env-reloader/index.js

Auto-restart Node.js server on .env changes | dotenv reload watcher for development

#!/usr/bin/env node

const chokidar = require("chokidar");
const { spawn } = require("child_process");
const path = require("path");

const args = process.argv.slice(2);
if (!args.length) {
  console.log("Usage: env-reloader <your-start-command>");
  console.log("Example: env-reloader server.js");
  process.exit(1);
}

let serverProcess;
let isRestarting = false;

function startServer() {
  if (serverProcess) {
    console.log("Stopping server...");
    isRestarting = true;
    serverProcess.kill("SIGTERM");

    // Agar process 1 second me close nahi hua to force kill
    const forceKillTimer = setTimeout(() => {
      if (serverProcess) {
        console.log("Force killing server...");
        serverProcess.kill("SIGKILL");
      }
    }, 1000);

    serverProcess.on("exit", () => {
      clearTimeout(forceKillTimer);
      setTimeout(() => {
        actuallyStartServer();
      }, 300); // small delay for port release
    });
  } else {
    actuallyStartServer();
  }
}

function actuallyStartServer() {
  console.log("Starting server...");
  isRestarting = false;
  serverProcess = spawn("node", args, {
    stdio: "inherit",
    shell: true,
  });

  serverProcess.on("close", (code) => {
    if (!isRestarting) {
      console.log(`Server process exited with code ${code}`);
    }
  });
}

const envPath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), ".env");
console.log(`Watching for changes in: ${envPath}`);

chokidar.watch(envPath).on("change", () => {
  console.log("\n.env file changed. Restarting server...\n");
  startServer();
});

startServer();