local-file-arguments-text.md

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- /docs/agent/shared/flow/reference/components/local-file-arguments-text/
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File change detectors

File change detectors are used for detecting when the file needs to be re-read from disk. local.file supports two detectors: fsnotify and poll.

fsnotify

The fsnotify detector subscribes to filesystem events which indicate when the watched file had been updated. This requires a filesystem which supports events at the Operating System level: network-based filesystems like NFS or FUSE won't work.

When a filesystem event is received, the component will reread the watched file. This will happen for any filesystem event to the file, including a change of permissions.

fsnotify also polls for changes to the file with the configured poll_frequency as a fallback.

fsnotify will stop receiving filesystem events if the watched file has been deleted, renamed, or moved. The subscription will be re-established on the next poll once the watched file exists again.

poll

The poll file change detector will cause the watched file to be reread every poll_frequency, regardless of whether the file changed.