# Watch node doesn't work when file was modified on NFS volume

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/watch-node-doesnt-work-when-file-was-modified-on-nfs-volume/101483>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [16 July 2026 11:20 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/watch-node-doesnt-work-when-file-was-modified-on-nfs-volume/101483 "2026-07-16T11:20:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sidisl16](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/sidisl16/32/106145_2.png) [@sidisl16](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/sidisl16)\
**Post date:** [16 July 2026 11:20 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/watch-node-doesnt-work-when-file-was-modified-on-nfs-volume/101483/1 "2026-07-16T11:20:39Z")

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I have hosted Node red in Oracle's OCI container instance, where I have mounted [FSS](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/File/Concepts/filestorageoverview.htm) volume(NFS V3), the same volume has been mounted on the OCI VM, when we create edit or delete any file in the mounted path from VM, the node red watch node doesn't detect it. Its detecting only when it is create locally in the container. Is this behaviour expected or is it a bug?

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**Author:** ![knolleary](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/knolleary/32/3_2.png) [@knolleary](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/knolleary)\
**Post date:** [16 July 2026 12:17 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/watch-node-doesnt-work-when-file-was-modified-on-nfs-volume/101483/2 "2026-07-16T12:17:08Z")

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It is expected unfortunately. The underlying node.js library used to watch for changes cannot work reliably with network mounts:

> If the underlying functionality is not available for some reason, then `fs.watch()` will not be able to function and may throw an exception. For example, watching files or directories can be unreliable, and in some cases impossible, on network file systems (NFS, SMB, etc) or host file systems when using virtualization software such as Vagrant or Docker.

[reference](https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#availability)

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**Author:** ![RvG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/rvg/32/96613_2.png) [@RvG](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/RvG)\
**Post date:** [20 July 2026 15:50 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/watch-node-doesnt-work-when-file-was-modified-on-nfs-volume/101483/3 "2026-07-20T15:50:55Z")

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You could try the 'folder capture' node that's part of the [@objectif-lune/files-and-folders](https://flows.nodered.org/node/@objectif-lune/node-red-contrib-files-and-folders) package. It has an option to switch between listening for file events, or using polling.