File Watchtower Documentation

Getting Started with File Watchtower

File Watchtower is a lightweight file integrity monitoring tool designed to help you detect and respond to unauthorized file system changes.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3
  • Write access to the installation directory
  • Email server (for notifications)

Installation

  1. Clone or download the project files:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/file-watchtower.git
  1. Place the project files in a writable directory, outside the directories being watched:
mv file-watchtower /opt/
cd /opt/file-watchtower

  1. Configure your settings in settings.py

  2. Create your watch list in watch_list.txt

Configuration

Watch List Format

The watch list file (watch_list.txt) supports two formats:

  1. Single File Monitoring:
/var/www/html/config.php
  1. Directory Monitoring:
/path/to/directory, include_subdirs, excluded_extensions, max_file_size

Example:

/var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/themes, true, .css|.woff|.ttf, 1048576

Initial Setup

Run the initial scan to create baseline records:

python3 watchtower.py --silent-scan

Automated Monitoring

Set up a cron job for routine scanning:

* * * * * python3 /opt/file_watchtower/watchtower.py --routine_scan
* * * * * python3 /opt/file_watchtower/watchtower.py --process-email-queue

Command Line Options

  • --routine_scan: Run normal monitoring scan
  • --silent-scan: Create baseline records without alerts
  • --process-email-queue: Send pending email alerts
  • --export-db: Export records to CSV
  • --reset: Clear the database
  • --version: Show version information