File change tracker

File_Change_Tracker_#1839/README.md

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+# Folder Activity Monitor
+
+> A Python script that **monitors a folder in real-time** and logs whenever files are **added**, **deleted**, or **modified**.
+
+Ideal for developers, system admins, or anyone who wants to **track file system changes** automatically.
+
+---
+
+## Features
+
+* Real-time monitoring of a folder
+* Detects file **creation**, **deletion**, and **modification**
+* Automatically logs all events with timestamps
+* Saves logs to a file: `folder_activity.log`
+* Works on **Windows**, **macOS**, and **Linux**
+* Lightweight — only requires the `watchdog` library
+
+---
+
+## Example Log Output
+
+When you add, remove, or modify files, a log entry is created automatically:
+
+```
+2025-10-31 10:42:11 - File created: /Users/Downloads/photo.jpg
+2025-10-31 10:43:08 - File modified: /Users/Downloads/report.pdf
+2025-10-31 10:44:22 - File deleted: /Users/Downloads/old_notes.txt
+```
+
+---
+
+## How It Works
+
+1. Monitors a target folder using the [`watchdog`](https://pypi.org/project/watchdog/) library.
+2. Detects three types of file system events:
+
+   * **Created**
+   * **Deleted**
+   * **Modified**
+3. Records each event with a timestamp in a log file named `folder_activity.log`.
+4. Runs continuously until manually stopped with **Ctrl + C**.
+
+---
+
+## Usage
+
+### 1. Clone or Download the Script
+
+Download or copy `folder_monitor.py` to your computer.
+
+### 2. Install the Required Library
+
+Use `pip` to install the `watchdog` library:
+
+```bash
+pip install watchdog
+```
+
+### 3. Run the Script
+
+Open a terminal or command prompt and execute:
+
+```bash
+python folder_monitor.py
+```
+
+You’ll be prompted to enter the folder you want to monitor.
+If you press Enter without typing anything, it defaults to your **Downloads** folder.
+
+```
+=== Folder Activity Monitor ===
+Enter the folder path to monitor [/Users/deepak/Downloads]:
+```
+
+### 4. View the Log File
+
+All activity is logged in `folder_activity.log` in the same directory as the script.
+
+---
+
+## Configuration
+
+| Option                | Description                                                               |
+| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| **Folder to Monitor** | Any valid directory path. Defaults to the user's `Downloads` folder.      |
+| **Recursive**         | Set `recursive=True` in the script to monitor subfolders.                 |
+| **Log File**          | Automatically created as `folder_activity.log` in the script’s directory. |
+
+---
+
+## Notes
+
+* The script only tracks **file-level changes** by default (not folders).
+* Press **Ctrl + C** to stop monitoring gracefully.
+* Ensure you have read/write permissions for the folder you monitor.
+* For performance, avoid using it on extremely large folders with thousands of files.
+
+---

File_Change_Tracker_#1839/folder_monitor.py

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+"""
+This script monitors a specified folder in real-time and logs whenever 
+files are added, removed, or modified. It helps track file system changes 
+for auditing, debugging, or automation purposes.
+
+Example:
+    - A new file 'report.pdf' added → Logged as "File created"
+    - An existing file deleted → Logged as "File deleted"
+    - A file updated → Logged as "File modified"
+
+The script writes all events to a log file named 'folder_activity.log'
+inside the same directory as this script.
+
+Dependencies:
+    - watchdog (install via pip)
+        pip install watchdog
+
+"""
+
+import time
+import logging
+from watchdog.observers import Observer
+from watchdog.events import FileSystemEventHandler
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+class FolderEventHandler(FileSystemEventHandler):
+    """
+    Custom event handler that logs file system changes.
+
+    Methods:
+        on_created(event): Triggered when a file/folder is created.
+        on_deleted(event): Triggered when a file/folder is deleted.
+        on_modified(event): Triggered when a file/folder is modified.
+    """
+
+    def on_created(self, event):
+        """Logs when a file or folder is created."""
+        if not event.is_directory:
+            logging.info(f"File created: {event.src_path}")
+
+    def on_deleted(self, event):
+        """Logs when a file or folder is deleted."""
+        if not event.is_directory:
+            logging.info(f"File deleted: {event.src_path}")
+
+    def on_modified(self, event):
+        """Logs when a file or folder is modified."""
+        if not event.is_directory:
+            logging.info(f"File modified: {event.src_path}")
+
+
+def monitor_folder(folder_path: str) -> None:
+    """
+    Monitors the given folder and logs file events (create, delete, modify).
+
+    Args:
+        folder_path (str): Path to the folder to be monitored.
+
+    Returns:
+        None
+    """
+    folder = Path(folder_path)
+
+    # Validate folder path
+    if not folder.is_dir():
+        print(f"Error: '{folder_path}' is not a valid directory.")
+        return
+
+    # Set up logging configuration
+    logging.basicConfig(
+        filename="folder_activity.log",
+        level=logging.INFO,
+        format="%(asctime)s - %(message)s",
+        datefmt="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S",
+    )
+
+    print(f"Monitoring started for folder: {folder.resolve()}")
+    print("Watching for file additions, deletions, and modifications...")
+    print("Press Ctrl + C to stop monitoring.\n")
+
+    # Create an event handler and observer
+    event_handler = FolderEventHandler()
+    observer = Observer()
+    observer.schedule(event_handler, str(folder), recursive=False)
+
+    # Start the observer
+    observer.start()
+    try:
+        while True:
+            time.sleep(1)
+    except KeyboardInterrupt:
+        observer.stop()
+        print("\n Monitoring stopped by user.")
+    observer.join()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    # Default folder to monitor (user's Downloads folder)
+    default_folder = Path.home() / "Downloads"
+
+    print("=== Folder Activity Monitor ===")
+    folder_input = input(f"Enter the folder path to monitor [{default_folder}]: ").strip()
+    folder_to_monitor = folder_input if folder_input else str(default_folder)
+
+    # Start monitoring
+    monitor_folder(folder_to_monitor)