File Folder Monitoring

filefoldersmonitoring

I have a task to create a way of monitoring a folder and files running on a MacOS 10.11 machine.

Basically what I want to accomplish is each time a new file is added to the folder send a notification to a monitoring URL and if after 30 minutes no files are added it will trigger an alert.

I am new to Mac OS programming but I have been tasked with this project and just looking for some suggestions on how to accomplish this

Best Answer

I assume you intend to build something on your own. Things to look into here are

  • launchd: Allows programs/scripts to be run based on certain conditions. Of special interest for you is probably the WatchPaths parameter which allows to watch a path/directory for changes and triggers a program/script if necessary. There are race conditions involved here, but for your case you probably can catch them easily. The full format for launchd configuration files is available with man launchd.plist
  • Shell/bash scripting: The code to execute if a file arrives probably isn't too complex, so some basic scripts should be enough
  • How to send an email from command line?

On second thought, I would ignore the WatchPaths part completely. Just use launchd to run a shell script every 30 minutes (or whatever is appropriate) which, if no new file has arrived since when-ever, sends a notification to wherever.

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