inotify-tools ☆

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Description:
C library and command-line programs providing a simple interface to inotify

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: filesystem monitoring linux events developer-tools

Install: brew install inotify-tools

About:
InotifyTools provides a command-line interface (inotifywait) and C library (libinotifytools) for monitoring filesystem events. It efficiently watches files and directories for changes like modifications, creations, and deletions. This utility is essential for scripting reactive workflows based on real-time filesystem activity.

Key Features:

Command-line utility (inotifywait) for shell scripting
Comprehensive C library (libinotifytools) for developers
Supports watching directories recursively
Filters events by type (access, modify, attribute, etc.)

Use Cases:

Triggering build scripts automatically when source files change
Monitoring log directories for security auditing or real-time analysis
Automating file synchronization or backup tasks upon modification

Alternatives:

fswatch – Cross-platform file change monitor; often preferred for macOS compatibility.
watchman – Facebook's file watching service; more complex but offers advanced features for large codebases.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 16, 2025 3:32pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	1fbf54ae
Aug 21, 2023 7:11pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	9f853b62