Pick a folder and Folderwatch starts a live timeline for it. Every file added, edited, renamed or removed shows up the moment it happens — no refreshing, no digging through File Explorer.
A focused tool for one question: what just changed in this folder?
Changes appear as they happen, each with the file name, where it sits in the folder, its size and the exact moment it changed.
Watch as many folders as you like. Each keeps its own separate history, so a busy Downloads folder never buries a quiet project folder.
Every kind of change is labelled clearly. Renames are shown as renames, with the old and new name together — not as an unrelated delete and add.
Temporary files, hidden system files and the churn behind a single save are filtered out, so the timeline shows the change you made, not the machinery under it.
Search the timeline by name or narrow it to one kind of change. Open any entry for full details, then reveal the file in File Explorer or open it directly.
Activity lives in memory while the app is open and is discarded when you quit. There is no history file and no activity database anywhere on your disk.
Three steps, then it stays out of your way.
Choose any folder on your PC and decide whether subfolders count too. Folderwatch remembers your choice for next time.
The timeline fills in as things change. Pause a folder when you want quiet, and resume whenever you like.
Click any entry for full details, then reveal the file in File Explorer or open it straight from the app.
Everything people ask before installing.
No. Folderwatch has no cloud service and no telemetry, and it never sends your file names or file contents anywhere. Everything happens on your own PC.
No. Activity is held in memory only, for as long as the app is open. There is no history file and no activity database. When you quit, the timeline is gone for good.
Only which folders you asked it to watch, plus your preferences such as language and how many recent changes to keep. That way you do not have to add your folders again every time.
No. There is no sign-up, no sign-in and no account of any kind. Install it and it works, including with no internet connection.
As many as you like. Each watched folder keeps its own independent timeline, and you can pause any of them individually.
When something very large happens — extracting a big archive, or copying thousands of files — Folderwatch tells you plainly that a large burst occurred and roughly how many changes it covered, instead of flooding the timeline or quietly dropping them.
Folderwatch uses the change notifications Windows already provides rather than repeatedly scanning your disk, and it filters out irrelevant noise before recording anything. It is a small, quiet background tool.
Folderwatch is free on the Microsoft Store. There is nothing to unlock and no subscription.