macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install dwatchlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install dwatchMacPorts ports tree · sysutils/dwatch/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 14586
Install dwatch with Homebrew, MacPorts
Watch programs and perform actions based on a configuration file. Version 0.1.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install dwatch.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Watch programs and perform actions based on a configuration file
Project links
Commands and aliases
- dwatch
history
Project history and usage
Dwatch, short for Daemon Watch, is a small Unix monitoring tool by Ulric Eriksson. Its official page says it watches other programs and performs actions from conditions in a configuration file, and that it is meant to be run periodically from cron.
Project history
The official changelog records Dwatch's creation on 2001-08-20 to keep Pen, another Siag project, running on siag.nu, with release 0.1.0 published at the same time. The project page is deliberately old-school Unix: make, make install, a sample dwatch.conf, and notes that Linux and Solaris were known to work.
Adoption history
Public adoption evidence is thin. The official page links a source download and an external SUSE RPM, while the batch input lists Homebrew and MacPorts formulae, suggesting survival mostly as a niche packaged Unix utility rather than a widely discussed monitoring system.
How it is used
The sample configuration shows directive, argument, and command columns, including examples that restart Pen when a process or TCP check is not satisfied. The intended workflow is to let cron invoke dwatch regularly, with dwatch deciding whether to run recovery commands.
Why package nerds care
Dwatch is package-nerd interesting mostly as a fossil of early-2000s Unix service babysitting: a tiny cron-friendly daemon watcher from the same ecosystem as Pen and Siag Office, before modern supervisors and service managers became the default answer.
Timeline
- 2001: Dwatch created to keep Pen running on siag.nu; release 0.1.0 published.
- 2001: Official page dated August 2001 documents Linux and Solaris support.
- 2026: Batch input lists Homebrew and MacPorts packaging.
Related projects
- The official page ties Dwatch directly to Pen, using Pen as the example service to restart. In package-manager terms it sits near cron, watchdog scripts, service supervisors, and small Unix monitoring tools.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
dwatch | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version0.1.1
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:dwatch |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.1.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://siag.nu/dwatch/ |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
MacPorts95%
dwatch
sudo port install dwatch- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Dwatch
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation