Watch & Service

Watch mode

Watches the catalog file (and its WAL journal) for filesystem changes. When a change is detected, lrimmich waits for a debounce window to pass (in case Lightroom is still writing), then runs a sync.

lrimmich watch
lrimmich watch --debounce 10000

The default debounce is 5 seconds. Increase it if your catalog is large or Lightroom writes take a while to settle.

Watch mode runs in the foreground. Use Ctrl+C to stop it.

Background service

To run syncs on a fixed schedule (without needing to keep a terminal open), generate a system service:

macOS (launchd)

lrimmich install-service --interval 300

This creates a launchd plist at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.lrimmich.sync.plist that runs lrimmich sync every 5 minutes. The service starts immediately and loads on login.

Linux (systemd)

lrimmich install-service --interval 300

This creates a systemd user timer and service unit. Enable and start it with the commands printed after install.

Preview without installing

lrimmich install-service --dry-run

Prints the unit file contents without writing anything.

Uninstall

lrimmich uninstall-service

Removes the generated service files.