diff --git a/lua/nvim-claude/hooks.lua b/lua/nvim-claude/hooks.lua
index 7a067227..1d8fdb15 100644
--- a/lua/nvim-claude/hooks.lua
+++ b/lua/nvim-claude/hooks.lua
@@ -9,68 +9,18 @@ function M.setup()
   vim.defer_fn(function()
     M.cleanup_old_commits()
   end, 200)
+  
+  -- Create baseline on startup if we're in a git repo
+  vim.defer_fn(function()
+    M.create_startup_baseline()
+  end, 500)
 end
 
--- Pre-tool-use hook: Create baseline commit only if one doesn't exist
+-- Pre-tool-use hook: Now just validates existing baseline
 function M.pre_tool_use_hook()
-  local utils = require 'nvim-claude.utils'
-
-  -- Check if we're in a git repository
-  local git_root = utils.get_project_root()
-  if not git_root then
-    return
-  end
-
-  -- Check if we already have a baseline commit
-  local baseline_file = '/tmp/claude-baseline-commit'
-  local existing_baseline = utils.read_file(baseline_file)
-
-  if existing_baseline and existing_baseline ~= '' then
-    existing_baseline = existing_baseline:gsub('%s+', '')
-    -- Verify the baseline commit still exists
-    local check_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git rev-parse --verify %s^{commit} 2>/dev/null', git_root, existing_baseline)
-    local check_result, check_err = utils.exec(check_cmd)
-
-    -- If we got a result and no error, the commit exists
-    if check_result and not check_err and check_result:match('^%x+') then
-      -- Baseline is valid, keep using it
-      M.baseline_commit = existing_baseline
-      return
-    end
-  end
-
-  -- Create new baseline commit
-  local timestamp = os.time()
-  local commit_msg = string.format('claude-baseline-%d', timestamp)
-
-  -- Stage all current changes (including untracked files)
-  local add_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git add -A', git_root)
-  local add_result, add_err = utils.exec(add_cmd)
-
-  if add_err then
-    return
-  end
-
-  -- Create a temporary commit
-  local commit_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git commit -m "%s" --allow-empty', git_root, commit_msg)
-  local commit_result, commit_err = utils.exec(commit_cmd)
-
-  if commit_err and not commit_err:match 'nothing to commit' then
-    return
-  end
-
-  -- Store the actual commit hash instead of 'HEAD'
-  local hash_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git rev-parse HEAD', git_root)
-  local commit_hash, hash_err = utils.exec(hash_cmd)
-
-  if not hash_err and commit_hash and commit_hash ~= '' then
-    commit_hash = commit_hash:gsub('%s+', '')
-    M.baseline_commit = commit_hash
-    utils.write_file(baseline_file, commit_hash)
-  else
-    M.baseline_commit = 'HEAD'
-    utils.write_file(baseline_file, 'HEAD')
-  end
+  -- Pre-hook no longer creates baselines
+  -- Baselines are created on startup or through accept/reject
+  return
 end
 
 -- Post-tool-use hook: Create stash of Claude's changes and trigger diff review
@@ -237,6 +187,58 @@ function M.test_inline_diff()
   inline_diff.show_inline_diff(bufnr, original_content, current_content)
 end
 
+-- Create baseline on Neovim startup
+function M.create_startup_baseline()
+  local utils = require 'nvim-claude.utils'
+  
+  -- Check if we're in a git repository
+  local git_root = utils.get_project_root()
+  if not git_root then
+    return
+  end
+  
+  -- Check if we already have a baseline
+  local baseline_file = '/tmp/claude-baseline-commit'
+  local existing_baseline = utils.read_file(baseline_file)
+  
+  -- If we have a valid baseline, keep it
+  if existing_baseline and existing_baseline ~= '' then
+    existing_baseline = existing_baseline:gsub('%s+', '')
+    local check_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git rev-parse --verify %s^{commit} 2>/dev/null', git_root, existing_baseline)
+    local check_result, check_err = utils.exec(check_cmd)
+    
+    if check_result and not check_err and check_result:match('^%x+') then
+      -- Baseline is valid
+      vim.notify('Claude baseline loaded: ' .. existing_baseline:sub(1, 7), vim.log.levels.INFO)
+      return
+    end
+  end
+  
+  -- Create new baseline of current state
+  local timestamp = os.time()
+  local commit_msg = string.format('claude-baseline-%d (startup)', timestamp)
+  
+  -- Stage all current changes
+  local add_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git add -A', git_root)
+  utils.exec(add_cmd)
+  
+  -- Create baseline commit
+  local commit_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git commit -m "%s" --allow-empty', git_root, commit_msg)
+  local commit_result, commit_err = utils.exec(commit_cmd)
+  
+  if not commit_err or commit_err:match('nothing to commit') then
+    -- Get the commit hash
+    local hash_cmd = string.format('cd "%s" && git rev-parse HEAD', git_root)
+    local commit_hash, hash_err = utils.exec(hash_cmd)
+    
+    if not hash_err and commit_hash then
+      commit_hash = commit_hash:gsub('%s+', '')
+      utils.write_file(baseline_file, commit_hash)
+      vim.notify('Claude baseline created: ' .. commit_hash:sub(1, 7), vim.log.levels.INFO)
+    end
+  end
+end
+
 -- Manual hook testing
 function M.test_hooks()
   vim.notify('=== Testing nvim-claude hooks ===', vim.log.levels.INFO)