Pre-commits hooks run locally. Zippy runs builds on remote Incus VMs that stick around for the next build so subsequent builds are fast.

so is this a remote CI/CD that I can run locally? how's this different from CI thata allows me to ssh into a remote CI/CD host?

It is a remote CI/CD that delivers output directly as part of your git push. No web interface, no polling. What we experience is that it keeps us (and Claude) in the flow, no context switching.

One other big difference with a pre-commit hook is that you are integrated with your team / software. Like other CI tools, you centralized your build, precommit stays on your machine.