# inotifywait > Waits for changes to one or more files. > More information: . - Run a command when a file changes: `while inotifywait {{path/to/file}}; do {{command}}; done` - Be quiet about watching for changes: `while inotifywait --quiet {{path/to/file}}; do {{command}}; done` - Watch a directory recursively for changes: `while inotifywait --recursive {{path/to/directory}}; do {{command}}; done` - Exclude files matching a regular expression: `while inotifywait --recursive {{path/to/directory}} --exclude '{{regular_expression}}'; do {{command}}; done` - Wait at most 30 seconds: `while inotifywait --timeout {{30}} {{path/to/file}}; do {{command}}; done` - Only watch for file modification events: `while inotifywait --event {{modify}} {{path/to/file}}; do {{command}}; done`