@angular/build watch does not pick up changes behind a directory symlink when preserveSymlinks is true (22.2.0-next)

[thaoula]

Command

• build (--watch)
• serve

Is this a regression?

Yes.

The previous version in which this bug was not present was

22.1.x (watchpack). Broken from 22.2.0-next.3.

Description

Repo layout: a shared TypeScript folder sits next to the Angular workspace. The workspace reaches it through a directory symlink. preserveSymlinks is true on the application builder.

The first build succeeds. After that, edits in the real folder (the symlink target) do not trigger a rebuild. New files and new exports are also ignored until ng serve / ng build --watch is restarted.

This is the same layout as #23896. Webpack was fixed in #23900 by setting watchpack followSymlinks when preserveSymlinks is on.

22.2.0-next.3 replaced watchpack with @parcel/watcher (a6ef9cf). createWatcher still gets followSymlinks: preserveSymlinks, but only the chokidar polling fallback uses that option. The default Parcel path never reads it.

Parcel subscribes to the workspace root. Native watchers do not recurse through a directory symlink that points outside that root. With preserveSymlinks: true, esbuild reports watch files as the symlink paths inside the workspace, so the extra outside-root subscription also never attaches to the real folder.

--poll works, because that path uses chokidar with followSymlinks.

Minimal Reproduction

repo/
  model/
    index.ts
  app/
    libs/model -> ../../model
    angular.json   # builder @angular/build:application, preserveSymlinks: true
    tsconfig.json  # paths: { "@shared/model": ["./libs/model"] }

1. Import @shared/model from the app.
2. Run ng serve (or ng build --watch).
3. Change model/index.ts.
4. The watcher does not rebuild.

Exception or Error

None. The watcher stays idle.

Your Environment

Angular CLI: 22.2.0-next.6
@angular/build: 22.2.0-next.6
Angular: 22.1.0
Builder: @angular/build:application
OS: darwin arm64

Anything else relevant?

Related: #23896, #23900, #25753, #15100.

In 22.2.0-next.6:

• packages/angular/build/src/builders/application/build-action.ts passes followSymlinks: preserveSymlinks.
• packages/angular/build/src/tools/esbuild/watcher.ts: createParcelWatcher ignores options.followSymlinks; createChokidarWatcher sets it.

A fix that matches the old watchpack behaviour: when followSymlinks is true, realpath watch files that sit behind a directory symlink and subscribe Parcel to those real directories.