as-soon

A lightweight file watcher that executes commands as soon as files change.

What is as-soon?

as-soon is a command-line tool that watches specified files or directories and automatically executes a command whenever changes are detected. It's perfect for development workflows where you need to rebuild, test, or restart processes whenever your code changes.

Features

• Simple and fast - Watch files and execute commands with minimal configuration
• Flexible watching - Watch specific directories or the current working directory
• Debounced execution - Commands are debounced (200ms) to avoid excessive runs during rapid file changes
• File creation support - Can watch for files that don't exist yet and automatically start watching them once created
• Environment variables - Loads environment variables from .env files automatically
• Directory recreation handling - Automatically re-subscribes when watched directories are deleted and recreated

Installation

npm install -g as-soon
# or
pnpm add -g as-soon

Or use it locally in your project:

npm install -D as-soon
# or
pnpm add -D as-soon

Usage

Basic Usage

Watch the current directory and execute a command on any file change:

as-soon command

Watch Specific Directories

Use the -w flag to watch specific directories:

as-soon -w src -w public pnpm build

Watch Specific Files

You can also watch specific files:

as-soon -w package.json -w tsconfig.json pnpm build

Pass Arguments to Commands

Any arguments after the command are passed through:

as-soon pnpm test -- --watch

Multiple Watch Paths

Watch multiple directories:

as-soon -w src -w test pnpm build

How It Works

1. Initial Execution: The command runs immediately when you start as-soon
2. File Watching: It watches the specified directories (or current directory by default)
3. Change Detection: When files are added, modified, or deleted, it detects the changes
4. Debounced Execution: After a 200ms debounce period, the command executes again
5. Continuous Watching: The process continues until you stop it (Ctrl+C)

Examples

Development Workflow

Watch your source files and rebuild on changes:

as-soon -w src pnpm build

Test Runner

Run tests whenever test files change:

as-soon -w test pnpm test

Type Checking

Run TypeScript type checking on file changes:

as-soon -w src tsc --noEmit

Multiple Workspaces

Watch multiple directories in a monorepo:

as-soon -w packages/app/src -w packages/lib/src pnpm build

Watch Non-Existent Files

You can even watch for files that don't exist yet:

as-soon -w ./config/dev.ts pnpm build

This is useful for configuration files that might be created later.

Command-Line Options

• -w <path> - Specify a directory or file to watch (can be used multiple times)
• All other arguments are treated as the command to execute

Environment Variables

as-soon automatically loads environment variables from .env files using ldenv.

License

MIT