# Watch

> File sentinel that monitors the working directory for changes and marker comments, then auto-triggers appropriate skills. Poll-based via git diff against the last scan commit. Writes intake items for batch processing and routes marker actions through /do. Use for automatic reactions to file changes; do NOT use for one-off inspection or tasks needing human judgment per file.

- Skill: `sethgammon/watch` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethgammon/watch`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethgammon/watch/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: MIT
- Author: sethgammon (https://skillmd.com/u/sethgammon)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethgammon/watch

---


# /watch -- File Sentinel

Use when the user wants automatic reactions to file changes or marker comments (`@citadel:`).
Do NOT use for one-off file inspection or tasks that need human judgment per file.

## Orientation

**Use when:** running a file sentinel that triggers a skill or command automatically when watched paths change.
**Don't use when:** monitoring CI status on a PR (use /pr-watch); running a one-shot verification check (use /verify).

## Default execution path (READ FIRST)

**`/watch start` does NOT call `CronCreate` by default.** Only pass `--remote`
to use Anthropic's routine system, and only after explicit user confirmation.
`CronCreate` counts against the **15 routine runs / 24h** cap — at the default
5-minute interval a watch exhausts the quota in under an hour.

### Default flow — `/watch start` (no `--remote` flag)
1. Do Steps 1 and 2 below (check existing watch, determine baseline commit).
2. **Skip Step 3** — do NOT call `CronCreate`. Leave `cronId: null` in state.
3. Write the state file (Step 4) with `status: "watching"`.
4. Output:
   ```
   Watch state created: .planning/watch-state.json
     Baseline: {commit hash, first 7 chars}

   To start real-time watching, run in a separate terminal:
     npm run watch:local

   For cloud-persistent polling (machine off, user away):
     /watch start --remote     (uses CronCreate, counts against 15/day cap)
   ```

### Opt-in routine flow — `/watch start --remote`
Only when `--remote` is explicitly passed:
1. Confirm: "This will use `CronCreate`, which counts against your 15 routine
   runs / 24h quota. At a 5-minute interval this exhausts the quota in under
   an hour. Continue? (y/N)"
2. On confirmation, run the full Step 1–5 protocol including `CronCreate`.

## Commands

| Command | Behavior |
|---|---|
| `/watch start` | Default: create state, prompt user to run `npm run watch:local` |
| `/watch start --remote` | Use `CronCreate` polling (counts against 15/day quota — requires confirmation) |
| `/watch start --interval {N}m` | Set poll interval for `--remote` mode (default: 5m) |
| `/watch stop` | Stop watching, tear down cron |
| `/watch status` | Show watch state, last scan time, pending actions |
| `/watch scan` | Run a single scan now (manual trigger) |

## Protocol

### /watch start

#### Step 1: Check for existing watch

1. Read `.planning/watch-state.json` if it exists
2. If `status` is `"watching"`:
   - Show current state: last scan time, interval, pending actions count
   - Ask: "A watch is already active. Stop it and start a new one?"
   - If yes: run `/watch stop` first, then continue
   - If no: abort

#### Step 2: Determine baseline commit

1. Run `git rev-parse HEAD` to get the current commit hash
2. If not a git repo: fall back to timestamp-based detection (store current
   time as `lastScanTime`, skip commit-based diffing)
3. Store this as `lastScanCommit`

#### Step 3: Create poll schedule (--remote only)

```
CronCreate:
  interval: "{N}m"  (default: 5m)
  command: "/watch scan"
```

Save the cron ID in the state file.

#### Step 4: Write state file

Write `.planning/watch-state.json`:

```json
{
  "status": "watching",
  "lastScanCommit": "abc1234",
  "lastScanTime": null,
  "interval": "5m",
  "cronId": "{id from step 3 or null}",
  "pendingActions": {},
  "processedMarkers": {},
  "stats": {
    "scansRun": 0,
    "markersFound": 0,
    "intakeItemsCreated": 0,
    "skillsDispatched": 0
  }
}
```

#### Step 5: Confirm (--remote only)

```
Watch started.
  Interval:  every {N}m
  Baseline:  {commit hash, first 7 chars}
  State:     .planning/watch-state.json
```

---

### /watch stop

1. Read `.planning/watch-state.json`. If missing or not `"watching"`: "No watch is active."
2. `CronDelete: {cronId}` — if cronId is missing or deletion fails, continue.
3. Update state: `"status": "stopped", "cronId": null`. Preserve all other fields.
4. Output:
   ```
   Watch stopped.
     Scans completed:      {stats.scansRun}
     Markers found:        {stats.markersFound}
     Intake items created: {stats.intakeItemsCreated}
     Skills dispatched:    {stats.skillsDispatched}
   ```

---

### /watch status

1. If `.planning/watch-state.json` missing: "No watch configured. Use `/watch start` to begin."
2. Output state fields: status, lastScanTime, lastScanCommit, interval, pendingActions.length, stats.
3. If `pendingActions` non-empty, list each: `[{action}] {file}:{line} -- {description}`

---

### /watch scan

#### Step 1: Load state

1. Read `.planning/watch-state.json`
2. If missing: create default state with `lastScanCommit` from `git rev-parse HEAD` and `status: "watching"`.

#### Step 2: Detect changed files

**Git mode (primary):**
1. `git diff --name-only {lastScanCommit} HEAD` (committed changes)
2. `git diff --name-only` (unstaged) and `git diff --name-only --cached` (staged)
3. Merge and deduplicate all three lists

**Fallback mode (no git):**
1. `find . -newer {timestamp_file} -type f`
2. Exclude `node_modules/`, `.git/`, `.planning/`, `dist/`, `build/`

If no files changed: update `lastScanTime` and `stats.scansRun`, exit early.

#### Step 3: Scan for marker comments

Search changed files for:

| Pattern | Languages |
|---|---|
| `// @citadel: {action} {description}` | JS, TS, Go, Rust, C, Java |
| `# @citadel: {action} {description}` | Python, Shell, YAML, Ruby |
| `/* @citadel: {action} {description} */` | CSS, multi-line C-style |
| `<!-- @citadel: {action} {description} -->` | HTML, Markdown |

**Action-to-skill mapping:**

| Action | Skill |
|---|---|
| `review` | `/review` |
| `test` | `/test-gen` |
| `fix` | `/systematic-debugging` |
| `document` | `/doc-gen` |
| `refactor` | `/refactor` |
| `todo` | intake item |

Unknown actions become intake items with the action preserved as metadata.

**Deduplication:** Every marker gets a stable identity hash: sha256 over `{file path}`, `{action}`, and the normalized marker text (trimmed, internal whitespace collapsed), joined with NUL separators and truncated to 16 hex chars. Line numbers are excluded, so the hash survives line shifts. `processedMarkers` is a map keyed by this hash with `{file, action, firstSeen, lastSeen}`; `pendingActions` uses the same hash keys. Both maps are pruned past 500 entries by dropping the oldest `lastSeen`. Markers whose hash is already in `processedMarkers` are skipped.

#### Step 4: Classify unmarked changes

| File pattern | Auto-action |
|---|---|
| `*.test.*`, `*.spec.*`, `__tests__/*` | Queue: "run tests" intake item |
| `*.md` in `docs/` or project root | Queue: "doc staleness check" intake item |
| `src/**/*.ts`, `src/**/*.tsx` | Queue: "changed source" intake item |
| `package.json`, `tsconfig.json` | Queue: "config change" intake item (high priority) |

#### Step 5: Dispatch markers

For each new marker:
1. `/do {action} in {file} at line {line}: {description}`
2. Log dispatch, add to `processedMarkers`, increment `stats.skillsDispatched`

**Batch limit:** Dispatch at most 5 per scan. Queue overflow in `pendingActions`.

#### Step 6: Write intake items

Filename: `watch-{action}-{file slug}-{epoch ms}.md` in `.planning/intake/`

```markdown
---
title: "{action} {file}:{line}"
status: pending
priority: normal
target: {file path}
source: watch
marker_hash: {16-char marker hash}
---

Marker comment found at {file}:{line}:
`{raw marker line}`

{description, if any}
```

Before writing, skip the item if the marker hash is already in `processedMarkers`, or if any existing `.planning/intake/*.md` carries a matching `marker_hash` in its frontmatter. Every new intake item records its `marker_hash` so future scans (and concurrent processes) can detect it.

#### Step 7: Update state

- `lastScanCommit`: `git rev-parse HEAD`
- `lastScanTime`: current ISO timestamp
- Increment `stats.scansRun`, `stats.markersFound`
- Update `pendingActions` and `processedMarkers`

#### Step 8: Report

Manual scan:
```
Scan complete.
  Files changed:      {N}
  Markers found:      {new} ({total} total)
  Actions dispatched: {N} (batch limit: 5)
  Intake items:       {N} written to .planning/intake/
  Pending actions:    {N}
```

Cron poll: silent.

---

## Integration Points

- **Intake pipeline:** Writes to `.planning/intake/` for `/autopilot`.
- **Intent router:** Routes markers through `/do` — never invokes skills directly.
- **Daemon:** `/daemon` can start a watch alongside a campaign.

---

## Fringe Cases

**`.planning/` missing:** Create on first scan.
**Not a git repo:** Fall back to timestamp detection; warn once.
**No files changed:** Update stats, exit silently.
**Unknown action:** Treat as intake item, preserve raw action.
**Deleted file:** Skip marker scanning; write intake item noting deletion.
**Large diff (100+ files):** Cap at 50 per scan, queue rest.
**Binary files:** Skip during marker scanning.
**Corrupted state:** Reset to defaults, preserve `processedMarkers` if readable.
**CronCreate not available:** Warn and suggest manual `/watch scan`.
**Scan overlap:** Scans serialize through a lock directory (`.planning/watch-state.json.lock`, acquired via atomic `mkdir` with ~10 retries at 100ms). Each scan records `scanStartedAt` and `scanPid` in state under the lock, and holds the lock across the state read-modify-write and intake writes. A scan that cannot acquire the lock and finds another scan started under 60 seconds ago logs a skip notice and exits cleanly. A lock older than 30 seconds (by mtime) is treated as stale and removed.
**Marker removed:** Stale `processedMarkers` entries age out via the 500-entry oldest-`lastSeen` prune.

---

## Contextual Gates

**Disclosure:** "Starting file watch on [paths]. Triggers [skill] on change. Stop with Ctrl+C."
**Reversibility:** amber — runs sentinel that triggers other skills on file change; triggered skills may modify files; stop with Ctrl+C and run `/watch stop`
**Trust gates:**
- Any: start watch and view scan reports
- Familiar (5+ sessions): triggered skills run autonomously on file change; novices should use with caution and review dispatched actions

## Quality Gates

- Scan completes in under 10 seconds for repos up to 100K lines
- No duplicate intake items for the same file and classification
- No re-dispatched already-processed markers
- Batch limit of 5 dispatches per scan enforced
- State file updated atomically at end of scan
- Works on Windows, macOS, Linux (Node.js fs + git CLI)
- CronCreate failure does not leave watch in inconsistent state

## Exit Protocol

- **`/watch start`:** Output confirmation block. No HANDOFF.
- **`/watch stop`:** Output stop summary with lifetime stats.
- **`/watch scan` (manual):** Output scan report with counts.
- **`/watch scan` (cron):** Silent.
- **`/watch status`:** Output current state.
- **On error:** Clear message with fix. Never leave cron running if state is inconsistent.