Watch mode

Not to be confused with Node's Watch mode

tsx introduced Watch mode before Node.js released the --watch flag in v18.11.0. Although it is similar in functionality, it does not yet match the robustness of tsx's Watch mode.

Overview

Watch mode will automatically re-run your script whenever any of its dependencies are changed.

tsx watch ./file.ts

Watch behavior

By default, tsx watches all imported files, except those in the following directories:

• node_modules
• bower_components
• vendor
• dist
• Hidden directories (.*)

Customizing watched files

Including files to watch

To include specific files or directories to watch, use the --include flag:

tsx watch --include ./other-dep.txt --include "./other-deps/*" ./file.ts

Excluding files from watch

To exclude specific files from being watched, use the --exclude flag:

tsx watch --exclude ./ignore-me.js --exclude ./ignore-me-too.js ./file.ts

Using glob patterns

Glob patterns allow you to define a set of files or directories to ignore. To prevent your shell from expanding the glob patterns, wrap them in quotes:

tsx watch --exclude "./data/**/*" ./file.ts

Tips

• Press Return to manually rerun the script.
• Use --clear-screen=false to prevent the screen from clearing on rerun.