diff --git a/.github/workflows/branch-checks.yaml b/.github/workflows/branch-checks.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d1c2bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/branch-checks.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# checks to run on branches for each pull request
+name: branch-checks
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  pre-commit:
+    name: Run all pre-commit hooks
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+    - uses: actions/setup-python@v3
+    - uses: pre-commit/action@v3.0.1
+  # For feature branches, we don't test the full matrix (os x [stable, loose]) in order to save time & resources.
+  run-tests-loose:
+    name: Test loose pip installation on ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-latest]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_run_tests.yml
+    with:
+      python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+      os: ${{ matrix.os }}
+      install-script: "loose_pip_install.sh"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pip_installation.yml b/.github/workflows/pip_installation.yml
index de8e839..0edff52 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pip_installation.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pip_installation.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [ main, development ]
   pull_request:
-    branches: [ main, development ]
+    branches: [ main ]
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 name: Pip installation and tests
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ jobs:
 
   loose_installation:
     name: Test loose pip installation on ${{ matrix.os }}
-    # runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }} # `runs-on` conflicts with `uses`, see https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/62320
     strategy:
       matrix:
         # macos-latest is now arm64, which cannot install mono
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60d6476
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# See https://pre-commit.com for more information
+# See https://pre-commit.com/hooks.html for more hooks
+repos:
+- repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
+  rev: v2.3.0
+  hooks:
+    - id: check-yaml
+    - id: end-of-file-fixer
+    - id: trailing-whitespace
+- repo: https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit
+  rev: v0.4.0
+  hooks:
+    - id: ruff-format
+#    - id: ruff
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 12ffc1c..743d7b4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -221,6 +221,19 @@ For an even more interactive participation, check out the
 [discussions](https://github.com/MannLabs/alpharaw/discussions) and the
 [the Contributors License Agreement](misc/CLA.md).
 
+### Notes for developers
+#### pre-commit hooks
+It is highly recommended to use the provided pre-commit hooks, as the CI pipeline enforces all checks therein to
+pass in order to merge a branch.
+
+The hooks need to be installed once by
+```bash
+pre-commit install
+```
+You can run the checks yourself using:
+```bash
+pre-commit run --all-files
+```
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 ## Changelog
diff --git a/extra_requirements/development.txt b/extra_requirements/development.txt
index 5d4b0f8..7351420 100644
--- a/extra_requirements/development.txt
+++ b/extra_requirements/development.txt
@@ -24,3 +24,5 @@ furo
 
 alphabase>=1.1.0
 alphatims
+
+pre-commit==3.7.0