Watchman
A file-watching service that records changes in directory trees and triggers commands when files change.
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2 more ways to get Watchman
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install watchman - Homebrew
brew install watchman
About Watchman
Watchman recursively watches one or more directory trees, called roots, and records when files change. You can query a root for changes since you last checked, subscribe to changes, or set up triggers that run a command, such as rebuilding assets, whenever matching files are modified.
It waits for a tree to settle before firing notifications and treats files as changed whenever it is unsure. Symlinks are reported but not followed. It suits build tools and developers who want rebuilds or tests to run automatically on save.
Strengths
- Triggers commands on file patterns such as *.css
- Queries for changes since the last check
- Subscription interface for other tools
- Waits for changes to settle before acting
Limitations
- Does not follow symlinks
- Trigger output goes to a log file by default
- Configured through the command line and JSON rather than a GUI
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- Meta
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Developers and build tools that need to react to file changes
- Categories
- Automation, Developer tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
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