native:watch

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Syntax

php artisan native:watch [platform] [target] [options]

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Arguments

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platform

• android or a - Watch Android app
• ios or i - Watch iOS app

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target

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Options

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—ios

php artisan native:watch --ios

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—android

php artisan native:watch --android

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Examples

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Watch Android app

php artisan native:watch android

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Watch iOS app on specific simulator

php artisan native:watch ios SIMULATOR-UDID

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Watch using shorthand flags

php artisan native:watch --ios

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Requirements

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Watchman

brew install watchman

# See https://facebook.github.io/watchman/docs/install

choco install watchman

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What it does

1. Checks dependencies: Verifies Watchman is installed
2. Starts file watcher: Monitors your Laravel application directory
3. Detects changes: Watches for file modifications, additions, deletions
4. Syncs to device: Pushes changes to the running mobile app
5. Reloads app: Triggers automatic reload in the mobile app

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How it works

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Android

• Uses adb push to sync files to the device
• Monitors app/, config/, resources/, routes/ directories
• Triggers app reload via intent broadcast

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iOS

• Uses iOS Simulator’s file sharing to sync files
• Monitors same directories as Android
• Triggers app reload via URL scheme

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Watched directories

• app/ - Application code
• config/ - Configuration files
• resources/ - Views, assets
• routes/ - Route definitions
• public/ - Public assets

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Workflow

1. Start the app with watch enabled:
   php artisan native:run android --watch
   
2. Or start watch separately while app is running:
   php artisan native:watch android
   
3. Edit your code in your IDE
4. Save the file
5. Changes automatically sync and app reloads
6. See changes in seconds!

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Performance tips

• Frontend assets: Use Vite’s dev server for faster CSS/JS updates
• Large files: Exclude from watch if not needed
• Multiple devices: Run separate watch processes for each

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Troubleshooting

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Watchman not found

# Install watchman
brew install watchman  # macOS

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Changes not syncing

1. Check device is connected: adb devices (Android)
2. Verify app is running
3. Check Watchman is running: watchman watch-list
4. Restart watch command

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Slow syncing

• Check network connection (iOS Simulator)
• Reduce number of watched files
• Clear Watchman cache: watchman watch-del-all

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Alternative: Run with —watch

php artisan native:run android --watch

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See also

• native:run - Build and run with —watch option
• native:tail - View app logs in real-time