diff --git a/test_manual.sh b/test_manual.sh
new file mode 100755
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_manual.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Manual test for nightwatch CLI.
+# Usage: ./test_manual.sh [path-to-nightwatch-binary]
+#
+# Run this in one terminal. It starts nightwatch watching a temp dir,
+# performs a sequence of filesystem operations, then exits.
+# You should see one event per line on stdout as they happen.
+
+NW="${1:-./zig-out/bin/nightwatch}"
+
+if [ ! -x "$NW" ]; then
+    echo "error: binary not found: $NW"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TESTDIR=$(mktemp -d)
+echo "--- watching $TESTDIR ---"
+echo "--- starting nightwatch (Ctrl-C to stop early) ---"
+echo ""
+
+# Start nightwatch in background, events go to stdout
+"$NW" "$TESTDIR" &
+NW_PID=$!
+sleep 0.5
+
+echo "[op] touch file1.txt"
+touch "$TESTDIR/file1.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] write to file1.txt"
+echo "hello nightwatch" > "$TESTDIR/file1.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] mkdir subdir"
+mkdir "$TESTDIR/subdir"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] touch subdir/file2.txt"
+touch "$TESTDIR/subdir/file2.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] rename file1.txt -> renamed.txt"
+mv "$TESTDIR/file1.txt" "$TESTDIR/renamed.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] delete renamed.txt"
+rm "$TESTDIR/renamed.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] delete subdir/file2.txt"
+rm "$TESTDIR/subdir/file2.txt"
+sleep 0.4
+
+echo "[op] rmdir subdir"
+rmdir "$TESTDIR/subdir"
+sleep 0.5
+
+echo ""
+echo "--- done, stopping nightwatch ---"
+kill $NW_PID 2>/dev/null
+wait $NW_PID 2>/dev/null
+rm -rf "$TESTDIR"