diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 8d3f10d4..d6021485 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -160,7 +160,34 @@ Before committing it might make sense to run `codespell` to see if you made any
 
 You can run the `make spell` command for this.
 
-### Check everything
+### Full check
+Run the central quality check script before submitting a patch. This runs the spell checker, code formatter, and unit tests.
 
-`make doublecheck` will run the code formatter, spell checker and unit tests.
+If using Autotools:
+```
+make doublecheck
+```
+
+If using Meson:
+```
+meson compile doublecheck
+```
+
+Alternatively, you can run the script directly:
+```
+./scripts/quality-check.sh --fix-formatting --meson  # or --autotools
+```
+
+### Pre-commit hook
+It is highly recommended to install the quality check script as a git pre-commit hook. This will automatically check your staged changes for spelling and formatting issues every time you commit.
+
+To install the hook:
+```
+./scripts/quality-check.sh --install
+```
+
+If you need to bypass the formatting check (e.g. due to a `clang-format` version mismatch), you can set the `SKIP_FORMAT` environment variable:
+```
+SKIP_FORMAT=1 git commit
+```
 
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 5a175c8d..411efa54 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -374,4 +374,5 @@ format-sources: $(core_sources) $(main_source)
 spell:
 	codespell
 
-doublecheck: format check spell
+doublecheck:
+	@./scripts/quality-check.sh --fix-formatting --autotools
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 733ea828..bfed7064 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -676,6 +676,10 @@ if get_option('tests')
   endif
 endif
 
+run_target('doublecheck',
+  command: ['scripts/quality-check.sh', '--fix-formatting', '--meson']
+)
+
 summary({
   'Platform': platform,
   'Package status': get_option('buildtype'),
diff --git a/scripts/quality-check.sh b/scripts/quality-check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..dfda561a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/quality-check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Central quality check script for Profanity
+
+set -e
+
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+NC='\033[0m'
+
+# Go to project root
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+
+usage() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 [options]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Description:"
+    echo "  Code quality checks (spelling, formatting, and unit tests)."
+    echo "  Works with autotools and meson and can be used as a git"
+    echo "  pre-commit hook."
+    echo ""
+    echo "Options:"
+    echo "  --fix-formatting Apply formatting fixes (default is check only)"
+    echo "  --no-format      Skip the formatting check/fix entirely. Use this if your local"
+    echo "                   clang-format version produces different results than the CI."
+    echo "                   Can also be set via SKIP_FORMAT=1 environment variable."
+    echo "  --autotools      Run unit tests using Autotools (make check-unit)"
+    echo "  --meson          Run unit tests using Meson (meson test)"
+    echo "  --hook           Git hook mode: Checks only staged files for spelling and"
+    echo "                   formatting. Does not run tests to ensure fast commits."
+    echo "  --install        Install this script as a git pre-commit hook"
+    echo "  --help           Show this help message"
+}
+
+run_tests() {
+    local system=$1
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}---> Running unit tests...${NC}"
+    
+    if [ "$system" == "autotools" ]; then
+        echo "Using Autotools..."
+        make check-unit
+    elif [ "$system" == "meson" ]; then
+        echo "Using Meson..."
+        # Uses build_run
+        meson test -C build_run "unit tests"
+    fi
+}
+
+run_format() {
+    local mode=$1
+    local hook_mode=$2
+    local skip=$3
+    local files
+
+    if [ "$skip" = true ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}---> Skipping formatting check.${NC}"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$hook_mode" = true ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}---> Checking staged files for formatting...${NC}"
+        # Only added/modified C files
+        files=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR | grep -E "\.(c|h)$" || true)
+    else
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}---> Checking all files for formatting...${NC}"
+        files=$(find src tests -name "*.[ch]" || true)
+    fi
+
+    if [ -z "$files" ]; then
+        echo "No C files to check."
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$mode" = "fix" ]; then
+        clang-format -i $files
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Formatting applied.${NC}"
+    else
+        # --Werror makes it return non-zero on diff
+        if ! clang-format --dry-run --Werror $files; then
+            echo -e "${RED}Error: Style violations found. Run '$0 --fix-formatting' to resolve.${NC}"
+            echo -e "${RED}If this is due to a clang-format version mismatch, use --no-format or SKIP_FORMAT=1.${NC}"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Style check passed.${NC}"
+    fi
+}
+
+run_spell() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}---> Running spell check...${NC}"
+    if command -v codespell >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        codespell
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Spell check passed.${NC}"
+    else
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: codespell not found, skipping.${NC}"
+    fi
+}
+
+MODE="check"
+BUILD_SYSTEM="none"
+HOOK=false
+
+# Support environment variable override
+if [[ "$SKIP_FORMAT" == "1" || "$SKIP_FORMAT" == "true" ]]; then
+    INTERNAL_SKIP_FORMAT=true
+else
+    INTERNAL_SKIP_FORMAT=false
+fi
+
+while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+        --fix-formatting) MODE="fix" ;;
+        --no-format) INTERNAL_SKIP_FORMAT=true ;;
+        --autotools) BUILD_SYSTEM="autotools" ;;
+        --meson) BUILD_SYSTEM="meson" ;;
+        --hook) HOOK=true ;;
+        --install)
+            echo "Installing pre-commit hook..."
+            mkdir -p .git/hooks
+            echo "#!/usr/bin/env bash" > .git/hooks/pre-commit
+            echo "./scripts/quality-check.sh --hook" >> .git/hooks/pre-commit
+            chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit
+            echo "Hook installed."
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        --help) usage; exit 0 ;;
+        *) echo "Unknown parameter: $1"; usage; exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+# Always run spell check
+run_spell
+
+# Run format check unless skipped
+run_format "$MODE" "$HOOK" "$INTERNAL_SKIP_FORMAT"
+
+# Run tests if a build system was specified
+if [ "$BUILD_SYSTEM" != "none" ]; then
+    run_tests "$BUILD_SYSTEM"
+fi
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}Quality check successful!${NC}"