https://github.com/caseywebdev/watchy
Run commands when paths change.
https://github.com/caseywebdev/watchy
Last synced: 3 months ago
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Run commands when paths change.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/caseywebdev/watchy
- Owner: caseywebdev
- License: mit
- Created: 2013-03-28T14:08:12.000Z (about 12 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2024-06-04T13:21:34.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-03-30T18:08:35.124Z (3 months ago)
- Language: JavaScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 73.2 KB
- Stars: 124
- Watchers: 6
- Forks: 14
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# Watchy
Run commands when paths change.
## Install
You'll need to install [Node.js] to use Watchy. Node comes packaged with [npm],
which is Node's package manager, and the preferred method of installing Watchy.
After installing Node, simply type
```bash
npm install -g watchy
```
and you should have the `watchy` command available!
## Usage
```
Usage: watchy [options] -- command arg1 arg2 ...
Run commands when paths change.
Options:
-V, --version output the version number
-d, --debounce [seconds] trigger a change at most every [seconds] seconds
-k, --keep-alive restart the process if it exits
-p, --use-polling use file polling even if fsevents or inotify is available
-r, --restart [string] send [string] to STDIN to restart the process
-R, --no-restart-after-signal disable process restart after being signaled and exited
-s, --silent only output errors
-S, --no-init-spawn prevent spawn when the watcher is created
-t, --shutdown-signal [signal] use [signal] to shut down the process (default: "SIGTERM")
-T, --reload-signal [signal] use [signal] to reload the process (defaults to shutdown signal)
-w, --watch [pattern] watch [pattern] for changes, can be specified multiple times
-W, --wait [seconds] send SIGKILL to the process after [seconds] if it hasn't exited
-h, --help output usage information
```
The watch patterns are [extglob] format.
## Examples
```bash
# The simple case
watchy -w 'lib/**/*' -- say "The lib directory changed."
# Piping works as well
watchy -w 'styles/**/*.less' -- bash -c "lessc styles/main.less | autoprefixer -o .tmp/styles/main.css"
# Keep a process alive, restarting it as soon as it exits or "server.js"
# changes.
watchy -kw server.js -- node server.js
# Watch every file except dotfiles, the node_modules folder, and JSON files.
# NOTE: Listen to as few files as possible for better performance.
watchy -w . -i '/\.|/node_modules|\.json$' -- node server.js
# Tick tock!
watchy -ks -- bash -c 'date && sleep 1'
# Tick tock (annoying version)!
watchy -ks -- bash -c 'say "In case you were wondering, it is `date`" && sleep 5'
# $WATCHY_ACTION and $WATCHY_PATH are passed to the process.
watchy -w '**/*' -- bash -c 'echo $WATCHY_ACTION $WATCHY_PATH'
# => modified /Users/casey/Documents/code/watchy/README.md
```
> Note: If you're using `watchy` for help with preprocessing, I'd recommend
> checking out my [cogs] project that is highly optimized for that case with
> in-memory processed file caching, directives, AMD support, and much more.
## SIGTERM
By default, `watchy` will send `SIGTERM` to the running process after a change
and wait for it to exit gracefully. By sending the `--wait|-W n` option, you can
tell `watchy` to forcefully `SIGKILL` the process after `n` seconds. In general,
you should try to clean up connections in your processes like so:
```js
process.on('SIGTERM', function () {
server.close();
db.disconnect();
redis.quit();
// etc...
});
```
## Node API
As of `0.9.0` watchy exposes a Node.js API.
```js
const watchy = require('watchy');
watchy({
patterns: ['js/**/*.js', 'css/**/*.css'],
onError: error => console.error(error),
onChange: ({action, path}) => console.log(action, path),
usePolling: true // defaults to `false`, but will fallback when fsevents are not available
}).catch(er => {
console.error(er);
process.exit(1);
});
```
[cogs]: https://github.com/caseywebdev/cogs
[extglob]: https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/bash-extended-globbing
[Node.js]: https://nodejs.org
[npm]: https://www.npmjs.com