diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index d5e8c79c0..ee6b0bb0b 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -101,6 +101,18 @@ set_target_properties (gvm-pg-server PROPERTIES SOVERSION "${CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSI
 set_target_properties (gvm-pg-server PROPERTIES VERSION "${CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION}")
 include_directories (${PostgreSQL_INCLUDE_DIRS} ${PostgreSQL_SERVER_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 
+## Precommit-like checks
+
+if (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES "Release")
+  add_custom_target(check-whitespace ALL
+                    # once for output
+                    COMMAND grep -Hn "[ ]$$" *.c *.h | sed "'s/^\\(.\\+:.\\+:\\)/\\1 error: trailing space: /'"
+                    # again for exit code
+                    COMMAND ! grep --quiet "[ ]$$" *.c *.h
+                    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+                    COMMENT "Checking whitespace...")
+endif (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES "Release")
+
 ## Program
 
 add_executable (manage-utils-test