# eradman/entr

Run arbitrary commands when files change

Repository: https://github.com/eradman/entr
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/entr
Homepage: http://eradman.com/entrproject/
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: test-automation, inotify, kqueue
Last push: 2026-06-27T11:55:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 72/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 89, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3081, "days_push": 67, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5660, forks 124 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:27.412422+00:00)

## What it is
entr is a command-line utility that runs arbitrary commands whenever watched files change, using kqueue or inotify instead of polling. It is designed for rapid feedback loops on the Unix command line, such as rebuilding projects or auto-reloading servers.

## Use cases
- rebuild a project automatically when source files change
- auto-reload a node.js or ruby server on file save
- rerun tests whenever code is modified
- watch a directory for new files and trigger a build
- run a database query when a SQL script is updated

## When to choose
- you want a fast, polling-free file watcher on BSD, macOS, or Linux
- you prefer small Unix tools that compose with find, ls, and pipes
- you need rapid feedback for rebuild/test/reload workflows in the terminal

## When to avoid
- you need reliable file watching on Windows or in Docker for Mac / WSL where inotify support is incomplete
- you need a GUI or project-wide watcher with built-in globbing rather than stdin file lists

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, cli, testing, workflow-automation
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: bsd, cli
- tags: file-watching, inotify, kqueue, rapid-feedback, auto-reload, unix, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- eradman/entr (main) score 72

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:27.412422+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 2026-08-29T17:54:20.477242+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/eradman/entr (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:27.412422+00:00, sha 9a9b923f757d)
  - homepage: http://eradman.com/entrproject/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:49:34.134137+00:00, sha bc874a008d98)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.