Watch mode
esdev --watch --deny-all --allow-listen=8080 server.ts
The standalone watcher reruns an entry whenever its source changes. The program runs in a child process, so listening sockets, globals and other state do not leak into the next run.
Restart behavior
A restart drains. It is a SIGTERM, the same graceful stop production gets: the server stops accepting, answers requests already in flight, and only then exits. --shutdown-grace=<ms> bounds the wait, after which the process is killed. A program that exits leaves the watcher running.
There is no SIGTERM and no console-independent way to ask another process to stop cleanly, so a restart there kills rather than drains.
What is watched
The watcher starts at the project root (the nearest directory with a package.json) or, without one, the entry file's directory. It walks that directory recursively and watches source extensions.
The generic watcher excludes esdev's staging directories. It does not read esdev.json or .gitignore, and it does not add build assets or explicit permission paths. Those project-aware rules belong to esdev start, which watches its configured build inputs and allowed read paths as well.
When to use esdev start
Use the project dev loop when esdev.json describes multiple targets, a server to restart, a directory to serve, or explicit permission paths that should be part of the watch set.