diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 71a5f2a..56dc274 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2026-03-23 - 8.4.4 - fix(utilityservers)
+enable file watching whenever a static serve directory is configured
+
+- Decouples directory watching from live-reload injection so watched static assets can update even when reload script injection is disabled.
+- Changes UtilityWebsiteServer to set watch based solely on the presence of serveDir.
+
 ## 2026-03-23 - 8.4.3 - fix(websiteserver)
 only enable file watching when reload injection is active
 
diff --git a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
index 533b077..f2a1a45 100644
--- a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
+++ b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@api.global/typedserver',
-  version: '8.4.3',
+  version: '8.4.4',
   description: 'A TypeScript-based project for easy serving of static files with support for live reloading, compression, and typed requests.'
 }
diff --git a/ts/utilityservers/classes.websiteserver.ts b/ts/utilityservers/classes.websiteserver.ts
index a8a43cb..e13b5cd 100644
--- a/ts/utilityservers/classes.websiteserver.ts
+++ b/ts/utilityservers/classes.websiteserver.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export class UtilityWebsiteServer {
 
       // Development features
       injectReload: this.options.injectReload ?? true,
-      watch: !!(this.options.serveDir && (this.options.injectReload ?? true)),
+      watch: !!this.options.serveDir,
       noCache: this.options.noCache ?? true,
 
       // SPA support (enabled by default for modern web apps)