ADR 0021 — Remove idx watch command

Status

Accepted

Context

idx watch ran a foreground file-watcher that re-indexed changed directories. ADR 0020 merged the watch loop into the idx server process: idx server start spawns a single daemon that runs the JSON-RPC server and the watch loop concurrently.

After ADR 0020, idx watch was redundant:

  • When the server is running, the command printed “not available in server mode”.
  • Without the server, re-indexing ran but search/init/sync were unreachable via RPC.

Decision

Remove idx watch from the CLI surface. The internal watch loop (WatchWithContext) is retained in InitCommandService and continues to be invoked by idx server run.

The watch.debounce configuration key is preserved; it is applied to the server’s internal watch loop.

Consequences

  • idx watch no longer appears in idx --help.
  • Users who relied on idx watch should use idx server start instead.
  • The Watch(showUpdatedFiles, debounce) method and the daemon-check logic (watchStartedByDaemon, currentProjectAlreadyMonitored) are removed from InitCommandService.
  • WatchWithContext remains as the internal API consumed by newServerRunCommand.