rspec/rspec-core — pull request #1051 by JonRowe (2013-08-20 23:01:56+00:00)
Title: Autotest has no output, unless a .rspec file exists

I can't remember exactly when this behavior changed, but it's easy to see with a modern RSpec:

1. Create a `Gemfile` in an empty folder
2. Add the gems `ZenTest` and `rspec`
3. `bundle`
4. `bundle exec autotest`

No output will be shown. The workaround is to at least `touch .rspec`.

This is an annoying issue because no feedback is given about what the user needs to do. At least one user has told me that RSpec doesn't work with `autotest` anymore after seeing this apparent "hang."