diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 01be5974d70..600ca08e6aa 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -234,6 +234,8 @@ group :ldap do
 end
 
 group :development do
+  gem 'listen', '~> 3.2.1' # Use for event-based reloaders
+
   gem 'faker'
   gem 'letter_opener'
   gem 'livingstyleguide', '~> 2.1.0'
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 98cf4badf16..d4604065015 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -580,6 +580,9 @@ GEM
       addressable (~> 2.3)
     letter_opener (1.7.0)
       launchy (~> 2.2)
+    listen (3.2.1)
+      rb-fsevent (~> 0.10, >= 0.10.3)
+      rb-inotify (~> 0.9, >= 0.9.10)
     livingstyleguide (2.1.0)
       minisyntax (>= 0.2.5)
       redcarpet
@@ -754,6 +757,9 @@ GEM
     rainbow (3.0.0)
     raindrops (0.19.0)
     rake (13.0.1)
+    rb-fsevent (0.10.3)
+    rb-inotify (0.10.0)
+      ffi (~> 1.0)
     rbtree3 (0.5.0)
     rdoc (6.1.1)
     recaptcha (5.1.0)
@@ -1003,6 +1009,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   ladle
   launchy (~> 2.4.3)
   letter_opener
+  listen (~> 3.2.1)
   livingstyleguide (~> 2.1.0)
   lograge (~> 0.10.0)
   meta-tags (~> 2.11.0)
diff --git a/config/environments/development.rb b/config/environments/development.rb
index f9296880ed8..dc62cb5f013 100644
--- a/config/environments/development.rb
+++ b/config/environments/development.rb
@@ -41,11 +41,8 @@ OpenProject::Application.configure do
   # Do not eager load code on boot.
   config.eager_load = false
 
-  # File watcher
-  # using ActiveSupport::EventedFileUpdateChecker depends on listen which depends on fsevent
-  # which seems to be prone to creating zombie process (+200 of them) which can cause
-  # the process limit (on mac) to be reached which causes the system to need a reboot.
-  config.file_watcher = ActiveSupport::FileUpdateChecker
+  # Asynchronous file watcher
+  config.file_watcher = ActiveSupport::EventedFileUpdateChecker
 
   # Store uploaded files on the local file system (see config/storage.yml for options)
   config.active_storage.service = :local