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watchFile - node__fs.d.ts - Node documentation
function watchFile

Usage in Deno

```typescript import { watchFile } from "node:node__fs.d.ts"; ```
watchFile(
filename: PathLike,
options: (WatchFileOptions & { bigint?: false | undefined; }) | undefined,
listener: StatsListener,
): StatWatcher
Watch for changes on `filename`. The callback `listener` will be called each time the file is accessed. The `options` argument may be omitted. If provided, it should be an object. The `options` object may contain a boolean named `persistent` that indicates whether the process should continue to run as long as files are being watched. The `options` object may specify an `interval` property indicating how often the target should be polled in milliseconds. The `listener` gets two arguments the current stat object and the previous stat object: ```js import { watchFile } from 'node:fs'; watchFile('message.text', (curr, prev) => { console.log(`the current mtime is: ${curr.mtime}`); console.log(`the previous mtime was: ${prev.mtime}`); }); ``` These stat objects are instances of `fs.Stat`. If the `bigint` option is `true`, the numeric values in these objects are specified as `BigInt`s. To be notified when the file was modified, not just accessed, it is necessary to compare `curr.mtimeMs` and `prev.mtimeMs`. When an `fs.watchFile` operation results in an `ENOENT` error, it will invoke the listener once, with all the fields zeroed (or, for dates, the Unix Epoch). If the file is created later on, the listener will be called again, with the latest stat objects. This is a change in functionality since v0.10. Using [watch](../.././node__fs.d.ts/~/watch) is more efficient than `fs.watchFile` and `fs.unwatchFile`. `fs.watch` should be used instead of `fs.watchFile` and `fs.unwatchFile` when possible. When a file being watched by `fs.watchFile()` disappears and reappears, then the contents of `previous` in the second callback event (the file's reappearance) will be the same as the contents of `previous` in the first callback event (its disappearance). This happens when: * the file is deleted, followed by a restore * the file is renamed and then renamed a second time back to its original name

Parameters

filename: PathLike
options: (WatchFileOptions & { bigint?: false | undefined; }) | undefined
listener: StatsListener

Return Type

watchFile(
filename: PathLike,
options: (WatchFileOptions & { bigint: true; }) | undefined,
): StatWatcher

Parameters

filename: PathLike
options: (WatchFileOptions & { bigint: true; }) | undefined

Return Type

watchFile(
filename: PathLike,
listener: StatsListener,
): StatWatcher
Watch for changes on `filename`. The callback `listener` will be called each time the file is accessed.

Parameters

filename: PathLike
A path to a file or directory. If a URL is provided, it must use the `file:` protocol.
listener: StatsListener

Return Type