diff --git a/.githooks/pre-commit b/.githooks/pre-commit
index 1e3112d..f1133dc 100755
--- a/.githooks/pre-commit
+++ b/.githooks/pre-commit
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # seal — pre-commit secret scanner
 # Blocks commits that stage secrets, private env files, or high-risk key patterns.
+# Requires gitleaks: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks
 set -euo pipefail
 
 ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
 HOOK_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 
 RED='\033[0;31m'
-YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
 NC='\033[0m'
 
 fail() {
@@ -15,9 +15,12 @@ fail() {
   exit 1
 }
 
-warn() {
-  echo -e "${YELLOW}seal: warning — $1${NC}" >&2
-}
+# --- 0. gitleaks is required ---
+if ! command -v gitleaks >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "gitleaks is not installed. Install it first:
+  brew install gitleaks
+  https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks#installing"
+fi
 
 # --- 1. Block staging of files that should never be committed ---
 BLOCKED_FILES=(
@@ -50,66 +53,14 @@ for file in $STAGED; do
   done
 done
 
-# --- 2. Prefer gitleaks when installed (best coverage) ---
-if command -v gitleaks >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  CONFIG="$HOOK_DIR/gitleaks.toml"
-  if [[ ! -f "$CONFIG" ]]; then
-    CONFIG="$ROOT/gitleaks.toml"
-  fi
-  if [[ ! -f "$CONFIG" ]]; then
-    CONFIG=""
-  fi
-  if [[ -n "$CONFIG" ]]; then
-    gitleaks protect --staged --redact --verbose --config "$CONFIG" --source "$ROOT"
-  else
-    gitleaks protect --staged --redact --verbose --source "$ROOT"
-  fi
-  echo "seal: gitleaks scan passed"
-  exit 0
+# --- 2. Scan staged changes with gitleaks ---
+CONFIG="$HOOK_DIR/gitleaks.toml"
+if [[ ! -f "$CONFIG" ]]; then
+  CONFIG="$ROOT/gitleaks.toml"
 fi
-
-# --- 3. Fallback: pattern scan on staged content (no gitleaks required) ---
-PATTERNS=(
-  'sk_live_[0-9a-zA-Z]{10,}'
-  'sk_test_[0-9a-zA-Z]{10,}'
-  'rk_live_[0-9a-zA-Z]{10,}'
-  'rk_test_[0-9a-zA-Z]{10,}'
-  'whsec_[0-9a-zA-Z]{10,}'
-  'sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{20,}'
-  'ghp_[0-9a-zA-Z]{20,}'
-  'gho_[0-9a-zA-Z]{20,}'
-  'github_pat_[0-9a-zA-Z_]{20,}'
-  'AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}'
-  'xox[baprs]-[0-9A-Za-z\-]{10,}'
-)
-
-FOUND=0
-for file in $STAGED; do
-  # Skip allowlisted paths
-  case "$file" in
-    *.env.example|*.env.sample|README.md|SECURITY.md|gitleaks.toml) continue ;;
-  esac
-
-  if [[ ! -f "$ROOT/$file" ]]; then
-    continue
-  fi
-
-  # Skip binary files
-  if file -b --mime-type "$ROOT/$file" 2>/dev/null | grep -qE '^(image|video|audio|application/(zip|gzip|pdf|octet-stream))'; then
-    continue
-  fi
-
-  for pattern in "${PATTERNS[@]}"; do
-    if grep -qE "$pattern" "$ROOT/$file" 2>/dev/null; then
-      echo -e "${RED}seal: possible secret in $file (matched: $pattern)${NC}" >&2
-      FOUND=1
-    fi
-  done
-done
-
-if [[ "$FOUND" -eq 1 ]]; then
-  fail "secret-like value detected in staged files. Install gitleaks for deeper scanning: brew install gitleaks"
+if [[ ! -f "$CONFIG" ]]; then
+  fail "gitleaks.toml not found next to the hook or in the repo root"
 fi
 
-warn "gitleaks not installed — using basic pattern scan only. Run: brew install gitleaks"
-echo "seal: basic scan passed"
+gitleaks protect --staged --redact --verbose --config "$CONFIG" --source "$ROOT"
+echo "seal: gitleaks scan passed"