Install kqwait with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• kqwait

Project history

Sven Schober created kqwait to address the lack of an inotifywait-like command on macOS. The official README says it was inspired by inotifywait and the original kqueue paper.

The source supports file write, rename, and deletion events plus directory entry creation and deletion. Its documented Linux mode requires libkqueue and cannot watch directory changes fully.

Adoption history

kqwait has a deliberately narrow adoption profile. Homebrew distribution makes it convenient for macOS shell users who need a small event-waiting primitive, while the upstream project also documents limited Linux support through libkqueue.

How it is used

Users pass one or more files or directories to `kqwait`, often inside a shell loop. File writes, renames, and deletions wake the process; watched directories report entry creation or deletion with `+` or `-` prefixes.

Upstream warns of a directory-watching race when several events happen rapidly and notes that writes to existing files inside a watched directory require also watching the contained paths.

Why package nerds care

kqwait is package-nerd interesting as a small macOS counterpart to Linux-oriented filesystem watchers. It exposes kqueue-style event waiting as a composable executable suitable for shell loops without requiring a larger automation framework.

Timeline

• 2020: Copyright notice in the official source identifies the project's initial era.
• 2020s: Homebrew packaging made kqwait directly installable for macOS command-line users.

Related projects

• inotifywait is the explicitly cited inspiration and Linux analogue. kqueue and libkqueue provide the underlying event model and portability layer.

Sources

• https://github.com/sschober/kqwait#readme