goreload

Watch a binary file (defaults to .goreload)

$ goreload [[-b|--bin]] [path/to/binary] [path/to/file.go]

$ goreload --logPrefix [prefix] [path/to/file.go]

$ goreload --all

goreload [options] [command [args...]]

-binary, -b string
    Binary name to execute (default: go)

-cmd, -c string
    Subcommand to run (default: run)

-delay, -d duration
    Delay before restarting (default: 500ms)

-dir, -D string
    Working directory to watch (default: current)

-exclude, -e string
    Comma-separated patterns to exclude from watching

-include, -i string
    Comma-separated extensions to include (default: .go)

-v
    Enable verbose logging

-h, --help
    Show help

Goreload is a development tool for Go programmers that automatically detects changes in source files and restarts the application binary. It monitors directories recursively for .go files (and optionally others), compiles and runs the updated code seamlessly, eliminating manual restarts during development.

Ideal for web servers, CLI tools, or any executable Go program, goreload forks the process, watches for file system events, kills the old process on changes, and spawns a new one. This boosts productivity, especially in iterative coding sessions.

Typically installed via go install from a GitHub repository like github.com/fvbiasini/goreload or similar forks. It supports custom commands, exclude patterns, and delays to handle rapid successive changes. Note that stateful applications may lose data on restarts unless persisted externally.

While powerful for dev workflows, it's not intended for production due to overhead and potential instability during reloads.

Development-only tool; restarts lose in-memory state. High CPU on watched dirs with many files. Fork-specific behaviors vary; test thoroughly.

go install github.com/fvbiasini/goreload@latest
Or clone and go install from other repos.

goreload main.go
goreload -e 'vendor/*,*.pb.go' go run .