Ts-node-dev: Package is broken with node 14 : fs.watch with recursive is throwing on incompatible os

[daeschlerdavid]

Hello,

I just upgraded node to v14 on my fedora 31.
It seems this package is now broken due to this commit : https://github.com/nodejs/node/commit/67e067eb06

Also check updated doc : fs.watch doc

The recursive option is only supported on macOS and Windows. An ERR_FEATURE_UNAVAILABLE_ON_PLATFORM exception will be thrown when the option is used on a platform that does not support it.

Output error example :

# npx ts-node-dev src/main.ts
Using ts-node version 8.4.1, typescript version 3.8.3
TypeError [ERR_FEATURE_UNAVAILABLE_ON_PLATFORM]: The feature watch recursively is unavailable on the current platform, which is being used to run Node.js
    at Object.watch (fs.js:1441:11)
    at add (/root/backend/node_modules/filewatcher/index.js:74:34)
    at /root/backend/node_modules/filewatcher/index.js:93:5
    at FSReqCallback.oncomplete (fs.js:176:5)

Using recursive: true now throws an Error that is not handled.
https://github.com/whitecolor/ts-node-dev/blob/c0df64c43455d2f8ef144eb9defcd05b6fc52486/lib/index.js#L45

[SrBrahma]

Same issue here. Thanks for pointing out that the problem is caused by the Node v14. Would never figure out.

[Leko]

@whitecolor I think we can fix this issue by migrating to chokidar instead of fs.watch. Does it make sense?

[desmap]

facing the same problem

[kiprasmel]

Bump - just updated to node v14 and got the same issue. Downgrading to v13 or lower works just fine.
(I recommend using https://github.com/tj/n or https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm)

Edit: It seems like ts-node had a similar issue a while ago? https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/20258

[McSneaky]

Problem is in underlying filewatcher issue is already raised in there and PR made

Thnx for @onlurking for making fix for it

But it seems like filewatcher has not been updated for a while tho, so not sure if it will get merged in there :disappointed:

[marcoreni]

Maybe this project should migrate to chokidar:

Node.js fs.watch:
* Doesn't report filenames on MacOS.
* Doesn't report events at all when using editors like Sublime on MacOS.
* Often reports events twice.
* Emits most changes as rename.
* Does not provide an easy way to recursively watch file trees.

Node.js fs.watchFile:
* Almost as bad at event handling.
* Also does not provide any recursive watching.
* Results in high CPU utilization.

Chokidar resolves these problems.

[wclr]

Will check everything and release it with chokidar soon.

[kachkaev]

@whitecolor if you are planning to release a new ×.−.− or −.×.− version, will be happy to also accept a PR that adds #136? I can do it if there is a probability of acceptance 🙂

[bobbui]

looking forward to the release, right now i'm using a temporary setup with pure nodemon and ts-dev which is at least twice slower to restart

[mmvsk]

Hey, while waiting for a fix in filewatcher or here, I just made a quick & dirty fix by disabling the recursive option on Linux and Node 14, to be able to use ts-node-dev right now in this environment.

To select this specific commit:

npm add -D 'mmvsk/ts-node-dev#d7e9cfbad414bcc5fc9ddb5cf75a74496a9e4549'

[ssomlk]

I am getting this error when using node:alpine when using Docker.
Suppose I need to downgrade the Node version how can I do it in the Docker file.

SInce I am new to docker would appreciate if someone can assist

[marcoreni]

@ssomlk you should node:13-alpine if you want to use Node 13 instead of latest.

Here you can find a list of all the released tags: https://hub.docker.com/_/node/
I think that Docker has a Get Started guide that may help you with these basic concepts.

[ssomlk]

Thanks alot and apreciate ur help @marcoreni

[redd29]

Run using ts-node-dev --poll src/index.ts

[mpcen]

using node v13.14.0 until the fix is merged and works fine

[DonIsaac]

@mmvsk That fix is pretty nifty, have you submitted it as a pull request yet?

[mmvsk]

@mmvsk That fix is pretty nifty, have you submitted it as a pull request yet?

I just did in PR #149. I'm using ts-node-dev with this fix and everything works just fine (including in deep subdirectories).

For those who want to use this fix right now, before the PR is merged or the underlying issue solved in some other way, you can just install the patched version from my repository:

npm add -D 'mmvsk/ts-node-dev#d7e9cfbad414bcc5fc9ddb5cf75a74496a9e4549'

(and later reinstall the official one, once it's fixed)

[loreanvictor]

@mmvsk doesn't your PR simply disable recursive watching on linux / node 14? or would it work on linux machines with recursive watching as well (and I am mis-understanding something)?

P.S. perhaps using something like this (or another alternative fs.watch wrapper, I don't know which of these packages actually solves this issue and is performant/reliable enough) would alleviate the issue?

[mmvsk]

@mmvsk doesn't your PR simply disable recursive watching on linux / node 14? or would it work on linux machines with recursive watching as well (and I am mis-understanding something)?

P.S. perhaps using something like this (or another alternative fs.watch wrapper, I don't know which of these packages actually solves this issue and is performant/reliable enough) would alleviate the issue?

Yes, it's precisely what it does. But actually the recursive option never worked on Linux: before Node 14 fs-watch was silently failing, and now it raise an error. So this PR is basically reverting ts-node-dev to its original behavior.

Actually it "works" on Linux in the same way it was working before Node 14: by using the dependency chain built by the imports. So it's possible to have some missed detections if a file is modified in a deep directory without being imported anywhere - in the exact same way as in Node 13 and before - but in most cases it will work just fine.

And I agree with you: ideally, fs-watch should be replaced and node-watch seems like a good candidate for that, better than chokidar that was proposed earlier in this thread.

tl;dr

• PR #149 fix this actual issue, by restoring the same behavior as before Node 14
• As an improvement, fs-watch should be replaced by a better alternative (such as node-watch)

[wclr]

Replaced with chokidar in the latest published.

[FredyC]

Thank you for the fix. Had the same issue on Windows and WSL2 and the latest pre.49 works nicely.