# [nodemon] App Crashed – Waiting for File Changes Before Starting…
If you’re a developer who works on Node.js projects, you’ve probably encountered [nodemon] at some point. Nodemon is a utility that helps you automate your workflow when working on Node.js projects by automatically restarting your app when changes are detected in the file system.
However, you may sometimes encounter an issue with [nodemon] where it crashes and you see the message, “App crashed – waiting for file changes before starting…” on your terminal. This error can be frustrating, but there are several potential solutions.
## Cause of the Issue
Before diving into the potential solutions, it’s important to understand what might be causing this issue.
This error occurs when [nodemon] detects an uncaught exception or a syntax error in your code. When this happens, [nodemon] crashes, and you’ll see the message on your terminal. In some cases, [nodemon] might not even start.
## Potential Solutions
Here are several potential solutions to fix this issue:
1. Check for Uncaught Exceptions/Errors
– Check your code for any uncaught exceptions or errors that might be causing [nodemon] to crash.
– Ensure all the dependencies are installed.
2. Update [nodemon]
– Update [nodemon] by running “npm install nodemon -g” which will install the latest version of [nodemon].
3. Increase Memory
– If [nodemon] is running out of memory, you can increase the memory limit by setting an environment variable. For example, you can set the memory limit to 2GB by running “nodemon –max_old_space_size=2048 app.js”
4. Change the Watcher
– You can try changing the type of file watcher used by [nodemon] by using the “–legacy-watch” option. For example, “nodemon –legacy-watch app.js”.
5. Disable File Watching
– If none of the above solutions work, you can try to disable file watching altogether, by using the “–ignore” option followed by a comma-separated list of files/directories you want to ignore. For example, “nodemon –ignore node_modules app.js”.
## Conclusion
The [nodemon] app crashed, waiting for file changes before starting error can be frustrating, but it’s not an unsolvable issue. With the potential solutions outlined in this article, you should be able to resolve the issue and get back to coding.