eradman/entr

What it does

It reads a list of file names on its input, then waits. When one of those files is saved, it runs the command it was given. -c clears the screen first, so only the newest run is on display, and -p waits for the first change instead of running straight away. -r restarts a command that keeps running, rather than starting a second copy, which is how a development server is reloaded. -s runs the command through a shell, so pipes and && work, and -d exits when a new file appears in a watched folder. It hears about changes from the operating system instead of checking the files over and over, so it costs almost nothing while it waits. Two settings cover the places where that is imperfect: ENTR_INOTIFY_WORKAROUND on Windows Subsystem for Linux and Docker for Mac, and ENTR_FOLLOW_SYMLINK where a watched name points at another file. It watches files, not folders: a file created after it started is not watched until the list is built again, which is what -d is for.

Why it matters

Who it suits. Anyone who edits text and then runs a command to see the result, which covers most people who write code, documentation or stylesheets. It is most useful on a project with no watch mode of its own, because it adds one in a single line and needs no configuration file. It also suits anyone who wants something else to decide which files are watched, since the list is piped in and any tool that lists files can produce it. Skip it if the tools already in use rebuild on save, because a second watcher only causes confusion.

Verdict. Still the best two minutes in this edition, and it was checked again today. It qualifies easily: the repository is not archived, and code was pushed on 16 October 2026, eight days before this edition. It has more than 5,700 stars and has never published a release on GitHub at all, which is why it appears in today's headline. It has never needed one. The program is a small amount of C that does one thing, and the author's own page offers version 5.9 as a download with no date beside it, so the code date is what settles currency here rather than the download page. The second gap on the same repository is the licence, and it is the fact worth repeating. The About sidebar names no licence; the licence file was read in full again today and holds the standard ISC licence, granting use, copying, modification and distribution for any purpose, with no added conditions. That is as permissive as licences get. One practical limit has not changed: because the file list is supplied rather than discovered, a file created later is invisible until the list is rebuilt, and the usual fix is a loop with -d. Both alternatives find files themselves. watchexec/watchexec from Edition 41 has 7.2k stars, watches whole folders and reads .gitignore files; cortesi/modd is smaller at about 3,000 stars and keeps several background programs alive from one short configuration file.