diff --git a/bin/tools/pre-commit-hook b/bin/tools/pre-commit-hook
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5460f7b38d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/tools/pre-commit-hook
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#---------------------------------*- sh -*-------------------------------------
+# =========                 |
+# \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
+#  \\    /   O peration     |
+#   \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2010-2010 OpenCFD Ltd.
+#    \\/     M anipulation  |
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# License
+#     This file is part of OpenFOAM.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+#     under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+#     the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+#     (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+#     ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+#     FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+#     for more details.
+#
+#     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#     along with OpenFOAM.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+# Script
+#     pre-commit-hook
+#
+# Description
+#     pre-commit hook for git.
+#     Copy or link this file as ".git/hooks/pre-commit"
+#
+#     Eg,
+#     (
+#         cd $WM_PROJECT_DIR/.git/hooks &&
+#         ln -sf ../../bin/tools/pre-commit-hook pre-commit
+#     )
+#
+#     Hook receives: empty
+#
+#     Checks for
+#     - illegal code, e.g. <TAB>
+#     - copyright is current, e.g. if present, contains XXX-<current-year>
+#     - columns greater than 80 for *.[CH] files
+#
+# Note
+#     Using "git commit --no-verify" it is possible to override the hook.
+#
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+die()
+{
+    echo 'pre-commit hook failure' 1>&2
+    echo '-----------------------' 1>&2
+    echo '' 1>&2
+    echo "$@" 1>&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Check content that will be added by this commit.
+
+if git rev-parse --verify -q HEAD > /dev/null
+then
+    against=HEAD
+else
+    # Initial commit: diff against an empty tree object
+    against=4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904
+fi
+
+# list of all files
+fileList=$(git diff-index --name-only $against --)
+unset badFiles
+
+# join badFiles with this
+NL=$'\n    '
+
+showBadFiles()
+{
+    if [ -n "$badFiles" ]
+    then
+        echo 'pre-commit hook failure' 1>&2
+        echo '-----------------------' 1>&2
+        echo "$@" 1>&2
+        echo '' 1>&2
+        echo "File(s):$badFiles" 1>&2
+        echo ''  1>&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+#
+# check for bad characters or strings
+#
+checkIllegalCode()
+{
+    TAB=$'\t'
+    BAD=("Nabla" "$TAB")
+    BADmsg=("Nabla" "<TAB>")
+    n=${#BAD[@]};
+
+    unset errorType
+    for (( i = 0; i < $n; i++ ))
+    do
+        for f in $fileList
+        do
+            illegalWord="${BAD[$i]}"
+            if git grep -q --cached "$illegalWord" -- "$f"
+            then
+                errorType="${BADmsg[$i]}"
+                badFiles="$badFiles$NL$f"
+                break 2
+            fi
+        done
+    done
+
+    showBadFiles "Remove/correct '$errorType' references before pushing"
+}
+
+
+#
+# check that OpenCFD copyright is current
+#
+checkCopyright()
+{
+    year=$(date +%Y)
+
+    for f in $fileList
+    do
+        present=`git grep --cached Copyright -- "$f" | grep OpenCFD`
+        if [ -n "$present" ]
+        then
+            echo "$present" | grep -q "$year" || badFiles="$badFiles$NL$f"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    showBadFiles "Update copyright year before pushing, e.g. XXXX-$year"
+}
+
+
+#
+# limit line length to 80-columns, except C++ comment lines
+#
+checkLineLength()
+{
+    for f in $fileList
+    do
+        # limit to *.[CH] files
+        case "$f" in
+        *.[CH])
+            ## detect long lines, but ignore C++ comment-lines
+            ## extract line numbers
+            longLines=$(git grep -n --cached ".\{81,\}" -- "$f" |
+                sed -ne '\@^[^:]*:[^:]*: *//.*@b; s@^[^:]*:\([0-9]*\):.*@\1@p' |
+                tr '\n' ' '
+            )
+            if [ -n "$longLines" ]
+            then
+                badFiles="$badFiles$NL$f -- lines: $longLines"
+            fi
+        ;;
+        esac
+    done
+
+    showBadFiles "Limit code to 80 columns before pushing"
+}
+
+
+# do all checks
+#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+# use builtin whitespace checks to avoid trailing space
+bad=$(git diff-index --check --cached $against --) || die "$bad"
+
+# check for illegal code, e.g. <TAB>, Nabla etc
+checkIllegalCode
+
+# if OpenCFD copyright exists, ensure it contains correct year
+checkCopyright
+
+# ensure code conforms to 80 col max
+checkLineLength
+
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------