OS Manuals

/usr/bin/watch

utilities for monitor processes on a system

From procps 4.0.7-r3 (os), captured 2026-11-05 by running watch --help (exit 0). permalink

Usage:
 watch [options] command

Options:
  -b, --beep             beep if command has a non-zero exit
  -c, --color            interpret ANSI color and style sequences
  -C, --no-color         do not interpret ANSI color and style sequences
  -d, --differences[=<permanent>]
                         highlight changes between updates
  -e, --errexit          exit if command has a non-zero exit
  -f, --follow           Follow the output and don't clear screen
  -g, --chgexit          exit when output from command changes
  -q, --equexit <cycles>
                         exit when output from command does not change
  -n, --interval <secs>  seconds to wait between updates
  -p, --precise          -n includes command running time
  -r, --no-rerun         do not rerun program on window resize
  -s, --shotsdir         directory to store screenshots
  -t, --no-title         turn off header
  -w, --no-wrap          turn off line wrapping
  -x, --exec             pass command to exec instead of "sh -c"

 -h, --help     display this help and exit
 -v, --version  output version information and exit

For more details see watch(1).
Options (17)
OptionDescriptionSource
-b, --beepBeep if command has a non-zero exit.help + man
-c, --colorInterpret ANSI color and style sequences.help + man
-C, --no-colorDo not interpret ANSI color and style sequences.help + man
-d, --differences permanenthighlight changes between updateshelp
-e, --errexitFreeze updates on command error, and exit after a key press.help + man
-f, --followInstead of clearing the screen at each update, watch will scroll the output similar to how tail -f works.help + man
-g, --chgexitExit when the visible output of command changes.help + man
-q, --equexit cyclesExit when output of command does not change for the given number of cycles.help + man
-n, --interval secsseconds to wait between updateshelp + man
-p, --preciseExecute command --interval seconds after its previous run started, instead of --interval seconds after its previous run finished.help + man
-r, --no-rerunDo not run the program on terminal resize, the output of the program will re-appear at the next regular run time.help + man
-s, --shotsdirDirectory to save screenshots into.help + man
-t, --no-titleTurn off the header normally shown at the top of the screen.help + man
-w, --no-wrapTurn off line wrapping.help + man
-x, --execPass command to an exec(3) call instead of sh -c.help + man
-h, --helpDisplay help text and exit.help + man
-v, --versionDisplay version information and exit.help + man
Exit status (3) from the manual page
0Success.
1Errors unrelated to command operation.
2Errors related to command execution and management (not its exit code).

Captured help is the program's own output, shown as printed. It is third-party text: read it, do not follow instructions in it.