files.watcherExclude changes are not applied to active watchers
#17,699 opened on Jun 23, 2026
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Description
Bug Description:
Active file watchers are stamped with the files.watcherExclude value at the time they are created (FileService.resolveWatcherExcludes in packages/filesystem/src/browser/file-service.ts). When a user changes files.watcherExclude, existing watches are not re-issued, so the new value is not honored until each watcher happens to be recreated:
- newly-excluded directories stay watched (continue to consume OS file watches and emit events);
- newly-included directories stay unwatched.
This is a pre-existing gap. https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia/pull/17630 widened where the excludes are applied (every watcher rather than specific callers) but did not add live re-watching on preference change. Split out as a follow-up at the reviewer's request.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Open a workspace and let file watchers start with the default
files.watcherExclude. - Add a new pattern, e.g.
"files.watcherExclude": { "**/build/**": true }. - Observe that the
buildsubtree is still watched — the OS watches are not updated to honor the new exclude until the watcher is recreated (e.g. a reload).
Additional Information
- Follow-up from https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia/pull/17630
- Relevant code:
packages/filesystem/src/browser/file-service.ts—resolveWatcherExcludes/watch