watchpack is a Node.js library that watches files and directories, providing efficient and reliable change detection. It offers features like recursive directory watching, debouncing, and filtering of changes. It's designed to be a lower-level building block for tools that require file system monitoring, particularly within build systems and development workflows. It's highly configurable for handling varied file watching scenarios and provides detailed change information. Watchpack is often used to trigger rebuilds or other actions when files are modified.
Watchpack's release frequency has been sporadic. Initial releases were frequent in 2014-2015, then slowed significantly. There were periods of no releases followed by occasional updates. Releases continued through 2024, with the last versions, 2.4.3 and 2.4.4, published in May 2025. No releases have occurred in the past three months.
Watchpack npm package downloads show a generally increasing trend from March 2024 to August 2025, peaking in June and July 2025. The current month, September 2025, shows significantly lower downloads, but this may be due to incomplete data for the month.
