# guard/listen

The Listen gem listens to file modifications and notifies you about the changes.

Repository: https://github.com/guard/listen
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/listen
Homepage: https://rubygems.org/gems/listen
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-01-16T11:22:13+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 60/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 62, release rhythm 34, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5349, "days_push": 229, "days_rel": 229, "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 1962, forks 253 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:59.641845+00:00)

## What it is
A Ruby gem that watches directories for file modifications, additions, and removals, using OS-optimized filesystem event adapters where available. It invokes a callback with lists of changed files, supporting multiple directories and ignore patterns.

## Use cases
- watch a directory for file changes in ruby
- trigger tests or rebuilds when files change
- detect file additions and deletions on macos linux and windows
- build a hot-reload development workflow
- monitor filesystem events with ignore patterns

## When to choose
- you need cross-platform file change notifications in a Ruby project
- you want OS-native filesystem events with polling fallback for network filesystems
- you use Guard or tools that depend on file watching

## When to avoid
- you need TCP/remote change notifications (removed in 3.0)
- you rely heavily on symlinked directories within watched paths
- you need notifications across forked processes

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: file-system, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: ruby, windows, bsd, cross-platform
- tags: file-watching, filesystem-notifications, ruby-gem, hot-reload, guard, automation, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- guard/listen (main) score 60

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:59.641845+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 2026-08-30T03:05:35.531380+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/guard/listen (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:59.641845+00:00, sha cfd4aa0625c2)
  - homepage: https://rubygems.org/gems/listen (fetched 2026-08-29T10:45:30.527128+00:00, sha dd67a043f4af)
  - site_page: https://guides.rubygems.org/command-reference (fetched 2026-08-29T10:45:30.529728+00:00, sha ef62154d6253)
  - site_page: https://rubygems.org/pages/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:45:30.532886+00:00, sha e4248571fa5d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.