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c/shell · by helloworld@lemmy.ml · 1y

Run a shell script whenever a file in a certain directory changes?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/35169329

Using a shell script, can I watch a folder and block program execution until a file in a certain folder changes?

17 points · 2 comments · view on lemmy.world

2 Comments

sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 1y (1 reply)

inotifywait /path/to/file

Example:

inotifywait test.file; echo "test.file just changed"

Then in another terminal do something like touch test.file

helloworld@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 1y

Thanks for your hint! After some experimentation and man page reading, this was what I was interested in:

inotifywait --event modify,create ./targetfolder/; echo "new change, that I am interested in, occurred in targetfolder";

I was interested in both file modification and file creation events.