filewatch-channel

A Claude Code channel that watches files and directories for changes and pushes events into the running session. This lets external processes (cron jobs, pipelines, other tools) trigger Claude to act on new data without human intervention.

Usage

Add to .mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filewatch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["filewatch-channel", "./data", "./output"]
    }
  }
}

Start Claude Code with the channel

During the research preview, custom channels require the development flag:

claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:filewatch

Run alongside other channels

Filewatch works alongside other channels like Discord or Telegram:

claude --channels plugin:discord@anthropic --dangerously-load-development-channels server:filewatch

How it works

• Watches the specified paths recursively using fs.watch
• On file change, pushes a notification with the file path and event type into the Claude Code session
• The agent can then use the Read tool to inspect file contents if needed
• Debounces rapid changes (500ms) to avoid flooding
• Ignores .git, node_modules, dotfiles, and .env files

Example: cron job writes data, agent reacts

A cron job drops a CSV into ./data/ every hour:

# crontab
0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/fetch-metrics.sh > /path/to/project/data/metrics-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d\%H).csv

With filewatch watching ./data, Claude receives each new file as a channel event and can process it, generate a report, commit results, or notify you via another channel.

Configuration

Watch paths are passed as CLI arguments. Relative paths are resolved from the current working directory.

npx filewatch-channel ./data ./reports ../shared/inbox

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20.12.0
• Claude Code v2.1.80+
• Claude.ai login (Console/API key auth not supported for channels)

License

MIT