diff --git a/ui/.husky/pre-commit b/ui/.husky/pre-commit
index d136d9ec54..98be29c453 100755
--- a/ui/.husky/pre-commit
+++ b/ui/.husky/pre-commit
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ echo -e "${BLUE}ℹ️  Code Review Status: ${CODE_REVIEW_ENABLED}${NC}"
 echo ""
 
 # Get staged files in the UI folder only (what will be committed)
-STAGED_FILES=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM -- 'ui/**' | grep -E '\.(tsx?|jsx?)$' || true)
+# Always use GIT_ROOT-relative pathspecs so detection works regardless of cwd
+STAGED_FILES=$(git -C "$GIT_ROOT" diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM -- 'ui/' | grep -E '\.(tsx?|jsx?)$' || true)
 
 if [ "$CODE_REVIEW_ENABLED" = "true" ]; then
   if [ -z "$STAGED_FILES" ]; then
@@ -135,18 +136,17 @@ else
   echo ""
 fi
 
-# Check if there are any UI files to validate
-if [ -z "$STAGED_FILES" ] && [ "$CODE_REVIEW_ENABLED" = "true" ]; then
-  echo -e "${YELLOW}⏭️  No UI files to validate, skipping healthcheck${NC}"
+# Run healthcheck (typecheck and lint check) only if there are UI changes
+if [ -z "$STAGED_FILES" ]; then
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}⏭️  No UI files staged, skipping healthcheck/tests/build${NC}"
   echo ""
   exit 0
 fi
 
-# Run healthcheck (typecheck and lint check) only if there are UI changes
 echo -e "${BLUE}🏥 Running healthcheck...${NC}"
 echo ""
 
-cd ui || cd .
+cd "$GIT_ROOT/ui"
 if pnpm run healthcheck; then
   echo ""
   echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Healthcheck passed${NC}"
@@ -164,11 +164,11 @@ echo -e "${BLUE}🧪 Running unit tests...${NC}"
 echo ""
 
 # Get staged source files (exclude test files)
-# Note: we already cd'd into ui/, so pathspecs are relative (no ui/ prefix)
-STAGED_SOURCE_FILES=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM -- '*.ts' '*.tsx' | grep -v '\.test\.\|\.spec\.\|vitest\.config\|vitest\.setup' || true)
+# Use GIT_ROOT so pathspecs are always correct regardless of cwd
+STAGED_SOURCE_FILES=$(git -C "$GIT_ROOT" diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM -- 'ui/*.ts' 'ui/*.tsx' | sed 's|^ui/||' | grep -v '\.test\.\|\.spec\.\|vitest\.config\|vitest\.setup' || true)
 
 # Check if critical paths changed (lib/, types/, config/)
-CRITICAL_PATHS_CHANGED=$(git diff --cached --name-only -- 'lib/**' 'types/**' 'config/**' 'middleware.ts' 'vitest.config.ts' 'vitest.setup.ts' || true)
+CRITICAL_PATHS_CHANGED=$(git -C "$GIT_ROOT" diff --cached --name-only -- 'ui/lib/' 'ui/types/' 'ui/config/' 'ui/middleware.ts' 'ui/vitest.config.ts' 'ui/vitest.setup.ts' || true)
 
 if [ -n "$CRITICAL_PATHS_CHANGED" ]; then
   echo -e "${YELLOW}Critical paths changed - running ALL unit tests${NC}"