Watcher And Sync Commands

The watcher exists for remote local-sync contexts. It syncs editable user provider files from the local project to the remote project. It does not sync sftpwarden.yaml, and it does not apply deployment-level config changes. Use sftpwarden deploy for config changes.

Editable provider files are derived by code from the provider type and project config. The watcher targets YAML, CSV, and SQLite providers when the provider file exists locally.

sftpwarden sync

Lists or dry-runs the provider files that would be synced for remote local-sync contexts.

sftpwarden sync
sftpwarden sync --dry-run
sftpwarden sync --json

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--dry-run	flag	false	Prints planned sync targets without copying files.
--json	flag	false	Prints sync target data as JSON.

Effects

This command does not refresh the runtime and does not copy files by itself. It reports the provider files that are eligible for remote local-sync workflows.

sftpwarden watch

Runs a foreground polling loop. When a watched provider file changes, SFTPWarden syncs it to the corresponding remote local-sync context.

sftpwarden watch
sftpwarden watch --interval 5
sftpwarden watch --dry-run

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--interval	integer >= 1	2	Polling interval in seconds.
--dry-run	flag	false	Reports detected sync commands without copying files.

Effects

This command keeps running until stopped. It uses scp on Windows and rsync elsewhere, according to the implementation.

sftpwarden watcher

Command group for installing, inspecting, and uninstalling a local watcher backend.

sftpwarden watcher --help

Subcommands:

• status

• install

• uninstall

sftpwarden watcher status

Shows watcher installation state and derived sync targets.

sftpwarden watcher status
sftpwarden watcher status --json

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--json	flag	false	Prints installed state, mode, path, activation state, and targets as JSON.

Effects

Read-only.

sftpwarden watcher install

Installs or updates the local watcher backend.

sftpwarden watcher install
sftpwarden watcher install --watcher auto
sftpwarden watcher install --watcher systemd
sftpwarden watcher install --watcher docker
sftpwarden watcher install --watcher docker --image registry.example.com/watcher:tag
sftpwarden watcher install --no-activate
sftpwarden watcher install --dry-run

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--watcher, --mode	auto, systemd, openrc, runit, supervisord, launchd, windows-task, or docker	configured default, normally auto	Watcher backend to install. --mode is an alias.
--image	Docker image reference	none	Docker watcher image override. Valid only when the resolved watcher mode is docker.
--activate / --no-activate	flag pair	--activate in the CLI command	Controls whether SFTPWarden starts/enables the watcher after writing files.
--yes, -y	flag	false	Accepts replacement prompts and allows Docker fallback when auto finds no native scheduler.
--dry-run	flag	false	Prints the install plan without writing files or activating a scheduler.

Effects

A real install writes backend-specific watcher files and records watcher metadata in global CLI config. With activation enabled, it runs the backend activation commands. If a different watcher is already installed, replacement requires confirmation or --yes.

auto detects supported native schedulers first. If none is available, Docker fallback requires explicit confirmation or --yes.

sftpwarden watcher uninstall

Uninstalls the local watcher backend and clears watcher metadata.

sftpwarden watcher uninstall
sftpwarden watcher uninstall --yes
sftpwarden watcher uninstall --dry-run

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--yes, -y	flag	false	Accepts the uninstall confirmation prompt.
--dry-run	flag	false	Prints the uninstall plan without deactivating or removing files.

Effects

A real uninstall deactivates the scheduler if the watcher was activated, removes the generated watcher file, and clears watcher metadata.