I've been driven to insanity by node filesystem watcher wrappers. Sane aims to be fast, small, and reliable file system watcher. It does that by:
fs.watch
by default and sensibly works around the various issuesfs.watch
is not reliable you have the choice of using the following alternatives:
$ npm install sane
Don't worry too much about choosing the correct mode upfront because sane maintains the same API across all modes and will be easy to switch.
watchman
would be the most reliable modewatchman
Watches a directory and all its descendant directories for changes, deletions, and additions on files and directories.
var watcher = sane('path/to/dir', {glob: ['**/*.js', '**/*.css']});
watcher.on('ready', function () { console.log('ready') });
watcher.on('change', function (filepath, root, stat) { console.log('file changed', filepath); });
watcher.on('add', function (filepath, root, stat) { console.log('file added', filepath); });
watcher.on('delete', function (filepath, root) { console.log('file deleted', filepath); });
// close
watcher.close();
options:
glob
: a single string glob pattern or an array of them.poll
: puts the watcher in polling mode. Under the hood that means fs.watchFile
.watchman
: makes the watcher use watchman.watchmanPath
: sets a custom path for watchman
binary.watchexec
: makes the watcher use watchexec.dot
: enables watching files/directories that start with a dot.ignored
: a glob, regex, function, or array of any combination.For the glob pattern documentation, see micromatch.
If you choose to use watchman
you'll have to install watchman yourself).
If you choose to use watchexec
you'll have to install watchexec yourself).
For the ignored options, see anymatch.
The default watcher class. Uses fs.watch
under the hood, and takes the same options as sane(dir, options)
.
The watchman watcher class. Takes the same options as sane(dir, options)
.
The watchexec watcher class. Takes the same options as sane(dir, options)
.
The polling watcher class. Takes the same options as sane(dir, options)
with the addition of:
Stops watching.
Emits the following events:
All events are passed the file/dir path relative to the root directory
ready
when the program is ready to detect events in the directorychange
when a file changesadd
when a file or directory has been addeddelete
when a file or directory has been deletedThis module includes a simple command line interface, which you can install with npm install sane -g
.
Usage: sane <command> [...directory] [--glob=<filePattern>] [--poll] [--watchman] [--watchman-path=<watchmanBinaryPath>] [--dot] [--wait=<seconds>]
OPTIONS:
--glob=<filePattern>
A single string glob pattern or an array of them.
--ignored=<filePattern>
A glob, regex, function, or array of any combination.
--poll, -p
Use polling mode.
--watchman, -w
Use watchman (if available).
--watchman-path=<watchmanBinaryPath>
Sets a custom path for watchman binary (if using this mode).
--dot, -d
Enables watching files/directories that start with a dot.
--wait=<seconds>
Duration, in seconds, that watching will be disabled
after running <command>. Setting this option will
throttle calls to <command> for the specified duration.
--quiet, -q
Disables sane's console output
--changes-only, -o
Runs <command> only when a change occur. Skips running <command> at startup
It will watch the given directory
and run the given every time a file changes.
sane 'echo "A command ran"'
sane 'echo "A command ran"' --glob='**/*.css'
sane 'echo "A command ran"' site/assets/css --glob='**/*.css'
sane 'echo "A command ran"' --glob='**/*.css' --ignored='**/ignore.css'
sane 'echo "A command ran"' --wait=3
sane 'echo "A command ran"' -p
MIT
The CLI was originally based on the watch CLI. Watch is licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0.