diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 1aeb0a9d..87efad75 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -1588,7 +1588,7 @@ Hooks associated to `presync` events are triggered before each release is synced
 This is the ideal event to execute any commands that may mutate the cluster state as it will not be run for read-only operations like `lint`, `diff` or `template`.
 
 `preapply` hooks are triggered before a release is uninstalled, installed, or upgraded as part of `helmfile apply`.
-This is the ideal event to hook into when you are going to use `helmfile apply` for every kind of change and you want the hook to be triggered regardless of whether the releases have changed or not. Be sure to make each `preapply` hook command idempotent. Otherwise, rerunning helmfile-apply on a transient failure may end up either breaking your cluster, or the hook that runs for the second time will never succeed.
+This is the ideal event to hook into when you are going to use `helmfile apply` for every kind of change. Note that preapply hooks will only run if at least one release has changes to apply. Be sure to make each `preapply` hook command idempotent. Otherwise, rerunning `helmfile apply` on a transient failure may end up either breaking your cluster, or the hook that runs for the second time will never succeed.
 
 `preuninstall` hooks are triggered immediately before a release is uninstalled as part of `helmfile apply`, `helmfile sync`, `helmfile delete`, and `helmfile destroy`.
 
diff --git a/pkg/app/app.go b/pkg/app/app.go
index cdc31745..10a232b9 100644
--- a/pkg/app/app.go
+++ b/pkg/app/app.go
@@ -1704,6 +1704,10 @@ Do you really want to apply?
 	// Traverse DAG of all the releases so that we don't suffer from false-positive missing dependencies
 	st.Releases = selectedAndNeededReleases
 
+	if len(releasesToBeUpdated) == 0 && len(releasesToBeDeleted) == 0 {
+		return true, false, nil
+	}
+
 	if !interactive || interactive && r.askForConfirmation(confMsg) {
 		if _, preapplyErrors := withDAG(st, helm, a.Logger, state.PlanOptions{Purpose: "invoking preapply hooks for", Reverse: true, SelectedReleases: toApplyWithNeeds, SkipNeeds: true}, a.WrapWithoutSelector(func(subst *state.HelmState, helm helmexec.Interface) []error {
 			for _, r := range subst.Releases {
diff --git a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/helm-status-check-to-release-existence/log b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/helm-status-check-to-release-existence/log
index 59565383..5aacb4ea 100644
--- a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/helm-status-check-to-release-existence/log
+++ b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/helm-status-check-to-release-existence/log
@@ -2,8 +2,3 @@ merged environment: &{default  map[] map[] map[]}
 2 release(s) found in helmfile.yaml
 
 Checking release existence using `helm status` for release foo_notFound
-invoking preapply hooks for 1 groups of releases in this order:
-GROUP RELEASES
-1     default//bar, default//foo_notFound
-
-invoking preapply hooks for releases in group 1/1: default//bar, default//foo_notFound
diff --git a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/noop/log b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/noop/log
index 661f5a67..dc714f59 100644
--- a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/noop/log
+++ b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply/noop/log
@@ -1,10 +1,3 @@
 merged environment: &{default  map[] map[] map[]}
 2 release(s) found in helmfile.yaml
 
-invoking preapply hooks for 2 groups of releases in this order:
-GROUP RELEASES
-1     default//foo
-2     default//bar
-
-invoking preapply hooks for releases in group 1/2: default//foo
-invoking preapply hooks for releases in group 2/2: default//bar
diff --git a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply_hooks/hooks_for_no-diff_release/log b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply_hooks/hooks_for_no-diff_release/log
index b2f0bdff..0da06e80 100644
--- a/pkg/app/testdata/testapply_hooks/hooks_for_no-diff_release/log
+++ b/pkg/app/testdata/testapply_hooks/hooks_for_no-diff_release/log
@@ -1,9 +1,3 @@
 
 hook[prepare] logs | foo
 hook[prepare] logs | 
-
-hook[preapply] logs | foo
-hook[preapply] logs | 
-
-hook[cleanup] logs | foo
-hook[cleanup] logs |