Script to monitor directory and execute command when changes

README.md

Script to monitor directory and execute command when changes

This script monitors a specific directory for changes and when it detects any, it executes a command. It is very useful when writing unit tests for example because you don't need to switch windows. With a 2 monitor setup it's la leche.

Installation

# on Debian/Ubuntu use apt-get
yum -y install inotify-tools wget
wget https://gist.github.com/tcz/6999795/raw/auto.sh
chmod +x auto.sh

Usage

auto.sh DIRECTORY_TO_MONITOR COMMAND_TO_EXECUTE

Example

../auto.sh . phpunit

or

../auto.sh . behat

or

../auto.sh css "lessc css/* > css_compiled/single.css"

auto.sh

#!/bin/sh

if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
    echo "usage: $0 DIRECTORY COMMAND"
    exit 64
fi

testsDir=$1
command=$2

if [ ! -d $testsDir ]; then
    echo -e "\e[0;31mERROR: invalid dirextory $testsDir\e[0m"
    exit 1
fi

while true; do
    clear
    $command
    inotifywait -qre close_write $testsDir
done