# watchexec/watchexec

Executes commands in response to file modifications

Repository: https://github.com/watchexec/watchexec
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/watchexec
Homepage: https://watchexec.github.io
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: file-watchers, rust, macos, windows, linux, developer-tools, command-line
Last push: 2026-08-24T15:26:15+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3636, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 9, "gap_med": 17.5, "n_releases_24m": 15}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7140, forks 202 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:56.152221+00:00)

## What it is
Watchexec is a standalone command-line tool written in Rust that watches files and directories and runs a command whenever modifications are detected. It also ships as a Rust library for building custom file-watching tools.

## Use cases
- automatically rerun tests when source files change
- restart a dev server on file save
- rebuild artifacts when code is modified
- run linters or syntax checkers on every edit
- trigger a build when js, css, or html files change

## When to choose
- you repeatedly run the same command during development and want it automated
- you need a language-agnostic, standalone binary with no runtime dependency
- you want gitignore-aware watching across macOS, Linux, and Windows
- you need to restart long-running processes like dev servers on change

## When to avoid
- you need a full task runner or build system rather than a change-triggered command executor
- you need in-process file watching inside a non-Rust application
- you need complex event pipelines or distributed file watching

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, cli, workflow-automation
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: windows, rust, cli
- tags: file-watcher, hot-reload, build-automation, rust-library, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- watchexec/watchexec (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.152221+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 2026-08-29T17:40:02.243477+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/watchexec/watchexec (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.152221+00:00, sha 152401daed6e)
  - homepage: https://watchexec.github.io (fetched 2026-08-29T08:35:29.774306+00:00, sha 15aec845a7e0)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/watchexec (fetched 2026-08-29T08:35:29.783869+00:00, sha 8b4118da7d64)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.