usethis-python · nathanjmcdougall · Dec 28, 2025 · Dec 28, 2025 · Dec 28, 2025
diff --git a/src/usethis/_integrations/pre_commit/version.py b/src/usethis/_integrations/pre_commit/version.py
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
 from usethis._config import usethis_config
 from usethis._integrations.pre_commit.io_ import read_pre_commit_config_yaml
 
+PRE_COMMIT_VERSION = "4.5.1"
+
+
+def get_pre_commit_version() -> str:
+    """Get an inferred pre-commit version for usethis to target.
+
+    If no version can be inferred, a hard-coded version is used, corresponding to a
+    recent release (see `PRE_COMMIT_VERSION`).
+    """
+    version = get_minimum_pre_commit_version()
+    if version is not None:
+        return version
+    return PRE_COMMIT_VERSION
+
 
 def get_minimum_pre_commit_version() -> str | None:
     """Get the declared minimum supported pre-commit version from the configuration.

diff --git a/tests/usethis/_integrations/pre_commit/test_version.py b/tests/usethis/_integrations/pre_commit/test_version.py
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
-from usethis._integrations.pre_commit.version import get_minimum_pre_commit_version
+from usethis._integrations.pre_commit.version import (
+    PRE_COMMIT_VERSION,
+    get_minimum_pre_commit_version,
+    get_pre_commit_version,
+)
 from usethis._test import change_cwd
 
 
@@ -47,3 +51,48 @@ def test_minimum_version_not_declared(self, tmp_path: Path):
 
         # Assert
         assert result is None
+
+
+class TestGetPreCommitVersion:
+    def test_uses_declared_minimum_version(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        # Arrange
+        (tmp_path / ".pre-commit-config.yaml").write_text("""\
+minimum_pre_commit_version: '3.5.0'
+repos:
+  - repo: https://github.com/abravalheri/validate-pyproject
+    rev: v0.23
+    hooks:
+      - id: validate-pyproject
+""")
+
+        # Act
+        with change_cwd(tmp_path):
+            result = get_pre_commit_version()
+
+        # Assert
+        assert result == "3.5.0"
+
+    def test_falls_back_to_hardcoded_when_config_doesnt_exist(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        # Act
+        with change_cwd(tmp_path):
+            result = get_pre_commit_version()
+
+        # Assert
+        assert result == PRE_COMMIT_VERSION
+
+    def test_falls_back_to_hardcoded_when_minimum_not_declared(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        # Arrange
+        (tmp_path / ".pre-commit-config.yaml").write_text("""\
+repos:
+  - repo: https://github.com/abravalheri/validate-pyproject
+    rev: v0.23
+    hooks:
+      - id: validate-pyproject
+""")
+
+        # Act
+        with change_cwd(tmp_path):
+            result = get_pre_commit_version()
+
+        # Assert
+        assert result == PRE_COMMIT_VERSION
diff --git a/tests/usethis/_tool/impl/test_pre_commit.py b/tests/usethis/_tool/impl/test_pre_commit.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from usethis._integrations.ci.github.errors import GitHubTagError
 from usethis._integrations.ci.github.tags import get_github_latest_tag
 from usethis._integrations.pre_commit.schema import UriRepo
+from usethis._integrations.pre_commit.version import PRE_COMMIT_VERSION
 from usethis._test import change_cwd
 from usethis._tool.impl.pre_commit import PreCommitTool
 
@@ -58,3 +59,24 @@ def test_latest_sync_with_uv_version(self, tmp_path: Path):
                     "Failed to fetch GitHub tags (connection issues); skipping test"
                 )
             raise err
+
+    @pytest.mark.usefixtures("_vary_network_conn")
+    def test_latest_version(self):
+        if os.getenv("CI"):
+            pytest.skip("Avoid flaky pipelines by testing version bumps manually")
+
+        try:
+            assert (
+                get_github_latest_tag(owner="pre-commit", repo="pre-commit")
+                == f"v{PRE_COMMIT_VERSION}"
+            )
+        except GitHubTagError as err:
+            if (
+                usethis_config.offline
+                or "rate limit exceeded for url" in str(err)
+                or "Read timed out." in str(err)
+            ):
+                pytest.skip(
+                    "Failed to fetch GitHub tags (connection issues); skipping test"
+                )
+            raise err