# cespare/reflex

Run a command when files change

Repository: https://github.com/cespare/reflex
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cespare-reflex
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-02-26T23:46:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 65/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 69, release rhythm 40, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4852, "days_push": 188, "days_rel": 188, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3551, forks 142 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:09.577566+00:00)

## What it is
Reflex is a small Go CLI tool that watches a directory and reruns a command when matching files change. It supports regex/glob file matching, sequential or parallel execution, and restarting long-running services on change.

## Use cases
- rerun tests whenever source files change
- automatically rebuild and restart a server when code changes
- run a linter on files as they are edited
- trigger make when any .c file changes
- reload an application during development on save

## When to choose
- you want a simple, fast file-watcher CLI on Linux or macOS
- you need to restart a long-running dev server when code changes
- you prefer regex or glob-based file matching from the command line

## When to avoid
- you need Windows support (only tested on Linux and macOS)
- you need a GUI or IDE-integrated file watcher
- you need complex multi-step build pipelines better handled by a task runner

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: developer-tools, cli, workflow-automation
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, go
- tags: file-watching, hot-reload, live-reload, build-automation, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- cespare/reflex (main) score 65

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.577566+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:34:20.155036+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cespare/reflex (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.577566+00:00, sha ec00c2691a34)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.