Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> |
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src | ||
build.rs | ||
Cargo.toml | ||
README.md | ||
release.toml | ||
watchexec-manifest.rc | ||
watchexec.exe.manifest |
Watchexec CLI
A simple standalone tool that watches a path and runs a command whenever it detects modifications.
Example use cases:
- Automatically run unit tests
- Run linters/syntax checkers
Features
-
Simple invocation and use
-
Runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, and more
-
Monitors current directory and all subdirectories for changes
- Uses efficient event polling mechanism (on Linux, Mac, Windows, BSD)
-
Coalesces multiple filesystem events into one, for editors that use swap/backup files during saving
-
By default, uses
.gitignore
,.ignore
, and other such files to determine which files to ignore notifications for -
Support for watching files with a specific extension
-
Support for filtering/ignoring events based on glob patterns
-
Launches the command in a new process group (can be disabled with
--no-process-group
) -
Optionally clears screen between executions
-
Optionally restarts the command with every modification (good for servers)
-
Optionally sends a desktop notification on command start and end
-
Does not require a language runtime
-
Sets the following environment variables in the process:
$WATCHEXEC_COMMON_PATH
is set to the longest common path of all of the below variables, and so should be prepended to each path to obtain the full/real path.Variable name Event kind $WATCHEXEC_CREATED_PATH
files/folders were created $WATCHEXEC_REMOVED_PATH
files/folders were removed $WATCHEXEC_RENAMED_PATH
files/folders were renamed $WATCHEXEC_WRITTEN_PATH
files/folders were modified $WATCHEXEC_META_CHANGED_PATH
files/folders' metadata were modified $WATCHEXEC_OTHERWISE_CHANGED_PATH
every other kind of event These variables may contain multiple paths: these are separated by the platform's path separator, as with the
PATH
system environment variable. On Unix that is:
, and on Windows;
. Within each variable, paths are deduplicated and sorted in binary order (i.e. neither Unicode nor locale aware).This can be disabled or limited with
--no-environment
(doesn't set any of these variables) and--no-meta
(ignores metadata changes).
Anti-Features
- Not tied to any particular language or ecosystem
- Not tied to Git or the presence of a repository/project
- Does not require a cryptic command line involving
xargs
Simple Usage Examples
Watch all JavaScript, CSS and HTML files in the current directory and all subdirectories for changes, running make
when a change is detected:
$ watchexec --exts js,css,html make
Call make test
when any file changes in this directory/subdirectory, except for everything below target
:
$ watchexec -i "target/**" make test
Call ls -la
when any file changes in this directory/subdirectory:
$ watchexec -- ls -la
Call/restart python server.py
when any Python file in the current directory (and all subdirectories) changes:
$ watchexec -e py -r python server.py
Call/restart my_server
when any file in the current directory (and all subdirectories) changes, sending SIGKILL
to stop the command:
$ watchexec -r -s SIGKILL my_server
Send a SIGHUP to the command upon changes (Note: using -n
here we're executing my_server
directly, instead of wrapping it in a shell:
$ watchexec -n -s SIGHUP my_server
Run make
when any file changes, using the .gitignore
file in the current directory to filter:
$ watchexec make
Run make
when any file in lib
or src
changes:
$ watchexec -w lib -w src make
Run bundle install
when the Gemfile
changes:
$ watchexec -w Gemfile bundle install
Run two commands:
$ watchexec 'date; make'
If you come from entr
, note that the watchexec command is run in a shell by default. You can use -n
or --shell=none
to not do that:
$ watchexec -n -- echo ';' lorem ipsum
On Windows, you may prefer to use Powershell:
$ watchexec --shell=powershell -- test-connection localhost
Complex Usage Examples
Turn a plain converter tool like PlantUML or Pandoc into a powerful live-editing tool, either as a script
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -Eeuo pipefail
SOURCE="test.puml" # Define source file
TARGET="test.png" # Define conversion target file
CONVERT="plantuml $SOURCE" # Define how to convert source to target
VIEW="feh $TARGET" # Define how to open target file
if [ ! -f $TARGET ]; then $CONVERT; fi # Ensure target file exists for opening
$VIEW & # Open target file in viewer in the background
watchexec --filter $SOURCE -- $CONVERT # Update target file on any source file change
or condensed as a single line
# Bash
$ SOURCE="test.puml"; TARGET="test.png"; CONVERT="plantuml $SOURCE"; VIEW="feh $TARGET"; if [ ! -f $TARGET ]; then $CONVERT; fi; ($VIEW &); watchexec -f $SOURCE -- $CONVERT
# Zsh
$ SOURCE="test.puml"; TARGET="test.png"; CONVERT="plantuml $SOURCE"; VIEW="feh $TARGET"; if [ ! -f $TARGET ]; then $CONVERT; fi; ($=VIEW &); watchexec -f $SOURCE -- $CONVERT
Replace PlantUML with another converter like Pandoc: plantuml $SOURCE
turns into pandoc $SOURCE --output $TARGET
.
Similarly, replace the Feh image viewer with another viewer for your target file like the PDF viewer Evince: feh $TARGET
turns into evince $TARGET
.
Installation
Package manager
Watchexec is in many package managers. A full list of known packages is available, and there may be more out there! Please contribute any you find to the list :)
Common package managers:
- Alpine:
$ apk add watchexec
- ArchLinux:
$ pacman -S watchexec
- Nix:
$ nix-shell -p watchexec
- Debian/Ubuntu via apt.cli.rs:
$ apt install watchexec
- Homebrew on Mac:
$ brew install watchexec
- Chocolatey on Windows:
#> choco install watchexec
Binstall
$ cargo binstall watchexec-cli
Pre-built binaries
Use the download section on Github
or the website to obtain the package appropriate for your
platform and architecture, extract it, and place it in your PATH
.
There are also Debian/Ubuntu (DEB) and Fedora/RedHat (RPM) packages.
Checksums and signatures are available.
Cargo (from source)
Only the latest Rust stable is supported, but older versions may work.
$ cargo install watchexec-cli
Shell completions
Currently available shell completions:
- bash:
completions/bash
should be installed to/usr/share/bash-completion/completions/watchexec
- elvish:
completions/elvish
should be installed to$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/elvish/completions/
- fish:
completions/fish
should be installed to/usr/share/fish/vendor_completions.d/watchexec.fish
- nu:
completions/nu
should be installed to$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nu/completions/
- powershell:
completions/powershell
should be installed to$PROFILE/
- zsh:
completions/zsh
should be installed to/usr/share/zsh/site-functions/_watchexec
If not bundled, you can generate completions for your shell with watchexec --completions <shell>
.
Manual
There's a manual page at doc/watchexec.1
. Install it to /usr/share/man/man1/
.
If not bundled, you can generate a manual page with watchexec --manual > /path/to/watchexec.1
, or view it inline with watchexec --manual
(requires man
).
You can also read a text version or a PDF.