---
id: watchfiles
version: "1.2.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# watchfiles — Simple, modern and high performance file watching and code reload in python.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install watchfiles
uv add watchfiles
poetry add watchfiles

## Description

# watchfiles

[![CI](https://github.com/samuelcolvin/watchfiles/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/samuelcolvin/watchfiles/actions/workflows/ci.yml?query=branch%3Amain)
[![Coverage](https://codecov.io/gh/samuelcolvin/watchfiles/branch/main/graph/badge.svg)](https://codecov.io/gh/samuelcolvin/watchfiles)
[![pypi](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/watchfiles.svg)](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/watchfiles)
[![CondaForge](https://img.shields.io/conda/v/conda-forge/watchfiles.svg)](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/watchfiles)
[![license](https://img.shields.io/github/license/samuelcolvin/watchfiles.svg)](https://github.com/samuelcolvin/watchfiles/blob/main/LICENSE)

Simple, modern and high performance file watching and code reload in python.

---

**Documentation**: [watchfiles.helpmanual.io](https://watchfiles.helpmanual.io)

**Source Code**: [github.com/samuelcolvin/watchfiles](https://github.com/samuelcolvin/watchfiles)

---

Underlying file system notifications are handled by the [Notify](https://github.com/notify-rs/notify) rust library.

This package was previously named "watchgod",
see [the migration guide](https://watchfiles.helpmanual.io/migrating/) for more...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

watchfiles provides high-performance file system monitoring and automatic code reloading for Python applications, using the Notify Rust library for efficient file change detection across platforms.

Verdict: watchfiles is a production-ready, actively maintained file watcher with strong platform coverage and no known vulnerabilities. The medium install friction is justified by its Rust-backed performance and is mitigated by comprehensive pre-built wheel availability. Suitable for development tools, auto-reload systems, and file monitoring tasks where performance matters.

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/watchfiles) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/watchfiles/)