chokidar-cli – monitor filesystem changes and execute commands

chokidar-cli is a command-line utility for monitoring filesystem changes. It uses the Chokidar file watching library to detect when files or directories are created, modified or removed, making it useful for automating development workflows.

The program accepts glob patterns to identify the files that should be monitored. When a matching filesystem event occurs, it can report the change through standard output or execute a specified command.

This approach is useful for rebuilding assets, rerunning tests and triggering custom scripts as source files change. Multiple patterns can be monitored simultaneously, while ignore rules allow irrelevant directories and temporary files to be excluded.

chokidar-cli also provides controls for handling frequently occurring events. Debouncing and throttling help prevent commands from being executed excessively, while an optional polling mode accommodates filesystems where ordinary change notifications may be unreliable.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Monitor files and directories for filesystem changes.
• Supports multiple glob patterns for selecting monitored files.
• Detects file creation, modification and deletion events.
• Detects directory creation and removal events.
• Reports filesystem events through standard output.
• Execute commands automatically when matching changes occur.
• Pass changed file paths and event types to executed commands.
• Debounce filesystem events to prevent excessive command execution.
• Throttle repeated events according to a configurable interval.
• Exclude files and directories using glob patterns or regular expressions.
• Optionally follow symbolic links.
• Polling mode supports filesystems where normal notifications are unsuitable.
• Configurable polling intervals, including separate handling for binary files.
• Optionally execute the configured command when monitoring begins.
• Verbose and silent output modes.
• Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Website: github.com/open-cli-tools/chokidar-cli
Support:
Developer: Kimmo Brunfeldt and contributors
License: MIT License

chokidar-cli is written in JavaScript. Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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