diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 0c34efabf2..d81cd9c988 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ To setup pre-commit, run the following in your gem5 directory.
 
 ```sh
 pip install pre-commit
-pre-commit install
+pre-commit install -t pre-commit -t commit-msg
 ```
 
 When you run a `git commit` command the pre-commit will run checks on your
@@ -158,6 +158,13 @@ a Verified label, necessary for a change to be accepted to the develop branch).
 Therefore setting up pre-commit in your local gem5 development environment is
 recommended.
 
+You can automatically format your changed code to pass the pre-commit tests by
+running:
+
+```sh
+pre-commit run
+```
+
 Requirements for change descriptions
 ------------------------------------
 To help reviewers and future contributors more easily understand and track