CommandBox : CLI, Package Manager, REPL & More
5.4.0
5.4.0
  • Introduction
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    • 5.x Versions
      • What's New in 5.4.2
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      • What's in 1.0.0
  • Getting Started Guide
  • Setup
    • Requirements
    • Download
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    • Light and Thin Binaries
    • Non-Oracle JREs
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  • Usage
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      • Recipes
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        • Using a DB in CFML scripts
      • OS Binaries
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      • Escaping Special Characters
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    • REPL
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    • Interactive Shell Features
    • forEach Command
    • watch Command
    • jq Command
    • printTable Command
    • sql Command
    • Auto Update Checks
    • Bullet Train Prompt
    • 256 Color Support
    • A Little Fun
  • IDE Integrations
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  • Config Settings
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  • Embedded Server
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        • Rule Language
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        • Rule Examples
        • Debugging Server Rules
      • JVM Args
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    • External Web Server
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    • Server.json
      • Working with server.json
      • Packaging Your Server
      • Using Multiple server.json Files
  • Package Management
    • Installing Packages
      • Installation Path
      • Installation Options
      • Advanced Installation
    • Private Packages
    • System Modules
    • Code Endpoints
      • ForgeBox
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      • Folder
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      • Lex (via HTTP or File)
      • Gist
    • Package Scripts
    • Dependencies
    • Semantic Versioning
    • Updating Packages
    • Creating Packages
      • Editing Package Properties
      • Publishing Lucee Extensions to ForgeBox
    • Artifacts
    • Box.json
      • Basic Package Data
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      • Package URLs
      • Installation
      • Embedded Server
      • Dependencies
      • TestBox
    • Managing Version
  • Task Runners
    • Task Anatomy
    • BaseTask Super Class
    • Task Target Dependencies
    • Passing Parameters
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    • Task Output
      • Printing tables
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    • Shell Integration
    • Downloading Files
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    • Error Handling
    • Hitting Your Database
    • Sending E-mail
    • Interactive Jobs
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    • Loading Ad hoc Jars
    • Loading Ad-hoc Modules
    • Cancel Long Tasks
    • Progress Bar
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  • Helpful Commands
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    • Checksums
    • Code Quality Tools
    • ask and confirm
  • Deploying CommandBox
    • Github Actions
    • Docker
    • Heroku
    • Amazon Lightsail
  • TestBox Integration
    • Test Runner
    • Test Watcher
  • Developing For CommandBox
    • Modules
      • Installation and Locations
      • Configuration
        • Public Properties
        • Configure() Method
        • Lifecycle Methods
      • Conventions
      • User Settings
      • Linking Modules
    • Commands
      • Aliases
      • Using Parameters
        • Using File Globs
        • Dynamic Parameters
      • Command Output
      • Tab Completion & Help
      • Interactivity
      • Watchers
      • Shell integration
      • Running Other Commands
      • Error handling
      • Watchers
      • Loading Ad hoc Jars
    • Interceptors
      • Core Interception Points
        • CLI Lifecycle
        • Command Execution Lifecycle
        • Module Lifecycle
        • Server Lifecycle
        • Error Handling
        • Package Lifecycle
      • Custom Interception Points
    • Injection DSL
    • Example Project
    • FusionReactor for the CLI
  • ForgeBox Enterprise
    • Introduction
    • Storage
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      • List
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      • Login
      • Set Default
      • Remove
    • Usage
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  1. Usage

watch Command

There are some specific commands that make use of the Watcher library in CommandBox such as testbox watch and coldbox watch-reinit. However, there is also a generic watch command that will run any arbitrary command of your choosing when a path matching your file globbing pattern is added/updated/deleted.

watch *.json "echo 'config file updated!'"

The following environment variables will be available to your command

  • watcher_added - A JSON array of relative paths added in the watch directory

  • watcher_removed - A JSON array of relative paths removed in the watch directory

  • watcher_changed - A JSON array of relative paths changed in the watch directory

Since escaping meta characters can get tricky with nested strings, you can declare the command as an environment variable and then just reference it like so:

set command = "echo 'You added \${item}!'"
watch command="foreach '\${watcher_added}' \${command}" --verbose

That example runs the foreach command over each item in the watcher_added array and then runs an echo statement to output the name of each added path.

Note that the "paths" here work more like .gitignore entries and less like bash paths. Specifically:

  • A path with a leading slash (or backslash), will be evaluated relative to the current working directory. E.g. watch /foo will only watch files in the directory at ./foo, but not in directories like ./bar/foo.

  • A path without a leading slash (or backslash) will be applied as a glob filter to all files within the current working directory. E.g. watch foo will result in the entire working directory being watched, but only files matching the glob **foo will be processed.

If your watcher seems slow, unresponsive, or is failing to notice some file change events, it is likely that you have it watching too many files. Try specifying more specific paths to the files you want to process, and use leading slashes in your arguments to avoid watching all files in the current working directory.

Parameters

  • paths - Comma-delimited list of file globbing paths to watch relative to the working directory, defaults to **

  • excludePaths - Comma-delimited list of file globbing paths to exclude relative to the working directory.

  • command - The command to run when the watcher fires

  • delay - How may milliseconds to wait before polling for changes, defaults to 500 ms

  • directory - Working directory to start watcher in

  • verbose - Output details about the files that changed

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Last updated 3 years ago

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