diff --git a/.githooks/pre-commit b/.githooks/pre-commit
index d09c049..627b114 100755
--- a/.githooks/pre-commit
+++ b/.githooks/pre-commit
@@ -2,7 +2,23 @@
 # smarm pre-commit gate: clippy the library (src/) with warnings as errors.
 # unwrap_used / expect_used are denied (Cargo.toml [lints.clippy]): library
 # code must not hide a panic behind unwrap/expect. Tests/examples are not gated.
+#
+# Toolchain resolution: prefer an installed cargo-clippy; on machines whose
+# rust comes without the clippy component (e.g. NixOS home-manager), fall
+# back to an ephemeral nix-shell toolchain. The fallback uses its own target
+# dir (target/clippy) because the shell's rustc version may differ from the
+# default toolchain's — mixed-compiler artifacts in one target dir are an
+# E0514 hard error. MSRV (Cargo.toml rust-version) keeps the older shell
+# toolchain a legitimate gate.
 set -eu
 [ -f "$HOME/.cargo/env" ] && . "$HOME/.cargo/env"
 cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings
+if cargo clippy --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings
+elif command -v nix-shell >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    nix-shell -p clippy -p cargo -p rustc \
+        --run 'CARGO_TARGET_DIR=target/clippy cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings'
+else
+    echo "pre-commit: cargo clippy unavailable and no nix-shell fallback" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi