Watcher

Watch text. Say what to look for. Get an alert when it happens.

Watcher does three things:

1. Read text from a file, command, or standard input.
2. Check for something you described in plain English.
3. Print a result, show an alert, or run a command when it happens.

Use it to watch logs, wait for a build, check prices, follow a sensor, or monitor an inbox. The text and the condition change. Watcher stays the same.

Agents can use Watcher to watch things cheaply instead of checking again and again. Watcher can also monitor agent runs, error streams, logs, and public feeds.

Install

uv tool install git+https://github.com/markschroedr/watcher-core.git
export OPENAI_API_KEY="..."

Watch

watcher watch \
  --cmd "journalctl -f -u api" \
  --criterion "the deployment fails; successful retries stay silent" \
  --notify

Use --file, --cmd, or --stdin. Add --oneshot when the first finding should end the watch.

Keep it running

mkdir -p ~/.watcher
cp watches.example.yaml ~/.watcher/watches.yaml
watcher service install
watcher status

Watcher saves its place and starts again after a restart. Edit ~/.watcher/watches.yaml to add or change watches.