Hooks are everywhere.

If you’ve worked with systems like WordPress, React, or Express-style middleware, you’ve used them:

“Tap into this lifecycle”

“Modify behavior here”

“Extend functionality without touching core”

On paper, hooks sound great.

In practice, they create problems that only show up at scale.

What Hooks Promise

Hooks promise flexibility.

They let you:

Inject behavior into existing systems

Extend functionality without modifying source code

Build plugin ecosystems

This is why platforms like WordPress became so powerful.

You can hook into almost anything.

And that’s also the problem.

What Hooks Actually Do

Hooks turn your system into a web of invisible connections.

Instead of a clear execution path, you get:

Logic scattered across multiple files

Execution order that depends on registration timing

Side effects that aren’t obvious

You end up asking questions like:

“Where is this value being changed?”

“Why is this running twice?”

“What is triggering this behavior?”

The system…