Reload current file via keybinding and optional auto-reload

[B83C]

Feature request: reload the current file (keybinding) and optional auto-reload

Motivation

When using bat to tail/live-inspect files (logs, generated configs, source files being edited by another process), there is currently no way to refresh the displayed content without quitting and re-running bat. It would be very useful to be able to reload the current file in place.

Proposed features

1. Manual reload via keybinding

   • Add a keybinding (e.g. r or Ctrl+R) that reloads the current file from disk and re-renders the view.
   • Should work even when no search term is active.

2. Auto-reload (follow / watch mode)

   • Add an option such as --follow / --watch (or a keybinding that toggles it) that watches the file for changes and automatically reloads the content.
   • This would make bat usable like tail -f for file monitoring.

3. Cursor / scroll position preservation

   • After a reload, restore the current scroll position (and selection/active search match if possible) so the view doesn't jump back to the top.
   • At minimum, attempt to keep the line that was on screen at the time of reload at the same screen offset.

Notes / considerations

• Restoring the exact scroll position is complicated if the file changes in length or content above the visible region (like in a text editor); a best-effort restoration based on the line number is acceptable.
• This interacts with bat's pager (less) — reload may need to be implemented by feeding fresh content to the pager or via a pager-agnostic approach. Worth clarifying with maintainers how the pager integration should work.
• For auto-reload, polling the file for mtime/size changes (like tail -f) or an inotify-based approach could be considered.

Prior art

• less supports R to reread the current file (hides the control characters) — but does not reload changes from disk the way requested here.
• tail -f / --retry reloads on change.

Thanks for considering this!