diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f771a62..b519ccd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.10.0](https://github.com/AndreasAugustin/actions-template-sync/compare/v1.9.0...v1.10.0) (2024-03-05)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* **#467:** :sparkles: hooks now within action inputs ([#489](https://github.com/AndreasAugustin/actions-template-sync/issues/489)) ([0e55c08](https://github.com/AndreasAugustin/actions-template-sync/commit/0e55c08f95f9a83c60f809fa6b49785187ec7623))
+
 ## [1.9.0](https://github.com/AndreasAugustin/actions-template-sync/compare/v1.8.1...v1.9.0) (2024-03-05)
 
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0043e66..cf43869 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -246,6 +246,7 @@ jobs:
 | hostname                    | `[optional]` the hostname of the repository                                                                   | `false`  | `github.com`                                                          |
 | is_dry_run                  | `[optional]` set to `true` if you do not want to push the changes and not want to create a PR                 | `false`  |                                                                       |
 | is_allow_hooks              | `[optional]` set to `true` if you want to enable lifecycle hooks. Use this with caution!                      | `false`  | `false`                                                               |
+| hooks | `[optional]` please check the lifecycle hooks section below | `false` | |
 | is_pr_cleanup               | `[optional]` set to `true` if you want to cleanup older PRs targeting the same branch. Use this with caution! | `false`  | `false`                                                               |
 | is_not_source_github        | `[optional]` set to `true` if the source git provider is not GitHub                                           | `false`  | `false`                                                               |
 | is_force_deletion | `[optional]` set to `true` if you want to force delete files which are deleted within the source repository even if they contain changes. You need to also adjust `git_remote_pull_params` (see below for details) | `false` | `false` |
@@ -374,7 +375,8 @@ jobs:
 Different lifecycle hooks are supported. You need to enable the functionality with the option `is_allow_hooks` and set it to `true`
 :warning: use this functionality with caution. You can use one of the available docker images to test it out. **With great power comes great responsibility**.
 
-In addition, you need a configuration file with the name `templatesync.yml` within the root of the target repository.
+In addition, you need either a configuration file with the name `templatesync.yml` within the root of the target repository
+or you set the hooks input parameter within the action definition with a related yaml string
 
 The following hooks are supported (please check [docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) for a better understanding of the lifecycles).
 
@@ -388,9 +390,7 @@ The following hooks are supported (please check [docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCH
 **Remark** The underlying OS is defined by an Alpine container.
 E.q. for the installation phase you need to use commands like `apk add --update --no-cache python3`
 
-Schema and example for the `templatesync.yml`
-
-**Remark** It is possible to use environment variables within the github action definition usable within the command configuration, e.g.
+### Example for the hooks input parameter
 
 ```yml
 - name: Test action step
@@ -398,7 +398,25 @@ Schema and example for the `templatesync.yml`
   env:
     MY_VAR: "foo"  # possible to define envrionment variables
   with:
-    github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+    source_repo_path: AndreasAugustin/template.git
+    upstream_branch: main
+    is_dry_run: true
+    is_allow_hooks: true
+    hooks: >
+      prepull:
+        commands:
+          - echo 'hi, we are within the prepull phase'
+          - echo 'maybe you want to do adjustments on the local code'
+```
+
+### Schema and example for the `templatesync.yml`
+
+**Remark** It is possible to use environment variables within the github action definition usable within the command configuration, e.g.
+
+```yml
+- name: Test action step
+  uses: AndreasAugustin/actions-template-sync@v1
+  with:
     source_repo_path: AndreasAugustin/template.git
     upstream_branch: main
     is_dry_run: true
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 89fa245..41f8b6b 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ inputs:
   is_allow_hooks:
     description: "[optional] set to true if you want to allow hooks. Use this functionality with caution!"
     default: "false"
+  hooks:
+    description: "[optional] define the hooks as yaml string input"
   is_pr_cleanup:
     description: "[optional] set to true if you want to cleanup older PRs targeting the same branch."
     default: "false"
@@ -76,6 +78,7 @@ runs:
     HOSTNAME: ${{ inputs.hostname }}
     IS_DRY_RUN: ${{ inputs.is_dry_run }}
     IS_ALLOW_HOOKS: ${{ inputs.is_allow_hooks }}
+    HOOKS: ${{ inputs.hooks }}
     IS_PR_CLEANUP: ${{ inputs.is_pr_cleanup}}
     IS_NOT_SOURCE_GITHUB: ${{ inputs.is_not_source_github }}
     IS_FORCE_DELETION: ${{ inputs.is_force_deletion }}
diff --git a/src/entrypoint.sh b/src/entrypoint.sh
index 4d788e1..6d1ff4a 100644
--- a/src/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/src/entrypoint.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ set -e
 # shellcheck source=src/sync_common.sh
 source sync_common.sh
 
+###########################################
+# Precheks
+##########################################
+
 if [[ -z "${GITHUB_TOKEN}" ]]; then
     err "Missing input 'github_token: \${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}'.";
     exit 1;
@@ -16,6 +20,10 @@ if [[ -z "${SOURCE_REPO_PATH}" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
+############################################
+# Variables
+############################################
+
 DEFAULT_REPO_HOSTNAME="github.com"
 SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME="${HOSTNAME:-${DEFAULT_REPO_HOSTNAME}}"
 GIT_USER_NAME="${GIT_USER_NAME:-${GITHUB_ACTOR}}"
@@ -24,6 +32,10 @@ GIT_USER_EMAIL="${GIT_USER_EMAIL:-github-action@actions-template-sync.noreply.${
 # In case of ssh template repository this will be overwritten
 SOURCE_REPO_PREFIX="https://${SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME}/"
 
+################################################
+# Functions
+################################################
+
 function ssh_setup() {
   echo "::group::ssh setup"
 
@@ -53,18 +65,9 @@ function gpg_setup() {
   git config --global gpg.program /bin/gpg_no_tty.sh
 
   info "done prepare gpg"
-  echo "::endgroup::"for fpr in
+  echo "::endgroup::"
 }
 
-# Forward to /dev/null to swallow the output of the private key
-if [[ -n "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_SRC}" ]] &>/dev/null; then
-  ssh_setup
-elif [[ "${SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME}" != "${DEFAULT_REPO_HOSTNAME}" ]]; then
-  gh auth login --git-protocol "https" --hostname "${SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME}" --with-token <<< "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
-fi
-
-export SOURCE_REPO="${SOURCE_REPO_PREFIX}${SOURCE_REPO_PATH}"
-
 function git_init() {
   echo "::group::git init"
   info "set git global configuration"
@@ -86,6 +89,19 @@ function git_init() {
   echo "::endgroup::"
 }
 
+###################################################
+# Logic
+###################################################
+
+# Forward to /dev/null to swallow the output of the private key
+if [[ -n "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_SRC}" ]] &>/dev/null; then
+  ssh_setup
+elif [[ "${SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME}" != "${DEFAULT_REPO_HOSTNAME}" ]]; then
+  gh auth login --git-protocol "https" --hostname "${SOURCE_REPO_HOSTNAME}" --with-token <<< "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
+fi
+
+export SOURCE_REPO="${SOURCE_REPO_PREFIX}${SOURCE_REPO_PATH}"
+
 git_init
 
 if [[ -n "${GPG_PRIVATE_KEY}" ]] &>/dev/null; then
diff --git a/src/sync_common.sh b/src/sync_common.sh
index 7d29036..3a26f99 100755
--- a/src/sync_common.sh
+++ b/src/sync_common.sh
@@ -41,15 +41,15 @@ function info() {
 }
 
 #######################################
-# Executes commands defined within yml file
+# Executes commands defined within yml file or env variable
 # Arguments:
 #   hook -> the hook to use
 #
 ####################################3#
-function cmd_from_yml_file() {
+function cmd_from_yml() {
   local FILE_NAME="templatesync.yml"
   local HOOK=$1
-  local YML_PATH=".hooks.${HOOK}.commands"
+  local YML_PATH_SUFF=".${HOOK}.commands"
 
   if [ "$IS_ALLOW_HOOKS" != "true" ]; then
     debug "execute cmd hooks not enabled"
@@ -60,7 +60,19 @@ function cmd_from_yml_file() {
       err "yaml query yq is not installed. 'https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/'";
       exit 1;
     fi
-    readarray cmd_Arr < <(yq "${YML_PATH} | .[]"  "${FILE_NAME}")
+
+    if [[ -n "${HOOKS}" ]]; then
+      debug "hooks input variable is set. Using the variable"
+      echo "${HOOKS}" > "tmp.${FILE_NAME}"
+      YML_PATH="${YML_PATH_SUFF}"
+    else
+      cp ${FILE_NAME} "tmp.${FILE_NAME}"
+      YML_PATH=".hooks${YML_PATH_SUFF}"
+    fi
+
+    readarray cmd_Arr < <(yq "${YML_PATH} | .[]"  "tmp.${FILE_NAME}")
+
+    rm "tmp.${FILE_NAME}"
 
     for key in "${cmd_Arr[@]}"; do echo "${key}" | bash; done
   fi
diff --git a/src/sync_template.sh b/src/sync_template.sh
index 25f4db6..28b54e6 100644
--- a/src/sync_template.sh
+++ b/src/sync_template.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ set -e
 # shellcheck source=src/sync_template.sh
 source sync_common.sh
 
+############################################
+# Prechecks
+############################################
+
 if [[ -z "${PR_COMMIT_MSG}" ]]; then
   err "Missing env variable 'PR_COMMIT_MSG'";
   exit 1;
@@ -22,6 +26,10 @@ if ! [ -x "$(command -v gh)" ]; then
   exit 1;
 fi
 
+########################################################
+# Variables
+########################################################
+
 if [[ -z "${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}" ]]; then
   UPSTREAM_BRANCH="$(git remote show origin | awk '/HEAD branch/ {print $NF}')"
   info "Missing env variable 'UPSTREAM_BRANCH' setting to remote default ${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}";
@@ -34,7 +42,7 @@ fi
 
 GIT_REMOTE_PULL_PARAMS="${GIT_REMOTE_PULL_PARAMS:---allow-unrelated-histories --squash --strategy=recursive -X theirs}"
 
-cmd_from_yml_file "install"
+cmd_from_yml "install"
 
 LOCAL_CURRENT_GIT_HASH=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
 
@@ -49,6 +57,10 @@ debug "new Git HASH ${NEW_TEMPLATE_GIT_HASH}"
 
 echo "::group::Check new changes"
 
+#####################################################
+# Functions
+#####################################################
+
 function set_github_action_outputs() {
   echo "::group::set gh action outputs"
   if [[ -z "${GITHUB_RUN_ID}" ]]; then
@@ -71,6 +83,73 @@ function check_branch_remote_existing() {
   fi
 }
 
+function force_delete_files() {
+  echo "::group::force file deletion"
+  warn "force file deletion is enabled. Deleting files which are deleted within the target repository"
+  FILES_TO_DELETE=$(git log --diff-filter D --pretty="format:" --name-only "${LOCAL_CURRENT_GIT_HASH}"..HEAD | sed '/^$/d')
+  warn "files to delete: ${FILES_TO_DELETE}"
+  if [[ -n "${FILES_TO_DELETE}" ]]; then
+    echo "${FILES_TO_DELETE}" | xargs rm
+  fi
+
+  echo "::endgroup::"
+}
+
+function cleanup_older_prs () {
+  older_prs=$(gh pr list \
+  --base "${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}" \
+  --state open \
+  --label "${PR_LABELS}" \
+  --json number \
+  --template '{{range .}}{{printf "%v" .number}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}')
+
+  for older_pr in $older_prs
+  do
+    gh pr close "$older_pr"
+    debug "Closed PR #${older_pr}"
+  done
+}
+
+function maybe_create_labels () {
+  readarray -t labels_array < <(awk -F',' '{ for( i=1; i<=NF; i++ ) print $i }' <<<"${PR_LABELS}")
+  for label in "${labels_array[@]}"
+  do
+      search_result=$(gh label list \
+      --search "${label}" \
+      --limit 1 \
+      --json name \
+      --template '{{range .}}{{printf "%v" .name}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}')
+
+      if [ "${search_result}" = "${label##[[:space:]]}" ]; then
+        info "label '${label##[[:space:]]}' was found in the repository"
+      else
+        if gh label create "${label}"; then
+          info "label '${label}' was missing and has been created"
+        else
+          warn "label creation did not work. For any reason the former check sometimes is failing"
+        fi
+      fi
+  done
+}
+
+function push () {
+  debug "push changes"
+  git push --set-upstream origin "${NEW_BRANCH}"
+}
+
+function create_pr () {
+  gh pr create \
+        --title "${PR_TITLE}" \
+        --body "${PR_BODY}" \
+        --base "${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}" \
+        --label "${PR_LABELS}" \
+        --reviewer "${PR_REVIEWERS}"
+}
+
+########################################################
+# Logic
+#######################################################
+
 check_branch_remote_existing
 
 git cat-file -e "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_GIT_HASH}" || COMMIT_NOT_IN_HIST=true
@@ -81,7 +160,7 @@ fi
 
 echo "::endgroup::"
 
-cmd_from_yml_file "prepull"
+cmd_from_yml "prepull"
 
 echo "::group::Pull template"
 
@@ -113,23 +192,11 @@ if [ -s "${TEMPLATE_SYNC_IGNORE_FILE_PATH}" ]; then
   echo "::endgroup::"
 fi
 
-function force_delete_files() {
-  echo "::group::force file deletion"
-  warn "force file deletion is enabled. Deleting files which are deleted within the target repository"
-  FILES_TO_DELETE=$(git log --diff-filter D --pretty="format:" --name-only "${LOCAL_CURRENT_GIT_HASH}"..HEAD | sed '/^$/d')
-  warn "files to delete: ${FILES_TO_DELETE}"
-  if [[ -n "${FILES_TO_DELETE}" ]]; then
-    echo "${FILES_TO_DELETE}" | xargs rm
-  fi
-
-  echo "::endgroup::"
-}
-
 if [ "$IS_FORCE_DELETION" == "true" ]; then
   force_delete_files
 fi
 
-cmd_from_yml_file "precommit"
+cmd_from_yml "precommit"
 
 echo "::group::commit changes"
 
@@ -157,20 +224,6 @@ git commit --signoff -m "${PR_COMMIT_MSG}"
 
 echo "::endgroup::"
 
-function cleanup_older_prs () {
-  older_prs=$(gh pr list \
-  --base "${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}" \
-  --state open \
-  --label "${PR_LABELS}" \
-  --json number \
-  --template '{{range .}}{{printf "%v" .number}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}')
-
-  for older_pr in $older_prs
-  do
-    gh pr close "$older_pr"
-    debug "Closed PR #${older_pr}"
-  done
-}
 echo "::group::cleanup older PRs"
 
 if [ "$IS_DRY_RUN" != "true" ]; then
@@ -178,7 +231,7 @@ if [ "$IS_DRY_RUN" != "true" ]; then
     if [[ -z "${PR_LABELS}" ]]; then
      warn "env var 'PR_LABELS' is empty. Skipping older prs cleanup"
     else
-      cmd_from_yml_file "precleanup"
+      cmd_from_yml "precleanup"
       cleanup_older_prs
     fi
   else
@@ -190,29 +243,6 @@ fi
 
 echo "::endgroup::"
 
-
-function maybe_create_labels () {
-  readarray -t labels_array < <(awk -F',' '{ for( i=1; i<=NF; i++ ) print $i }' <<<"${PR_LABELS}")
-  for label in "${labels_array[@]}"
-  do
-      search_result=$(gh label list \
-      --search "${label}" \
-      --limit 1 \
-      --json name \
-      --template '{{range .}}{{printf "%v" .name}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}')
-
-      if [ "${search_result}" = "${label##[[:space:]]}" ]; then
-        info "label '${label##[[:space:]]}' was found in the repository"
-      else
-        if gh label create "${label}"; then
-          info "label '${label}' was missing and has been created"
-        else
-          warn "label creation did not work. For any reason the former check sometimes is failing"
-        fi
-      fi
-  done
-}
-
 echo "::group::check for missing labels"
 
 if [[ -z "${PR_LABELS}" ]]; then
@@ -227,26 +257,12 @@ fi
 
 echo "::endgroup::"
 
-function push () {
-  debug "push changes"
-  git push --set-upstream origin "${NEW_BRANCH}"
-}
-
-function create_pr () {
-  gh pr create \
-        --title "${PR_TITLE}" \
-        --body "${PR_BODY}" \
-        --base "${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}" \
-        --label "${PR_LABELS}" \
-        --reviewer "${PR_REVIEWERS}"
-}
-
 echo "::group::push changes and create PR"
 
 if [ "$IS_DRY_RUN" != "true" ]; then
-  cmd_from_yml_file "prepush"
+  cmd_from_yml "prepush"
   push
-  cmd_from_yml_file "prepr"
+  cmd_from_yml "prepr"
   create_pr
 else
     warn "dry_run option is set to off. Skipping push changes and skip create pr"