fix(watcher.node): Defer events during initial scan, track full event sequences, and harden watcher shutdown

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2025-12-11 - 6.2.2 - fix(watcher.node)
+Defer events during initial scan, track full event sequences, and harden watcher shutdown
+
+- Defer fs.watch events that arrive during the initial directory scan and process them after the scan completes to avoid race conditions where watchedFiles isn't populated.
+- Debounce now tracks the full sequence of events per file (rename/change) instead of collapsing to the last event, preventing intermediate events from being lost.
+- Detect delete+recreate via inode changes and emit unlink then add when appropriate; handle rapid create+delete sequences by emitting both events.
+- During stop(), cancel pending debounced emits before flipping _isWatching and make handleFsEvent return early when watcher is stopped to prevent orphaned timeouts and post-stop emits.
+- Add verbose logging of event sequences to aid debugging of complex fs event scenarios.
+- Update tests to expect unlink + add for inode replacement scenarios.
+- Version bump from 6.2.1 → 6.2.2
+
 ## 2025-12-10 - 6.2.1 - fix(watcher.node)
 Handle fs.watch close without spurious restarts; add tests and improve test runner
 

readme.hints.md

@@ -107,8 +107,27 @@ The Node.js watcher includes automatic recovery mechanisms based on learnings fr
 - Files created after initial scan are properly detected
 - Untracked file deletions emit `unlink` events instead of being silently dropped
 
+**Event Deferral During Initial Scan (v6.2.2+):**
+- Events are queued until initial scan completes
+- Prevents race conditions where events arrive before `watchedFiles` is populated
+- Deferred events are processed after scan completes
+
+**Event Sequence Tracking (v6.2.2+):**
+- Debounce now tracks ALL events in sequence, not just the last one
+- Prevents losing intermediate events (e.g., add→change→delete no longer loses add)
+- Intelligent processing of event sequences:
+  - Delete+recreate with inode change → emits `unlink` then `add`
+  - Rapid create+delete → emits both events
+  - Multiple changes → single `change` event (debouncing)
+
+**Post-Stop Event Guards (v6.2.2+):**
+- `handleFsEvent()` returns early if watcher is stopped
+- Pending emits are cleared BEFORE setting `_isWatching = false`
+- Prevents orphaned timeouts and events after `stop()`
+
 **Verbose logging:**
 - All lifecycle events logged with `[smartwatch]` prefix
+- Event sequences logged for debugging complex scenarios
 - Helps debug watcher issues in production
 
 Example log output:
@@ -118,9 +137,9 @@ Example log output:
 [smartwatch] Starting health check (every 30s)
 [smartwatch] Watcher started with 1 active watcher(s)
 [smartwatch] Health check: 1 watchers active
-[smartwatch] Inode changed for ./src: 12345 -> 67890
+[smartwatch] Processing event sequence for ./src/file.ts: [rename, rename, change]
-[smartwatch] fs.watch watches inode, not path - restarting watcher
 [smartwatch] File inode changed (delete+recreate): ./src/file.ts
+[smartwatch]   Previous inode: 12345, current: 67890
 ```
 
 ### Known fs.watch Limitations

test/test.inode.ts

@@ -60,8 +60,12 @@ tap.test('should detect delete+recreate (inode change scenario)', async () => {
   const initialInode = initialStats.ino;
   console.log(`[test] Initial inode: ${initialInode}`);
 
-  const changeObservable = await testSmartwatch.getObservableFor('change');
+  // With event sequence tracking, delete+recreate emits: unlink, then add
-  const eventPromise = waitForEvent(changeObservable, 3000);
+  // This is more accurate than just emitting 'change'
+  const unlinkObservable = await testSmartwatch.getObservableFor('unlink');
+  const addObservable = await testSmartwatch.getObservableFor('add');
+  const unlinkPromise = waitForEvent(unlinkObservable, 3000);
+  const addPromise = waitForEvent(addObservable, 3000);
 
   // Delete and recreate (this creates a new inode)
   await fs.promises.unlink(testFile);
@@ -73,9 +77,11 @@ tap.test('should detect delete+recreate (inode change scenario)', async () => {
   console.log(`[test] New inode: ${newInode}`);
   expect(newInode).not.toEqual(initialInode);
 
-  // Should still detect the change
+  // Should detect both unlink and add events for delete+recreate
-  const [filePath] = await eventPromise;
+  const [[unlinkPath], [addPath]] = await Promise.all([unlinkPromise, addPromise]);
-  expect(filePath).toInclude('inode-test.txt');
+  expect(unlinkPath).toInclude('inode-test.txt');
+  expect(addPath).toInclude('inode-test.txt');
+  console.log(`[test] Detected unlink + add events for delete+recreate`);
 
   // Cleanup
   await fs.promises.unlink(testFile);

ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@push.rocks/smartwatch',
-  version: '6.2.1',
+  version: '6.2.2',
   description: 'A cross-runtime file watcher with glob pattern support for Node.js, Deno, and Bun.'
 }

ts/watchers/watcher.node.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,12 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
   private _isWatching = false;
 
   // Debounce: pending emits per file path
-  private pendingEmits: Map<string, NodeJS.Timeout> = new Map();
+  // Fix 2: Track event sequence instead of just last event type
+  // This prevents losing intermediate events (add→change→delete should not lose add)
+  private pendingEmits: Map<string, {
+    timeout: NodeJS.Timeout;
+    events: Array<'rename' | 'change'>;
+  }> = new Map();
 
   // Restart tracking
   private restartDelays: Map<string, number> = new Map();
@@ -34,6 +39,11 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
   // Prevent concurrent restarts for the same path (health check + error can race)
   private restartingPaths: Set<string> = new Set();
 
+  // Initial scan state - events are deferred until scan completes to avoid race conditions
+  // Without this, events can arrive before watchedFiles is populated, causing inconsistent state
+  private initialScanComplete: boolean = false;
+  private deferredEvents: Array<{basePath: string; filename: string; eventType: string}> = [];
+
   // Configuration constants
   private static readonly MAX_RETRIES = 3;
   private static readonly INITIAL_RESTART_DELAY = 1000;
@@ -229,7 +239,12 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
     console.log(`[smartwatch] Starting watcher for ${this.options.basePaths.length} base path(s)...`);
 
     try {
+      // Reset initial scan state
+      this.initialScanComplete = false;
+      this.deferredEvents = [];
+
       // Start watching each base path
+      // NOTE: Events may arrive immediately but will be deferred until scan completes
       for (const basePath of this.options.basePaths) {
         await this.watchPath(basePath, 0);
       }
@@ -240,10 +255,21 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
       this.startHealthCheck();
 
       // Perform initial scan to emit 'add' events for existing files
+      // This populates watchedFiles and fileInodes BEFORE we process events
       for (const basePath of this.options.basePaths) {
         await this.scanDirectory(basePath, 0);
       }
 
+      // Mark scan complete and process any events that arrived during scan
+      this.initialScanComplete = true;
+      if (this.deferredEvents.length > 0) {
+        console.log(`[smartwatch] Processing ${this.deferredEvents.length} deferred events from initial scan window`);
+        for (const event of this.deferredEvents) {
+          this.handleFsEvent(event.basePath, event.filename, event.eventType);
+        }
+        this.deferredEvents = [];
+      }
+
       // Emit ready event
       this.safeEmit({ type: 'ready', path: '' });
       console.log(`[smartwatch] Watcher started with ${this.watchers.size} active watcher(s)`);
@@ -256,6 +282,15 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
 
   async stop(): Promise<void> {
     console.log('[smartwatch] Stopping watcher...');
+
+    // Fix 4: Cancel pending debounced emits FIRST (before flag changes)
+    // This prevents handleFsEvent from creating new pendingEmits during shutdown
+    for (const pending of this.pendingEmits.values()) {
+      clearTimeout(pending.timeout);
+    }
+    this.pendingEmits.clear();
+
+    // NOW set the flag - handleFsEvent will return early after this
     this._isWatching = false;
 
     // Stop health check monitoring
@@ -268,12 +303,6 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
     }
     this.restartAbortControllers.clear();
 
-    // Cancel all pending debounced emits
-    for (const timeout of this.pendingEmits.values()) {
-      clearTimeout(timeout);
-    }
-    this.pendingEmits.clear();
-
     // Close all watchers
     for (const [watchPath, watcher] of this.watchers) {
       console.log(`[smartwatch] Closing watcher for: ${watchPath}`);
@@ -289,6 +318,10 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
     this.fileInodes.clear();
     this.restartingPaths.clear();
 
+    // Fix 5: Reset initial scan state
+    this.initialScanComplete = false;
+    this.deferredEvents = [];
+
     console.log('[smartwatch] Watcher stopped');
   }
 
@@ -363,6 +396,18 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
     filename: string,
     eventType: 'rename' | 'change' | string
   ): void {
+    // Fix 3: Guard against post-stop events (events queued before watcher closed)
+    if (!this._isWatching) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Fix 1: Defer events until initial scan completes
+    // This prevents race conditions where events arrive before watchedFiles is populated
+    if (!this.initialScanComplete) {
+      this.deferredEvents.push({ basePath, filename, eventType });
+      return;
+    }
+
     const fullPath = path.join(basePath, filename);
 
     // Skip temporary files - but ONLY pure temp files, not the target of atomic writes
@@ -376,25 +421,48 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
       return;
     }
 
-    // Debounce: cancel any pending emit for this file
+    // Fix 2: Track event sequence in debounce instead of collapsing to last event
+    // This ensures we don't lose intermediate events (e.g., add→change→delete)
     const existing = this.pendingEmits.get(fullPath);
     if (existing) {
-      clearTimeout(existing);
+      // Cancel existing timeout but KEEP the event sequence
+      clearTimeout(existing.timeout);
+      // Add this event to the sequence
+      existing.events.push(eventType as 'rename' | 'change');
+      // Reschedule the emit with the accumulated events
+      existing.timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+        const pending = this.pendingEmits.get(fullPath);
+        if (pending) {
+          this.pendingEmits.delete(fullPath);
+          this.emitFileEvent(fullPath, pending.events);
+        }
+      }, this.options.debounceMs);
+    } else {
+      // First event for this file - create new sequence
+      const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+        const pending = this.pendingEmits.get(fullPath);
+        if (pending) {
+          this.pendingEmits.delete(fullPath);
+          this.emitFileEvent(fullPath, pending.events);
+        }
+      }, this.options.debounceMs);
+
+      this.pendingEmits.set(fullPath, {
+        timeout,
+        events: [eventType as 'rename' | 'change']
+      });
     }
-
-    // Schedule debounced emit
-    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-      this.pendingEmits.delete(fullPath);
-      this.emitFileEvent(fullPath, eventType);
-    }, this.options.debounceMs);
-
-    this.pendingEmits.set(fullPath, timeout);
   }
 
   /**
    * Emit the actual file event after debounce
    *
-   * Handles file inode tracking to detect delete+recreate scenarios:
+   * Fix 2: Now receives event sequence instead of single event type
+   * This allows intelligent processing of rapid event sequences:
+   * - add→change→delete: File was created and deleted rapidly
+   * - rename→rename: File was deleted and recreated (or vice versa)
+   *
+   * Also handles file inode tracking to detect delete+recreate scenarios:
    * - fs.watch watches the inode, not the path
    * - When editors delete+recreate files, the inode changes
    * - Without inode tracking, events for the new file would be missed
@@ -402,92 +470,98 @@ export class NodeWatcher implements IWatcher {
    */
   private async emitFileEvent(
     fullPath: string,
-    eventType: 'rename' | 'change' | string
+    eventSequence: Array<'rename' | 'change'>
   ): Promise<void> {
     try {
       const stats = await this.statSafe(fullPath);
+      const wasWatched = this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath);
+      const previousInode = this.fileInodes.get(fullPath);
 
-      if (eventType === 'rename') {
+      // Analyze event sequence to understand what happened
-        // 'rename' can mean add or unlink - check if file exists
+      const hasRename = eventSequence.includes('rename');
-        if (stats) {
+      const hasChange = eventSequence.includes('change');
-          // File exists - it's either a new file or was renamed to this location
+      const renameCount = eventSequence.filter(e => e === 'rename').length;
-          if (stats.isDirectory()) {
-            if (!this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath)) {
-              this.watchedFiles.add(fullPath);
-              this.safeEmit({ type: 'addDir', path: fullPath, stats });
-            }
-          } else {
-            const wasWatched = this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath);
-            const currentInode = BigInt(stats.ino);
-            const previousInode = this.fileInodes.get(fullPath);
 
-            // Track file inode for delete+recreate detection
+      // Log sequence for debugging complex scenarios
-            this.fileInodes.set(fullPath, currentInode);
+      if (eventSequence.length > 1) {
+        console.log(`[smartwatch] Processing event sequence for ${fullPath}: [${eventSequence.join(', ')}]`);
+      }
+
+      if (stats) {
+        // File EXISTS now
+        const currentInode = BigInt(stats.ino);
+        const inodeChanged = previousInode !== undefined && previousInode !== currentInode;
+
+        if (stats.isDirectory()) {
+          if (!wasWatched) {
             this.watchedFiles.add(fullPath);
-
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'addDir', path: fullPath, stats });
-            // Check if file was recreated with different inode (delete+recreate scenario)
-            if (wasWatched && previousInode !== undefined && previousInode !== currentInode) {
-              console.log(`[smartwatch] File inode changed (delete+recreate): ${fullPath}`);
-              console.log(`[smartwatch]   Previous inode: ${previousInode}, current: ${currentInode}`);
-              // Emit as 'change' since the file content likely changed
-              this.safeEmit({ type: 'change', path: fullPath, stats });
-            } else {
-              this.safeEmit({
-                type: wasWatched ? 'change' : 'add',
-                path: fullPath,
-                stats
-              });
-            }
           }
+          // Directories don't track inodes at file level
         } else {
-          // File doesn't exist - it was deleted
+          // Update tracking
-          if (this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath)) {
+          this.fileInodes.set(fullPath, currentInode);
-            const wasDir = this.isKnownDirectory(fullPath);
+          this.watchedFiles.add(fullPath);
-            this.watchedFiles.delete(fullPath);
+
-            this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath); // Clean up inode tracking
+          if (!wasWatched) {
+            // File wasn't tracked before - this is an add
+            // Even if there were multiple events, the end result is a new file
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'add', path: fullPath, stats });
+          } else if (inodeChanged) {
+            // File was recreated with different inode (delete+recreate)
+            console.log(`[smartwatch] File inode changed (delete+recreate): ${fullPath}`);
+            console.log(`[smartwatch]   Previous inode: ${previousInode}, current: ${currentInode}`);
+            // Multiple rename events with inode change = delete+recreate pattern
+            // Emit unlink for the old file, then add for the new one
+            if (renameCount >= 2) {
+              this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
+              this.safeEmit({ type: 'add', path: fullPath, stats });
+            } else {
+              // Single rename with inode change = atomic save (emit as change)
+              this.safeEmit({ type: 'change', path: fullPath, stats });
+            }
+          } else if (hasChange || hasRename) {
+            // File exists, was tracked, inode same - content changed
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'change', path: fullPath, stats });
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        // File does NOT exist now - it was deleted
+        const wasDir = this.isKnownDirectory(fullPath);
+
+        if (wasWatched) {
+          // File was tracked and is now gone
+          this.watchedFiles.delete(fullPath);
+          this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath);
+
+          // If there were multiple events, file may have been created then deleted
+          if (renameCount >= 2 && !wasDir) {
+            // add→delete sequence - emit both events
+            console.log(`[smartwatch] File created and deleted rapidly: ${fullPath}`);
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'add', path: fullPath });
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
+          } else {
             this.safeEmit({
               type: wasDir ? 'unlinkDir' : 'unlink',
               path: fullPath
             });
-          } else {
+          }
-            // Fix #4: File wasn't tracked but was deleted - still emit event
+        } else {
-            // This handles files created after initial scan that we may have missed
+          // File wasn't tracked - but events occurred for it
+          this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath);
+
+          if (renameCount >= 2) {
+            // Multiple rename events for untracked file that doesn't exist
+            // Likely: created → deleted rapidly
+            console.log(`[smartwatch] Untracked file created and deleted: ${fullPath}`);
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'add', path: fullPath });
+            this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
+          } else if (hasRename) {
+            // Single event for file that doesn't exist and wasn't tracked
             console.log(`[smartwatch] Untracked file deleted: ${fullPath}`);
-            this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath);
             this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
           }
-        }
+          // If only 'change' events for non-existent untracked file, ignore
-      } else if (eventType === 'change') {
-        // File was modified
-        if (stats && !stats.isDirectory()) {
-          const wasWatched = this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath);
-          const currentInode = BigInt(stats.ino);
-          const previousInode = this.fileInodes.get(fullPath);
-
-          // Track file inode
-          this.fileInodes.set(fullPath, currentInode);
-
-          if (!wasWatched) {
-            // This is actually an 'add' - file wasn't being watched before
-            this.watchedFiles.add(fullPath);
-            this.safeEmit({ type: 'add', path: fullPath, stats });
-          } else if (previousInode !== undefined && previousInode !== currentInode) {
-            // Inode changed during 'change' event - file was replaced
-            console.log(`[smartwatch] File replaced (inode change on modify): ${fullPath}`);
-            this.safeEmit({ type: 'change', path: fullPath, stats });
-          } else {
-            this.safeEmit({ type: 'change', path: fullPath, stats });
-          }
-        } else if (!stats && this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath)) {
-          // File was deleted
-          this.watchedFiles.delete(fullPath);
-          this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath);
-          this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
-        } else if (!stats && !this.watchedFiles.has(fullPath)) {
-          // Fix #4: Untracked file deleted during 'change' event
-          console.log(`[smartwatch] Untracked file deleted (change event): ${fullPath}`);
-          this.fileInodes.delete(fullPath);
-          this.safeEmit({ type: 'unlink', path: fullPath });
         }
       }
     } catch (error: any) {