jefyokta/php-file-watcher

A lightweight native file watcher for PHP using FFI

v0.0.5 2025-06-06 20:43 UTC

MIT

• Jepi Oktamipa

README

Lightweight, cross-platform file watcher for Linux and macOS using native OS facilities (inotify on Linux, kqueue on macOS), exposed via PHP FFI.

Requirements

• Operating System: Linux or macOS
• PHP: FFI extension enabled (--enable-ffi or ffi.enable=1 in php.ini)
• Composer: for installation and autoloading

Installation

Install the package via Composer:

composer require jefyokta/php-file-watcher

Usage

use Jefyokta\PhpFileWatcher\Watcher;

Watcher::onChange(function(string $file) {
    echo "File Changed: $file\n";
})->watch(__DIR__);

• onChange(callable $callback) — Register a callback to be invoked on each changed file.
• watch(string $directory) — Start watching the specified directory recursively.

Notes

• This package relies on PHP's FFI and a compiled native library (libfilewatcher.so or .dylib), so ensure the native library is built for your platform.
• Recursive watching of directories is supported.
• Suitable for lightweight monitoring in CLI PHP scripts or long-running daemons.

Build Native Library

If you want to build the native library yourself:

./build.sh

This script detects your OS and compiles the appropriate C source code into the shared library.

License

MIT License