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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 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:

pip install watchdog

3. Run the Script

Open a terminal or command prompt and execute:

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.