install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ibazel

local Homebrew formula metadata

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/ibazel

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/ibazel.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Tools for building Bazel targets when source files change

Project links

Commands and aliases

ibazel

history

Project history and usage

ibazel is the executable from Bazel watcher, a source-file watcher for Bazel projects that reruns `build`, `test`, or `run` targets after source changes.

Project history

The Bazel watcher README frames the tool around a familiar edit-save-rerun loop: save a file, have tests rebuild, or restart a server after source changes. The repository states that it is not an official Google product, while it lives under the `bazelbuild` GitHub organization and uses Bazel itself for builds.

Adoption history

ibazel became a common companion tool in Bazel-heavy developer workflows because it supplies the watch mode that many language-specific toolchains provide by default. Its README documents Homebrew, npm, Arch Linux AUR, and source-build installation paths, and Homebrew analytics show materially higher use than most packages in this batch.

How it is used

Developers run commands such as `ibazel build //path/to:target`, `ibazel test`, or `ibazel run` during active development. The output runner feature reads `%WORKSPACE%/.bazel_fix_commands.json` and can prompt for generated repair commands such as Buildozer or Gazelle invocations.

Why package nerds care

ibazel is package-nerd candy because it sits at the boundary of build systems, file watching, editor feedback, live reload, npm distribution, Homebrew bottles, and Bazel's own repository culture. It is small enough to be a CLI utility, but important enough to show how a build ecosystem fills ergonomic gaps around a deliberately explicit core build tool.

Timeline

v0.0.1: The repository contains an early public release tag.
2017: The README's profiler example records iBazel and Bazel version data around a development-server reload workflow.
v0.15.x-v0.29.x: The tag history shows a long 0.x release series across the Bazel watcher repository.
2026: The GitHub releases page lists v0.29.0 as an April 2026 release.

Related projects

The README connects ibazel directly to Bazel and mentions generated repair workflows involving Buildozer and Gazelle. Its npm package path, `@bazel/ibazel`, also ties it into JavaScript projects using Bazel.

Sources

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 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

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

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: %WORKSPACE%/.bazel_fix_commands.json
Windows: %WORKSPACE%/.bazel_fix_commands.json

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`ibazel`	cli	global 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 version0.29.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.29.0

https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-watcher

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ibazel
Version	0.29.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ibazel
Homepage	https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-watcher
Repository	https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-watcher
Upstream docs	https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-watcher#readme
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-watcher/archive/refs/tags/v0.29.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	ibazel
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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.

Scoop95%

extras/ibazel

scoop install extras/ibazel

normalized package name match
Matched by: Ibazel

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/ibazel.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/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.

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.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/ibazel.yml

Used sources

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

Install ibazel with Homebrew, scoop