diff --git a/lib/kamal/cli/base.rb b/lib/kamal/cli/base.rb
index 2463f585..3129eaab 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/cli/base.rb
+++ b/lib/kamal/cli/base.rb
@@ -22,9 +22,21 @@ module Kamal::Cli
 
     class_option :skip_hooks, aliases: "-H", type: :boolean, default: false, desc: "Don't run hooks"
 
+    @@ran_pre_init_hook = false
+    class << self
+      def ran_pre_init_hook
+        @@ran_pre_init_hook
+      end
+
+      def ran_pre_init_hook=(value)
+        @@ran_pre_init_hook = value
+      end
+    end
+
     def initialize(*)
       super
       @original_env = ENV.to_h.dup
+      run_pre_init_hook
       load_env
       initialize_commander(options_with_subcommand_class_options)
     end
@@ -176,8 +188,23 @@ module Kamal::Cli
         end
       end
 
+      def run_pre_init_hook
+        unless self.class.ran_pre_init_hook
+          hook = "pre-init"
+          if run_hook?(hook)
+            say "Running the #{hook} hook...", :magenta
+            run_locally do
+              execute *Kamal::Hooks.file(hook), verbosity: :debug
+            rescue SSHKit::Command::Failed => e
+              raise HookError.new("Hook `#{hook}` failed:\n#{e.message}")
+            end
+          end
+          self.class.ran_pre_init_hook = true
+        end
+      end
+
       def run_hook(hook, **extra_details)
-        if !options[:skip_hooks] && KAMAL.hook.hook_exists?(hook)
+        if run_hook?(hook)
           details = { hosts: KAMAL.hosts.join(","), command: command, subcommand: subcommand }
 
           say "Running the #{hook} hook...", :magenta
@@ -189,6 +216,10 @@ module Kamal::Cli
         end
       end
 
+      def run_hook?(hook)
+        !options[:skip_hooks] && Kamal::Hooks.exists?(hook)
+      end
+
       def on(*args, &block)
         if !KAMAL.connected?
           run_hook "pre-connect"
diff --git a/lib/kamal/commands/hook.rb b/lib/kamal/commands/hook.rb
index 66fe8b8c..50cb6d35 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/commands/hook.rb
+++ b/lib/kamal/commands/hook.rb
@@ -1,14 +1,5 @@
 class Kamal::Commands::Hook < Kamal::Commands::Base
   def run(hook, **details)
-    [ hook_file(hook), env: tags(**details).env ]
+    [ Kamal::Hooks.file(hook), env: tags(**details).env ]
   end
-
-  def hook_exists?(hook)
-    Pathname.new(hook_file(hook)).exist?
-  end
-
-  private
-    def hook_file(hook)
-      File.join(config.hooks_path, hook)
-    end
 end
diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration.rb b/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
index 8d989464..48bf536c 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ require "erb"
 require "net/ssh/proxy/jump"
 
 class Kamal::Configuration
-  delegate :service, :image, :labels, :stop_wait_time, :hooks_path, to: :raw_config, allow_nil: true
+  delegate :service, :image, :labels, :stop_wait_time, to: :raw_config, allow_nil: true
   delegate :argumentize, :optionize, to: Kamal::Utils
 
   attr_reader :destination, :raw_config
@@ -208,10 +208,6 @@ class Kamal::Configuration
     end
   end
 
-  def hooks_path
-    raw_config.hooks_path || ".kamal/hooks"
-  end
-
   def asset_path
     raw_config.asset_path
   end
diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml b/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
index fc9245c5..4522bb94 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
@@ -74,10 +74,6 @@ env:
 # To configure this, set the path to the assets:
 asset_path: /path/to/assets
 
-# Path to hooks, defaults to `.kamal/hooks`
-# See https://kamal-deploy.org/docs/hooks for more information
-hooks_path: /user_home/kamal/hooks
-
 # Require destinations
 #
 # Whether deployments require a destination to be specified, defaults to `false`
diff --git a/test/cli/build_test.rb b/test/cli/build_test.rb
index 18ff254b..be0e7e10 100644
--- a/test/cli/build_test.rb
+++ b/test/cli/build_test.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class CliBuildTest < CliTestCase
 
   test "push" do
     with_build_directory do |build_directory|
-      Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+      Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
       hook_variables = { version: 999, service_version: "app@999", hosts: "1.1.1.1,1.1.1.2,1.1.1.3,1.1.1.4", command: "build", subcommand: "push" }
 
       SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:capture_with_info)
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ class CliBuildTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "push without clone" do
-    Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+    Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
     hook_variables = { version: 999, service_version: "app@999", hosts: "1.1.1.1,1.1.1.2,1.1.1.3,1.1.1.4", command: "build", subcommand: "push" }
 
     run_command("push", "--verbose", fixture: :without_clone).tap do |output|
diff --git a/test/cli/cli_test_case.rb b/test/cli/cli_test_case.rb
index 4c6b491d..8b32e1c7 100644
--- a/test/cli/cli_test_case.rb
+++ b/test/cli/cli_test_case.rb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class CliTestCase < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   private
     def fail_hook(hook)
       @executions = []
-      Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+      Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
 
       SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.stubs(:execute)
         .with { |*args| @executions << args; args != [ ".kamal/hooks/#{hook}" ] }
diff --git a/test/cli/main_test.rb b/test/cli/main_test.rb
index 82d4e2ba..61f2e7d2 100644
--- a/test/cli/main_test.rb
+++ b/test/cli/main_test.rb
@@ -58,10 +58,11 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
     Kamal::Cli::Main.any_instance.expects(:invoke).with("kamal:cli:app:boot", [], invoke_options)
     Kamal::Cli::Main.any_instance.expects(:invoke).with("kamal:cli:prune:all", [], invoke_options)
 
-    Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+    Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
     hook_variables = { version: 999, service_version: "app@999", hosts: "1.1.1.1,1.1.1.2", command: "deploy" }
 
     run_command("deploy", "--verbose").tap do |output|
+      assert_match "Running /usr/bin/env .kamal/hooks/pre-init", output
       assert_hook_ran "pre-connect", output, **hook_variables
       assert_match /Log into image registry/, output
       assert_match /Build and push app image/, output
@@ -237,7 +238,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
     Kamal::Cli::Main.any_instance.expects(:invoke).with("kamal:cli:app:stale_containers", [], invoke_options.merge(stop: true))
     Kamal::Cli::Main.any_instance.expects(:invoke).with("kamal:cli:app:boot", [], invoke_options)
 
-    Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+    Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
 
     hook_variables = { version: 999, service_version: "app@999", hosts: "1.1.1.1,1.1.1.2", command: "redeploy" }
 
@@ -298,7 +299,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
       .with(:docker, :container, :ls, "--all", "--filter", "name=^app-web-version-to-rollback$", "--quiet", "|", :xargs, :docker, :inspect, "--format", "'{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}{{.State.Status}}{{end}}'")
       .returns("unhealthy").at_least_once # health check
 
-    Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+    Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
     hook_variables = { version: 123, service_version: "app@123", hosts: "1.1.1.1,1.1.1.2,1.1.1.3,1.1.1.4", command: "rollback" }
 
     run_command("rollback", "--verbose", "123", config_file: "deploy_with_accessories").tap do |output|
@@ -396,7 +397,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "init" do
-    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(false).times(3)
+    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(false).times(4)
     Pathname.any_instance.stubs(:mkpath)
     FileUtils.stubs(:mkdir_p)
     FileUtils.stubs(:cp_r)
@@ -409,7 +410,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "init with existing config" do
-    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(3)
+    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(4)
 
     run_command("init").tap do |output|
       assert_match /Config file already exists in config\/deploy.yml \(remove first to create a new one\)/, output
@@ -417,7 +418,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "init with bundle option" do
-    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(false).times(4)
+    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(false).times(5)
     Pathname.any_instance.stubs(:mkpath)
     FileUtils.stubs(:mkdir_p)
     FileUtils.stubs(:cp_r)
@@ -434,7 +435,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "init with bundle option and existing binstub" do
-    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(4)
+    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(5)
     Pathname.any_instance.stubs(:mkpath)
     FileUtils.stubs(:mkdir_p)
     FileUtils.stubs(:cp_r)
@@ -475,7 +476,7 @@ class CliMainTest < CliTestCase
   end
 
   test "envify with skip_push" do
-    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(1)
+    Pathname.any_instance.expects(:exist?).returns(true).times(2)
     File.expects(:read).with(".kamal/.env.erb").returns("HELLO=<%= 'world' %>")
     File.expects(:write).with(".kamal/.env", "HELLO=world", perm: 0600)
 
diff --git a/test/cli/server_test.rb b/test/cli/server_test.rb
index 5d9fec4d..f4ecf650 100644
--- a/test/cli/server_test.rb
+++ b/test/cli/server_test.rb
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ class CliServerTest < CliTestCase
     SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with('[ "${EUID:-$(id -u)}" -eq 0 ] || command -v sudo >/dev/null || command -v su >/dev/null', raise_on_non_zero_exit: false).returns(true).at_least_once
     SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with(:sh, "-c", "'curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com || wget -O - https://get.docker.com || echo \"exit 1\"'", "|", :sh).at_least_once
     SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with(:mkdir, "-p", ".kamal").returns("").at_least_once
-    Kamal::Commands::Hook.any_instance.stubs(:hook_exists?).returns(true)
+    Kamal::Hooks.stubs(:exists?).returns(true)
+    SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with(".kamal/hooks/pre-init", anything).at_least_once
     SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with(".kamal/hooks/pre-connect", anything).at_least_once
     SSHKit::Backend::Abstract.any_instance.expects(:execute).with(".kamal/hooks/docker-setup", anything).at_least_once
 
diff --git a/test/commands/hook_test.rb b/test/commands/hook_test.rb
index c0e6e98f..ec4ae583 100644
--- a/test/commands/hook_test.rb
+++ b/test/commands/hook_test.rb
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ class CommandsHookTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   test "run with custom hooks_path" do
+    ENV["KAMAL_HOOKS_PATH"] = "custom/hooks/path"
     assert_equal [
       "custom/hooks/path/foo",
       { env: {
@@ -36,7 +37,9 @@ class CommandsHookTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
         "KAMAL_VERSION" => "123",
         "KAMAL_SERVICE_VERSION" => "app@123",
         "KAMAL_SERVICE" => "app" } }
-    ], new_command(hooks_path: "custom/hooks/path").run("foo")
+    ], new_command.run("foo")
+  ensure
+    ENV.delete("KAMAL_HOOKS_PATH")
   end
 
   private
diff --git a/test/configuration/validation_test.rb b/test/configuration/validation_test.rb
index b7bd6b6a..dd2c0a29 100644
--- a/test/configuration/validation_test.rb
+++ b/test/configuration/validation_test.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ class ConfigurationValidationTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   test "wrong root types" do
-    [ :service, :image, :asset_path, :hooks_path, :primary_role, :minimum_version, :run_directory ].each do |key|
+    [ :service, :image, :asset_path, :primary_role, :minimum_version, :run_directory ].each do |key|
       assert_error "#{key}: should be a string", **{ key => [] }
     end
 
diff --git a/test/integration/main_test.rb b/test/integration/main_test.rb
index 4d4513ad..854e4396 100644
--- a/test/integration/main_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration/main_test.rb
@@ -12,19 +12,19 @@ class MainTest < IntegrationTest
 
     kamal :deploy
     assert_app_is_up version: first_version
-    assert_hooks_ran "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
+    assert_hooks_ran "pre-init", "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
     assert_envs version: first_version
 
     second_version = update_app_rev
 
     kamal :redeploy
     assert_app_is_up version: second_version
-    assert_hooks_ran "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
+    assert_hooks_ran "pre-init", "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
 
     assert_accumulated_assets first_version, second_version
 
     kamal :rollback, first_version
-    assert_hooks_ran "pre-connect", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
+    assert_hooks_ran "pre-init", "pre-connect", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
     assert_app_is_up version: first_version
 
     details = kamal :details, capture: true
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class MainTest < IntegrationTest
     kamal :deploy
 
     assert_app_is_up version: version
-    assert_hooks_ran "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
+    assert_hooks_ran "pre-init", "pre-connect", "pre-build", "pre-deploy", "post-deploy"
     assert_container_running host: :vm3, name: "app-workers-#{version}"
 
     second_version = update_app_rev
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class MainTest < IntegrationTest
   end
 
   test "config" do
-    config = YAML.load(kamal(:config, capture: true))
+    config = YAML.load(kamal(:config, "-q", capture: true))
     version = latest_app_version
 
     assert_equal [ "web" ], config[:roles]
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 5f7a25c4..5647c382 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ end
 class ActiveSupport::TestCase
   include ActiveSupport::Testing::Stream
 
+  setup do
+    Kamal::Cli::Base.ran_pre_init_hook = false
+  end
+
   private
     def stdouted
       capture(:stdout) { yield }.strip