Package: dwatch
dwatchOverviewdwatch (diff watch) is a tool to monitor the output of a given command and notify the user on changes by sending an
email with a diff view.Installationdwatch is available on PyPI and can be installed withpip:python3-mpipinstalldwatchAt least Python 3.6 is required.If you run an Arch-based system, you can also installdwatchfrom theAUR:yay-SdwatchYou can also download self-contained executables (no Python installation required) for Linux x64 and macOS x64 from thereleases page.UsageBy default, dwatch runs a commmand passed on the command line every 60 seconds and notifies the user on any changes. You
can run a first test with:dwatch-i2--stdout"date"This runs thedatecommand every 2 seconds and prints the output differences to stdout.Pass the--run-onceoption to run one check, print a diff if necessary and exit. The diff is created against the
output from the previous run (command outputs are stored in the file~/.dwatch_command_output.json). This is
especially useful in cron jobs.Without--stdoutthe diff output is sent as an HTML email. By default, dwatch uses thesendmailtool for this, which
is available if a local email server like Postfix or Exim is installed or if a simple mail forwarder likessmtpis present. As an alternative, dwatch supports direct communication
with a mail server with Python's builtinsmtplib. This can be used if
no email server is installed locally. In either case, runUse the--descriptionoption with a text argument to add a description to the diff report and the subject field of
emails. This can be useful to distinguish different commands.dwatch--write-default-configto create a default configuration file at~/.dwatchrc. Open the file with a text editor and configure a senderfrom_addressand receiverto_addressin the[mail]section:[mail]
backend = sendmail
server = mail.example.com
login_user = jane.doe
login_password = xxx
encryption = starttls
from_address = dwatch-report@example.com
to_addresses = admin@example.comChangesendmailtosmtplibto use an arbitrary email provider and set the server address, the login credentials and
the encryption (none,starttlsorssl). Ifnoneis chosen, no login credentials are sent for security reasons.
This can only be used for very simple mail server setups.ConfigurationThese options can be configured in the file~/.dwatchrc:[general]section:verbosity: The logging level of the application. Can be one ofquiet,error,warn,verboseordebug.[mail]section:backend:sendmailto use the localsendmailcommand orsmtplibto connect to an arbitrary email server with
the smtp protocol.server: The mail server to use. This field is ignored if thesendmailbackend is chosen.login_user: The login name for the mail server. This field is ignored if thesendmailbackend is chosen.login_password: The login password for the mail server. This field is ignored if thesendmailbackend is chosen.encryption: The encryption to use to connect to the mail server, can benone(not recommended!),starttlsorssl. This field is ignored if thesendmailbackend is chosen. Ifnoneis chosen, no login credentials are sent
for security reasons.from_address: The from address in the email envelope. Many providers do not support to change the from address and
overwrite this with your actual mail address.to_address: The recipient address.[watch]section:interval: The time interval in seconds between runs of the given command.run_once: If set toTrue, the command will only be run once the program exits. This is intended to be used with
cron jobs.shell: Run the given command in a subshell. This is useful to allow shell patterns in a command like pipes (for
examplecommand | grep pattern).Command line optionsusage: dwatch [-h] [-d DESCRIPTION] [-i INTERVAL] [-o | -O] [-s | -S]
              [--stdout] [-V] [-w] [-q | --error | --warn | -v | --debug]
              [command]

dwatch is a tool for watching command output for changes and notifiying the
user. Default values for command line options are taken from the config file
at "~/.dwatchrc"

positional arguments:
  command               the command to watch

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -d DESCRIPTION, --description DESCRIPTION
                        add a description which is added to the diff output
                        and used in the e-mail subject
  -i INTERVAL, --interval INTERVAL
                        set the interval for the watched command (default:
                        "60.0")
  -o, --run-once        run the given command once and exit (default: "False")
  -O, --no-run-once     don't run the given command once and exit (default:
                        "True")
  -s, --shell           run the given command in a shell subprocess (default:
                        "False")
  -S, --no-shell        don't run the given command in a shell subprocess
                        (default: "True")
  --stdout              print the diff on stdout, do not send a mail
  -V, --version         print the version number and exit
  -w, --write-default-config
                        create a configuration file with default values
                        (config filepath: "~/.dwatchrc")
  -q, --quiet           be quiet (default: "False")
  --error               print error messages (default: "False")
  --warn                print warning and error messages (default: "False")
  -v, --verbose         be verbose (default: "True")
  --debug               print debug messages (default: "False")