config INOTIFY bool "Inotify file change notification support" default n ---help--- Say Y here to enable legacy in kernel inotify support. Inotify is a file change notification system. It is a replacement for dnotify. This option only provides the legacy inotify in kernel API. There are no in tree kernel users of this interface since it is deprecated. You only need this if you are loading an out of tree kernel module that uses inotify. For more information, see If unsure, say N. config INOTIFY_USER bool "Inotify support for userspace" select FSNOTIFY default y ---help--- Say Y here to enable inotify support for userspace, including the associated system calls. Inotify allows monitoring of both files and directories via a single open fd. Events are read from the file descriptor, which is also select()- and poll()-able. Inotify fixes numerous shortcomings in dnotify and introduces several new features including multiple file events, one-shot support, and unmount notification. For more information, see If unsure, say Y.