node-inotify++

A wrapper around node-inotify which is more like JavaScript and less like C.

• strings instead of bitmasks
• self-documenting: console.dir(inotify) tells you just about all you need to know.
• each event has a default handler
• by default only the events which have callbacks are listened to
  • all_events listens to all events with registered callbacks
  • the option all_events_is_catchall causes all_events to listen on all events, period.

Usage

instantiation

var Inotify = require('inotify-plusplus'), // should be 'inotify++', but npm has issues with the ++
    inotify,
    directive,
    options;

inotify = Inotify.create(true); // stand-alone, persistent mode, runs until you hit ctrl+c
//inotify = Inotify.create(); // quits when event queue is empty

with Default Handlers

The default handler simply outputs the docstring such as "File was opened"

directive = {
    access: true,
    close_write: true,
    open: true
};
options = {
    allow_bad_paths: true, // (default false) don't throw an error if the path to watch doesn't exist
};
inotify.watch(directive, './path/to/watch', {});

with Custom Handlers

directive = {
    all_events: function (ev) {
      console.log("some things happened: " + ev.masks.toString())
    },
    moved_from: true
}
options = {
    all_events_is_catchall: true // by default (false) "all_events" only catches events already listened for.
                                 // this option tells "all_events" to catch all events, period.
}
inotify.watch(directive, './path/to/watch');

note that "ev.masks" is an array of strings, not a bitmask and "ev.watch" is the path rather than the watch descriptor.

Example ev:

{ watch: '/path/to/watch', masks: '["access", "move_to"]', cookie: 1, name: 'name_of_file' }

with Modules

directive = (function() {
    // private variables
    var count = 0,
      validate_watch,
      move,
      cookies = {};

    // shared method
    move = function (ev) {
        var pre = cookies[ev.cookie];
        if (pre) {
          console.log("finished move from " + pre.name + " to " + ev.name);
          cookies[ev.cookie] = undefined;
          delete cookies[ev.cookie];
        } else {
          // expires the cookie if the move doesn't complete in this watch
          console.log("began move of " + ev.name);
          cookies[ev.cookie] = ev;
          setTimeout(function () {
            cookies[ev.cookie] = undefined;
            delete cookies[ev.cookie];
          }, 500);
        }
    };

    // will listen to three events
    // multiple events may fire at the same time
    return {
      all_events: function(ev) {
        // example ev: { watch: '/path/to/watch', masks: '["access", "move_to"]', cookie: 1, name: 'name_of_file' }
        validate_watch();
        count += 1;
        console.log("These masks were just activated: '" + ev.masks.toString() + "' for '" + ev.name + "'.");
      },
      access: function (ev) {
        console.log(ev.name + " was accessed.");
      },
      moved_to: move,
      moved_from: move,
      delete: true
    };
}());
inotify.watch(directive, './path/to/watch');

stopping / restarting watch

var unwatch, rewatch;
unwatch = inotify.watch(dirctive, path);
rewatch = unwatch(); // stops watching
unwach = rewatch();

Installation

Install node-inotify:

cd ~/
git clone git://github.com/c4milo/node-inotify.git
cd node-inotify
node-waf configure build

# or

npm install inotify

Install node-inotify++:

mkdir ~/.node_libraries/
wget http://github.com/coolaj86/node-inotify-plusplus/blob/master/lib/inotify%2B%2B.js -O \
  ~/.node_libraries/inotify++.js

# or

npm install inotify-plusplus # installing inotify from npm currently fails and hence this may fail

Documentation

console.dir(Inotify.watch_for_doc); { access: "File was accessed (read)", attrib: "Metadata changed, e.g., permissions, timestamps, extended attributes, link count (since Linux 2.6.25), UID, GID, etc.", close_write: "File opened for writing was closed", close_nowrite: "File not opened for writing was closed", create: "File/directory created Inotify the watched directory", "delete": "File/directory deleted from the watched directory", delete_self: "Watched file/directory was deleted", modify: "File was modified", move_self: "Watched file/directory was moved", moved_from: "File moved out of the watched directory", moved_to: "File moved into watched directory", open: "File was opened", all_events: "Watch for all kind of events", close: "(IN_CLOSE_WRITE | IN_CLOSE_NOWRITE) Close", move: "(IN_MOVED_FROM | IN_MOVED_TO) Moves" }

console.dir(Inotify.info_doc); { in_ignored: "Watch was removed explicitly with inotify.removeWatch(watch_descriptor) or automatically (the file was deleted, or the file system was unmounted)", in_isdir: "Subject of this event is a directory", in_q_overflow: "Event queue overflowed (wd is -1 for this event)", in_unmount: "File system containing the watched object was unmounted" }

console.dir(Inotify.flags_doc); { onlydir: "only watch the path if it is a directory.", dont_follow: "do not follow symbolics links", oneshot: "only send events once", mask_add: "add (or) events to watch mask for this pathname if it already exists (instead of replacing the mask)." }