A lightweight Node.js directory watcher that monitors file changes recursively and outputs new content as it's appended - similar to tail -f but for entire directories.

Features

Recursively watches all files in a directory tree
Outputs only new content when files grow (like tail -f)
Filter by file extensions (e.g., watch only .log files)
Ignores hidden files and temporary files
Lightweight - uses only native Node.js libraries
Trims empty lines from output

Installation

npm install -g taildir

Or run directly with npx:

npx taildir <directory>

Usage

Watch the current directory:

taildir

Watch a specific directory:

taildir /path/to/directory

Watch only specific file extensions:

taildir /path/to/directory -e js,ts,json
taildir --ext log,txt

Example Output

Starting to watch: /home/user/logs
Press Ctrl+C to stop

==> /home/user/logs/app.log <==
[2024-01-15 10:30:45] Application started
[2024-01-15 10:30:46] Connected to database

==> /home/user/logs/error.log <==
[2024-01-15 10:31:02] ERROR: Failed to process request

How It Works

When starting, taildir records the current size of all files
When a file grows, it reads and displays only the new content
New files created while watching will show their complete content
Files that shrink (truncated) are tracked but don't produce output
Hidden files (starting with .) are ignored

Use Cases

Monitor application logs across multiple files
Watch output directories for generated content
Track changes in data files
Debug file-writing applications

Requirements

Node.js >= 14.0.0

License

MIT

Keywords

watch

taildir