Question 1

How to use onchange to restart a Node.js server on file changes?

Accepted Answer

Use 'onchange -k '**/*.js' -- node server.js' where -k kills the process between changes. Adjust glob patterns to match your source files for accurate triggering, and consider --initial for an immediate start.

Question 2

onchange vs nodemon for development workflows?

Accepted Answer

onchange is a generic file watcher that can run any command, while nodemon is specialized for restarting Node.js apps. Choose onchange for broader automation tasks, nodemon for simplified server restarts with built-in Node.js optimizations.

Question 3

Can onchange watch files on a network drive?

Accepted Answer

Yes, use the --poll option with a specified interval, like 'onchange -p 100 '**/*.js' -- command', to monitor changes on NFS volumes where native filesystem watching might fail due to network latency.

Question 4

How to exclude certain directories like node_modules in onchange?

Accepted Answer

By default, node_modules and .git are excluded. Use --no-exclude to disable this or -e for custom exclusions, e.g., 'onchange '**/*.ts' -e 'dist/**/*.js' -- tslint' to ignore specific paths.

Question 5

Does onchange support TypeScript projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it includes TypeScript definitions, and you can watch .ts files with glob patterns. For instance, use 'onchange 'src/**/*.ts' -- tsc' to compile TypeScript on changes, leveraging the built-in types.

Question 6

How to run a command only when files are added with onchange?

Accepted Answer

Use the --filter option, e.g., 'onchange -f add '**/*.js' -- echo 'File added'' to execute commands solely on add events, ignoring changes or deletions for targeted automation.

onchange

What is onchange?

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