watchexec/doc/watchexec.1.ronn
2017-04-02 21:21:30 +02:00

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watchexec(1) -- execute commands when watched files change
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## SYNOPSIS
watchexec [`--exts` | `-e` <extensions>]... [`--filter` | `-f` <pattern>]... [`--ignore` | `-i` <pattern>]... [`--watch` | `-w` <path>]... [`--restart` | `-r`] [`--clear` | `-c`] [`--postpone` | `-p`] [`--force-poll` <interval>] [`--debug` | `-d`] [`--no-vcs-ignore`] <command> [<argument>...]
## DESCRIPTION
Recursively monitors the current directory for changes, executing the command when a filesystem change is detected. By default, watchexec uses efficient kernel-level mechanisms to watch for changes.
At startup, the specified <command> (passing any supplied <argument>s) is run once, and watchexec begins monitoring for changes.
## OPTIONS
* <command>:
Command to run when watched files are modified, and at startup, unless `--postpone` is specified. All <argument>s are passed to <command>.
* `-e`, `--exts` <extensions>:
Comma-separated list of file extensions to filter by. Leading dots are allowed (.rs) are allowed. (This is a shorthand for `-f`).
* `-f`, `--filter` <pattern>:
Ignores modifications from paths that do not match <pattern>. This option can be specified multiple times, where a match on any given pattern causes the path to trigger <command>.
* `-s`, `--signal`:
Sends the specified signal (e.g. `SIGKILL`) to the child process. Defaults to `SIGTERM`.
* `-i`, `--ignore` <pattern>:
Ignores modifications from paths that match <pattern>. This option can be specified multiple times, and a match on any pattern causes the path to be ignored.
* `-w`, `--watch` <path>:
Monitor a specific path for changes. By default, the current working directory is watched. This may be specified multiple times, where a change in any watched directory (and subdirectories) causes <command> to be executed.
* `-r`, `--restart`:
Terminates the child process group if it is still running when subsequent file modifications are detected. By default, sends `SIGTERM`; use `--kill` to send `SIGKILL`.
* `-c`, `--clear`:
Clears the screen before executing <command>.
* `-p`, `--postpone`:
Postpone execution of <command> until the first file modification is detected.
* `-d`, `--debug`:
Prints diagnostic messages to STDERR
* `--force-poll` <interval>:
Poll for changes every <interval> ms instead of using system-specific notification mechanisms (such as inotify). This is useful when you are monitoring NFS shares.
* `--no-vcs-ignore`:
Skip loading of version control system (VCS) ignore files. By default, watchexec loads .gitignore files in the current directory (or parent directories) and uses them to populate the ignore list.
## ENVIRONMENT
Processes started by watchexec have the `$WATCHEXEC_UPDATED_PATH` environment variable set to the path of the first modification observed. In addition, the `$WATCHEXEC_COMMON_PATH` environment variable is set to the common path of all observed modifications.
## EXAMPLES
Rebuild a project when source files change:
$ watchexec make
Watch all HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files for changes:
$ watchexec -e html,css,js make
Run tests when source files change, clearing the screen each time:
$ watchexec -c make test
Launch and restart a node.js server:
$ watchexec -r node app.js
Watch lib and src directories for changes, rebuilding each time:
$ watchexec -w lib -w src make