Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install gitwatch with Homebrew, Nix

Watch a file or folder and automatically commit changes to a git repo easily. Version 0.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-18.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install gitwatch

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#gitwatch

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/gi/gitwatch/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Watch a file or folder and automatically commit changes to a git repo easily

Commands and aliases

  • gitwatch

history

Project history and usage

gitwatch is a small shell-script utility that watches a file or directory and automatically commits changes to an existing Git repository. Its history is the history of a practical automation wrapper: file-system notifications, a short delay, git add, git commit, and optional push.

Project history

The gitwatch repository was created on GitHub in 2012 and kept the project's scope deliberately small. The official README describes it as a Bash script for watching a file or folder and committing changes to a Git repository.

Over time, the project added packaging and operating-system conveniences around that script. The README documents installation from source, bpkg, Arch AUR, NixOS, Docker, and user services for SysVInit and systemd, while keeping the central behavior as a long-running watch loop.

Adoption history

gitwatch attracted users who wanted automatic history for files that are not normally managed through explicit Git commits. The README names configuration files and document files as examples, especially when an application writes changes without a clear save or apply workflow.

Package metadata in this batch shows Homebrew and Nix packaging, and the README documents additional community distribution through AUR and Docker. That is modest but real adoption for a niche automation script.

How it is used

Practitioners run gitwatch against a file or directory that already belongs to a Git repository. On Linux it uses inotifywait; on macOS the README points users to fswatch and coreutils through Homebrew.

A typical use is personal or small-team backup of frequently edited notes, dotfiles, or generated configuration. gitwatch waits briefly after a change to avoid racing partial writes, commits the changed file or directory contents, and can push to a remote when configured.

Why package nerds care

gitwatch is package-nerd interesting because it is tiny Unix automation rather than a platform. It exposes Git as a low-friction append-only history mechanism for arbitrary local state.

The tool also illustrates the tradeoff that packagers like: one shell script plus standard utilities can cover a workflow that would otherwise invite a daemon, database, or bespoke sync service.

Timeline

  • 2012: The gitwatch repository is created on GitHub.
  • 2020: The v0.1 tag appears in the repository tag history.
  • 2021: The README table of contents records active documentation work around installation and service usage.
  • 2024: NixOS module instructions are documented for service-style deployments.

Related projects

  • Git provides the repository and commit machinery used by gitwatch.
  • inotify-tools provides the inotifywait watcher used on Linux.
  • fswatch and GNU coreutils are documented as macOS requirements.
  • systemd, SysVInit, Docker, bpkg, AUR, and NixOS are documented deployment surfaces.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
  • Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
gitwatchcliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version0.6
manager updated2026-06-18
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.6

https://github.com/gitwatch/gitwatch

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:gitwatch
Version0.6
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gitwatch
Homepagehttps://github.com/gitwatch/gitwatch
Repositoryhttps://github.com/gitwatch/gitwatch
Upstream docshttps://github.com/gitwatch/gitwatch#readme
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://github.com/gitwatch/gitwatch/archive/refs/tags/v0.6.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-18T09:25:51+09:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciescoreutils, fswatch
Bottleavailable (on all)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namegitwatch
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

gitwatch

nix profile install nixpkgs#gitwatch
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Gitwatch
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gi/gitwatch/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • coreutilsRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • fswatchRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • ghShares av.db curated category or tags: automation, cli, developer-tools, git, version-control.
  • git-xargsShares av.db curated category or tags: automation, cli, developer-tools, git, version-control.
  • gitbackupShares av.db curated category or tags: backup, cli, developer-tools, git, version-control.
  • gitupShares av.db curated category or tags: automation, cli, developer-tools, git, version-control.
  • lefthookShares av.db curated category or tags: automation, cli, developer-tools, git, version-control.
  • ahoyShares av.db curated category or tags: automation, cli, developer-tools.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment