# fgnass/node-dev

Zero-conf Node.js reloading

Repository: https://github.com/fgnass/node-dev
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/node-dev
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2023-09-19T02:50:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5802, "days_push": 1079, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2236, forks 112 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:29.422392+00:00)

## What it is
node-dev is a zero-configuration development tool for Node.js that automatically restarts your application when required files change. Unlike filesystem-scanning tools like nodemon, it hooks into Node's require() function to watch only files actually loaded by the process.

## Use cases
- auto-restart node server on file changes
- watch typescript projects with ts-node without config
- avoid watching client-side files that never run on server
- zero-config development reloading for node apps
- watch  and other file extensions automatically
- replace nodemon with require-based file watching

## When to choose
- you want zero-configuration hot reloading for Node.js
- your project mixes server and client files and you only want server-relevant restarts
- you use TypeScript or non-JS extensions via require and want them watched automatically

## When to avoid
- you need to watch files not loaded via require()
- you need ecosystem features like env file loading or custom events offered by nodemon
- you need actively developed tooling with frequent updates

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, backend
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: hot-reload, file-watching, nodemon-alternative, typescript, zero-configuration, command-line, nodejs

## Member repositories
- fgnass/node-dev (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:29.422392+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 2026-08-30T02:44:17.295320+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/fgnass/node-dev (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:29.422392+00:00, sha d593cb996ba1)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/node-dev (fetched 2026-08-29T10:24:51.707298+00:00, sha c5e6cb11c523)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.