At a glance
- Fires when
- A file you pick is created, modified, or deleted
- Emits
- Path, name, extension, file type, change type, timestamp
- Works with
- Local folders, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive
Set it up
Drop the node on the canvas, pick the file in the inspector, and wire its outlet to whatever should happen next. Watchflows listens with macOS file-system events, so there is no polling and no delay.
Configure
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| File | — | The file to watch. Choose it with the picker. |
| Wait for iCloud download | On | If the file lives in a cloud folder and its bytes are not on this Mac yet, download it first and fire once it is complete. Turn off to fire on the placeholder. |
| Custom arguments | — | Extra key-value pairs merged into the payload. |
Output
Every key is available downstream as {{key}}.
| Key | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
filePath | String | Full path of the file |
fileName | String | Name, with extension |
fileExtension | String | Lowercased, no dot: pdf |
fileType | String | Images, Documents, Audio, Videos, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Archives, or Other |
changeType | String | created, modified, or deleted |
timestamp | String | When the change was seen, ISO 8601 |
Example: notify when a config file changes
File Changed watches ~/.config/app.json. Template builds the message from {{fileName}} and {{changeType}}. Notification shows it.
Paste this into the Flow Builder to get the same flow:
Watch ~/.config/app.json and send me a notification saying which file changed and how.
Good to know
Cloud files can fire before they exist locally. A file synced from another device shows up as a placeholder first. Leave Wait for iCloud download on unless you only care that the file appeared.
Watching a whole folder? Use Directory Changed instead. File Changed is for one file you know the path of.
Editors save in bursts. Some apps write a temp file and rename it, which can look like deleted then created. Branch on {{changeType}} if that matters.