diff --git a/playbooks/fedorahosted_fedmsg_git.yml b/playbooks/fedorahosted_fedmsg_git.yml
index b286295bea..fd93e14ac1 100644
--- a/playbooks/fedorahosted_fedmsg_git.yml
+++ b/playbooks/fedorahosted_fedmsg_git.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,49 @@
-# requires --extra-vars="repos='yokan.git;yumex.git;yum-langpacks.git'"
+# requires --extra-vars "{'repos': ['yokan.git', 'yumex.git']}"
 
 - name: Install the fedmsg hook into a number of fedrahosted git repos
   hosts: hosted03.fedoraproject.org
   user: root
 
+  vars:
+    prefix: /srv/git/
+    chained: /hooks/post-receive-chained.d
+    fedmsg_hook: /usr/local/share/git/hooks/post-receive-fedorahosted-fedmsg
+    chained_hook: /usr/share/git-core/post-receive-chained
+
   tasks:
+
+  # First -- a sanity check.  We want this to fail and stop the playbook if
+  # someone typoed and reponame.  The "command" here claims that it "creates" a
+  # file.  That is not actually true, but it tells ansible to not bother running
+  # the command *if* that creates= file is already present.  Its a hackaround to
+  # make this task idempotent.
+  - name: make sure the git repos exist in the first place
+    command: /bin/ls ${prefix}${item} creates=${prefix}${item}
+    with_items: ${repos}
+
   - name: ensure there is a post-receive-chained.d/ directory
     file: >
         state=directory
-        path=/srv/git/${item}/hooks/post-receive-chained.d/
+        path=${prefix}${item}${chained}/
+    with_items: ${repos}
+
+  - name: move the old post-receive email hook into the chained dir
+    command: >
+        /bin/mv ${prefix}${item}/hooks/post-receive ${prefix}${item}${chained}/post-receive-email
+        removes=${prefix}${item}/hooks/post-receive
+        creates=${prefix}${item}${chained}/post-receive-email
+    with_items: ${repos}
+
+  - name: symlink the fedmsg hook into the chained dir
+    file: >
+        path=${prefix}${item}${chained}/post-receive-fedmsg
+        src=${fedmsg_hook}
+        state=link
+    with_items: ${repos}
+
+  - name: symlink in the chained hook redirector
+    file: >
+        path=${prefix}${item}/hooks/post-receive
+        src=${chained_hook}
+        state=link
     with_items: ${repos}