When running fs.watch on a Vagrant vm and changing a file through the host machine, the change is not detected #6765

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1. mscdex

   added

   fsIssues and PRs related to file-system APIs and the fs module.Issues and PRs related to file-system APIs and the fs module.

   on May 15, 2016
2. bnoordhuis

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   docIssues and PRs related to Node.js documentation.Issues and PRs related to Node.js documentation.

   on May 15, 2016
3. bnoordhuis commented on May 15, 2016

   

   bnoordhuis

   on May 15, 2016

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   That's a shortcoming of the way Vagrant exposes the host file system to the guest. The documentation touches on it in an indirect way:

   If the underlying functionality is not available for some reason, then
   `fs.watch` will not be able to function.  For example, watching files or
   directories on network file systems (NFS, SMB, etc.) often doesn't work
   reliably or at all.
   

   (NFS and SMB are commonly used protocols for mapping the host file system.)

   You can use fs.watchFile() instead. I've added the doc label; we can probably add one or two lines on virtualization software. /cc @nodejs/documentation
4. eljefedelrodeodeljefe commented on May 17, 2016

   

   eljefedelrodeodeljefe

   on May 17, 2016

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   On it in #6809
5. eljefedelrodeodeljefe

   closed this as completedin ae0f68don May 19, 2016
6. Fishrock123

   added a commit that references this issue on May 23, 2016

   doc: add note for fs.watch virtualized env

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7. rvagg

   added a commit that references this issue on Jun 2, 2016

   doc: add note for fs.watch virtualized env

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8. MylesBorins

   added a commit that references this issue on Jun 3, 2016

   doc: add note for fs.watch virtualized env

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9. sjarmak

   added a commit that references this issue on Jul 27, 2026

   doc: add note for fs.watch virtualized env

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