Watch Mode

Auto-update AGENTS.md when your code changes.

How watch mode works

By default, Aspect Code runs in watch mode. After the initial analysis it monitors your project for file changes and automatically re-analyzes and regenerates AGENTS.md.

aspectcode
# Analyzing project...
# ✓ AGENTS.md written
# Watching for changes...

When you save a file, Aspect Code detects the change, re-runs analysis on affected files, and updates AGENTS.md if needed.

Running without watch mode

To run a one-time analysis without watching:

aspectcode --once

This generates AGENTS.md and exits immediately. Good for CI or scripted workflows.

The terminal dashboard

While running in watch mode, Aspect Code displays a terminal dashboard showing:

Memory map — all managed files (AGENTS.md, scoped rules, cloud preferences)

Real-time assessments — warnings and violations as you edit code

Assessment actions — press [y] to confirm, [n] to dismiss, [s] to skip

Dream cycles — press [d] to consolidate corrections into refined guidance

Probe & refine — press [r] to re-evaluate and improve AGENTS.md

Cloud sync status — shows whether preferences are synced

Stats — changes, warnings, violations, corrections, learned preferences

Assessments and learning

When you modify a file, Aspect Code evaluates the change against your project’s dependency graph and conventions. If it detects a potential issue (e.g., a hub module changed without updating dependents), it shows an assessment:

[y] confirm — this is a real issue. Aspect Code records a “deny” preference and enforces this rule going forward.

[n] dismiss — this is fine. Aspect Code records an “allow” preference and suppresses this warning in the future.

[s] skip — ignore this time without learning.

Preferences are synced to the cloud automatically. After 5+ corrections, press [d] to run a dream cycle that consolidates your feedback into improved AGENTS.md content.