stale

A simple Rust-based CLI tool that accepts file path/glob inputs and runs or skips a command depending on whether the watched files have changed since the last successful run.

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How it works

stale computes a combined SHA-256 hash over all files matched by the supplied glob patterns and compares it to an entry in a .sum file stored from the previous run.

• Files changed (or no stored state) → the command is executed. On success the new hash is saved.
• Files unchanged → the command is skipped and stale exits 0.

When no command is supplied stale exits 0 if files are unchanged and 1 if they have changed, so it composes naturally with shell && / ||.

Quick start

# Install via Homebrew
brew install th1nkful/stale/stale

# Re-run cargo test only when .rs source files change
stale 'src/**/*.rs' -- cargo test

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Files unchanged or command ran successfully
1	Files changed (when no command is given)
2	stale encountered an error
other	Exit code forwarded from the executed command