diff --git a/.githooks/post-merge b/.githooks/post-merge
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..846b677
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.githooks/post-merge
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# post-merge: auto-detect changes and reinstall/restart services on the board
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+CHANGED=$(git diff HEAD@{1} --name-only 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+if [ -z "$CHANGED" ]; then
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+SYSTEMD_CHANGED=$(echo "$CHANGED" | grep -c "^system/" || true)
+SCRIPT_CHANGED=$(echo "$CHANGED" | grep -c "^scripts/" || true)
+
+# Reinstall systemd units if any changed
+if [ "$SYSTEMD_CHANGED" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "[githook:post-merge] Systemd units changed — reinstalling..."
+    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+fi
+
+# Restart services if scripts or systemd changed
+if [ "$SYSTEMD_CHANGED" -gt 0 ] || [ "$SCRIPT_CHANGED" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "[githook:post-merge] Scripts/services changed — restarting..."
+    sudo chmod +x "$REPO/scripts/"*.py "$REPO/scripts/"*.sh 2>/dev/null || true
+    for svc in midi-bridge pd-synth-onboard led-matrix-viz prometheus-exporter; do
+        sudo systemctl restart "$svc" 2>/dev/null || true
+    done
+    echo "[githook:post-merge] Services restarted"
+fi
diff --git a/.githooks/pre-push b/.githooks/pre-push
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2988453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.githooks/pre-push
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# pre-push: validate Pd patches before pushing
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+
+# Only check if there are any .pd files staged or changed
+STAGED_PD=$(git diff --cached --name-only -- '*.pd' 2>/dev/null || true)
+CHANGED_PD=$(git diff --name-only -- '*.pd' 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+if [ -z "$STAGED_PD" ] && [ -z "$CHANGED_PD" ]; then
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "[githook:pre-push] Validating Pd patches..."
+cd "$REPO"
+if python3 pd-validator/validate.py pd/*.pd; then
+    echo "[githook:pre-push] All patches valid"
+    exit 0
+else
+    echo "[githook:pre-push] Patch validation FAILED — fix before pushing"
+    exit 1
+fi
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 6f889eb..f274ebc 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -27,4 +27,7 @@ for svc in "${SERVICES[@]}"; do
     sudo systemctl enable "$svc"
 done
 
+# Install git hooks: point to repo's .githooks so post-merge auto-restarts services
+git config core.hooksPath "$REPO/.githooks"
+
 echo "[OK] Services installed and enabled"
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index 23019f7..4d3f43b 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ deploy:
     @git push origin HEAD 2>&1
     @ssh {{SSH_OPTS}} "{{BOARD_USER}}@{{BOARD_HOST}}" "\
         cd {{REPO_DIR}} && git pull && \
+        git config core.hooksPath .githooks && \
         chmod +x scripts/*.py scripts/*.sh 2>/dev/null; \
         echo '{{BOARD_PASS}}' | sudo -S systemctl daemon-reload && \
         echo '{{BOARD_PASS}}' | sudo -S systemctl stop midi-bridge pd-synth-onboard led-matrix-viz && \