# inotify-tools/inotify-tools

inotify-tools is a library and a set of command-line programs providing a simple interface to inotify.

Repository: https://github.com/inotify-tools/inotify-tools
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/inotify-tools
Language: C++
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: inotify, inotifywait, inotifywatch, inotify-tools, c, linux, fsnotify
Last push: 2025-09-24T09:27:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 45/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 43, release rhythm 16, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6128, "days_push": 343, "days_rel": 351, "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 3422, forks 402 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:03.820278+00:00)

## What it is
A C library and set of command-line programs (inotifywait, inotifywatch) that expose Linux inotify file-system event notifications to shell scripts. It lets users watch for file changes and gather usage statistics without writing C code.

## Use cases
- watch a directory for file changes in a shell script
- trigger a command when a file is modified
- monitor file system events on linux
- run tests automatically when source files change
- gather inotify statistics about file access
- react to newly uploaded files in a folder

## When to choose
- you need file-change notifications in bash or shell scripts on Linux
- you want a lightweight, dependency-free file watcher CLI
- you're automating tasks triggered by file system events

## When to avoid
- you need cross-platform file watching (macOS/Windows)
- you're writing a Rust, Python, or Go application where a native library binding is more idiomatic
- you need recursive watching with complex filtering beyond what inotify provides

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: file-system, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, c
- tags: inotify, file-watching, shell-scripts, inotifywait, inotifywatch, command-line, automation, linux

## Member repositories
- inotify-tools/inotify-tools (main) score 45

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:03.820278+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 2026-08-29T18:38:08.651931+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/inotify-tools/inotify-tools (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:03.820278+00:00, sha d978397fad36)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.