh\" \"$TOOL_INPUT\"",
+        "timeout": 10
       }]
     }]
   }
diff --git a/hooks/scripts/detect-file-type.sh b/hooks/scripts/detect-file-type.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2244903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hooks/scripts/detect-file-type.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# hub-guide: detect file extension from tool input and suggest language-specific rules
+# Runs before Write/Edit to inject best-practice context
+
+TOOL_INPUT="$1"
+
+# Extract file path from tool input (looks for "file_path" in JSON)
+FILE_PATH=$(echo "$TOOL_INPUT" | grep -o '"file_path"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"[^"]*"' | head -1 | sed 's/.*"file_path"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+EXT="${FILE_PATH##*.}"
+
+case "$EXT" in
+  ts|tsx)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] TypeScript file — apply typescript skill rules (strict types, no-any, proper generics)"
+    ;;
+  py)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] Python file — apply python skill rules (type hints, PEP 8, no wildcard imports)"
+    ;;
+  rs)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] Rust file — apply rust skill rules (ownership, error handling, clippy clean)"
+    ;;
+  go)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] Go file — apply go skill rules (idiomatic Go, interfaces, error handling)"
+    ;;
+  js|jsx)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] JavaScript file — apply typescript skill rules (ESM, modern JS)"
+    ;;
+  dockerfile|Dockerfile)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] Dockerfile — apply docker skill rules (multi-stage, minimal layers, no root)"
+    ;;
+  yml|yaml)
+    echo "📐 [hub-guide] YAML file — check ci-cd and docker skill rules"
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/hooks/scripts/detect-project.sh b/hooks/scripts/detect-project.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f4d6a1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hooks/scripts/detect-project.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# hub-guide: detect project type and suggest relevant skills
+# Runs at SessionStart to prime best-practice skills
+
+PROJECT_DIR="$(pwd)"
+SKILLS=""
+
+# Helper: check if a package.json field contains a dependency name
+has_dep() {
+  local name="$1"
+  grep -q "\"$name\"" package.json 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+# Monorepo indicators
+if [ -f "pnpm-workspace.yaml" ] || [ -f "lerna.json" ] || [ -f "nx.json" ] || [ -f "rush.json" ] || [ -f "turborepo.json" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, monorepo"
+fi
+
+# TypeScript / JavaScript
+if [ -f "tsconfig.json" ] || [ -f "jsconfig.json" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, typescript"
+  # Framework detection from package.json dependencies
+  if has_dep "next";    then SKILLS="$SKILLS, nextjs"; fi
+  if has_dep "elysia";  then SKILLS="$SKILLS, elysiajs"; fi
+  if has_dep "hono";    then SKILLS="$SKILLS, hono-backend"; fi
+  if has_dep "drizzle-orm"; then SKILLS="$SKILLS, drizzle-database"; fi
+fi
+
+# React (detect even without tsconfig)
+if [ -f "vite.config.ts" ] || [ -f "vite.config.js" ] || has_dep "react" 2>/dev/null; then
+  # avoid double-adding if already caught by typescript block
+  case "$SKILLS" in *react-frontend*) ;; *) SKILLS="$SKILLS, react-frontend" ;; esac
+fi
+
+# Next.js config file — catches JS-only projects too
+if [ -f "next.config.js" ] || [ -f "next.config.ts" ] || [ -f "next.config.mjs" ]; then
+  case "$SKILLS" in *nextjs*) ;; *) SKILLS="$SKILLS, nextjs" ;; esac
+fi
+
+# Python
+if [ -f "pyproject.toml" ] || [ -f "setup.py" ] || [ -f "setup.cfg" ] || [ -f "requirements.txt" ] || [ -f "Pipfile" ] || [ -f "poetry.lock" ] || [ -f "uv.lock" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, python"
+fi
+
+# Rust
+if [ -f "Cargo.toml" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, rust"
+fi
+
+# Go
+if [ -f "go.mod" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, go"
+fi
+
+# Docker
+if [ -f "Dockerfile" ] || [ -f "docker-compose.yml" ] || [ -f "compose.yml" ] || ls Dockerfile.* 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, docker"
+fi
+
+# CI/CD
+if [ -d ".github/workflows" ] || [ -f ".gitlab-ci.yml" ] || [ -f "Jenkinsfile" ] || [ -f "bitbucket-pipelines.yml" ]; then
+  SKILLS="$SKILLS, ci-cd"
+fi
+
+# Always-active core skills (loaded every session)
+CORE="engineering-principles, clean-code, clean-architecture, testing, error-handling, security, git-workflow, api-design"
+
+SKILLS="${SKILLS#, }"  # strip leading ", "
+
+echo "📐 [hub-guide] detected: ${PROJECT_DIR}"
+echo "📐 [hub-guide] core skills: ${CORE}"
+if [ -n "$SKILLS" ]; then
+  echo "📐 [hub-guide] project-specific: ${SKILLS}"
+fi
+echo "📐 [hub-guide] Apply these best-practice rules throughout this session."
+echo "📐 [hub-guide] When in doubt about intent or approach — ask instead of assuming."
+echo "📐 [hub-guide] All skills work regardless of your spoken language — they trigger from code context and project files, not just English keywords."