From c704d3337f4c6124f38e05d1f88d2883f7c3f4cb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Efe Karasakal <dogukankrskl@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:58:01 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] watch: get flags from execArgv

---
 lib/internal/main/watch_mode.js | 9 ++++-----
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/lib/internal/main/watch_mode.js b/lib/internal/main/watch_mode.js
index 225436661f5e56..06c2c8602da444 100644
--- a/lib/internal/main/watch_mode.js
+++ b/lib/internal/main/watch_mode.js
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ const {
   triggerUncaughtException,
   exitCodes: { kNoFailure },
 } = internalBinding('errors');
-const { getOptionValue, getOptionsAsFlagsFromBinding } = require('internal/options');
+const { getOptionValue } = require('internal/options');
 const { FilesWatcher } = require('internal/watch_mode/files_watcher');
 const { green, blue, red, white, clear } = require('internal/util/colors');
 const { convertToValidSignal } = require('internal/util');
@@ -44,14 +44,13 @@ const kCommand = ArrayPrototypeSlice(process.argv, 1);
 const kCommandStr = inspect(ArrayPrototypeJoin(kCommand, ' '));
 
 const argsWithoutWatchOptions = [];
-const argsFromBinding = getOptionsAsFlagsFromBinding();
-for (let i = 0; i < argsFromBinding.length; i++) {
-  const arg = argsFromBinding[i];
+for (let i = 0; i < process.execArgv.length; i++) {
+  const arg = process.execArgv[i];
   if (StringPrototypeStartsWith(arg, '--watch=')) {
     continue;
   }
   if (arg === '--watch') {
-    const nextArg = argsFromBinding[i + 1];
+    const nextArg = process.execArgv[i + 1];
     if (nextArg && nextArg[0] !== '-') {
       // If `--watch` doesn't include `=` and the next
       // argument is not a flag then it is interpreted as

From 062f3a59e10b9874f21d945765083a043649c510 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Efe Karasakal <dogukankrskl@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:12:26 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] watch: add test for checking cli flag order

---
 test/sequential/test-watch-mode.mjs | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+)

diff --git a/test/sequential/test-watch-mode.mjs b/test/sequential/test-watch-mode.mjs
index 4fb0f0acb377c3..a5cac129ad1c21 100644
--- a/test/sequential/test-watch-mode.mjs
+++ b/test/sequential/test-watch-mode.mjs
@@ -893,4 +893,33 @@ process.on('message', (message) => {
       await done();
     }
   });
+
+  it('should respect the order for --env-file and --env-file-if-exists', async () => {
+    const envKey = `TEST_ENV_${Date.now()}`;
+    const jsFile = createTmpFile(`console.log('ENV: ' + process.env.${envKey});`);
+
+    const envFile = createTmpFile(`${envKey}=base`, '.env');
+    const envFileIfExists = createTmpFile(`${envKey}=override`, '.env');
+
+    const { done, restart } = runInBackground({
+      args: [
+        '--watch',
+        `--env-file=${envFile}`,
+        `--env-file-if-exists=${envFileIfExists}`,
+        jsFile,
+      ],
+    });
+
+    try {
+      const { stdout, stderr } = await restart();
+
+      assert.strictEqual(stderr, '');
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(stdout, [
+        'ENV: override',
+        `Completed running ${inspect(jsFile)}. Waiting for file changes before restarting...`,
+      ]);
+    } finally {
+      await done();
+    }
+  });
 });