diff --git a/internal/filedata/poller.go b/internal/filedata/poller.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..816304b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/filedata/poller.go
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package filedata
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// fileState is the observed state of one file, or its absence.
+type fileState struct {
+	exists  bool
+	modTime time.Time
+	size    int64
+}
+
+// Poller detects changes to a set of files by examining them on a fixed interval, as an
+// alternative or supplement to filesystem change notifications for environments where those
+// are unavailable or unreliable. A change to any file's modification time or size — including
+// the file appearing or disappearing — invokes the onChange callback. A file that cannot be
+// examined is treated as absent, so a file becoming temporarily unreadable and recovering is
+// also detected.
+//
+// Detection is deliberately generous: onChange may be invoked for changes that do not alter
+// the effective data, and consumers are expected to feed it into a Reloader, whose debouncing
+// and skip-unchanged handling absorb the excess.
+type Poller struct {
+	paths     []string
+	interval  time.Duration
+	onChange  func()
+	last      []fileState
+	closeCh   chan struct{}
+	doneCh    chan struct{}
+	closeOnce sync.Once
+}
+
+// NewPoller creates a started Poller. The initial observation happens immediately, so only
+// changes after creation invoke onChange. Call Close to stop it.
+func NewPoller(paths []string, interval time.Duration, onChange func()) *Poller {
+	p := &Poller{
+		paths:    paths,
+		interval: interval,
+		onChange: onChange,
+		last:     observeAll(paths),
+		closeCh:  make(chan struct{}),
+		doneCh:   make(chan struct{}),
+	}
+	go p.run()
+	return p
+}
+
+// Close stops the poller. The onChange callback will not be invoked after Close returns.
+func (p *Poller) Close() {
+	p.closeOnce.Do(func() {
+		close(p.closeCh)
+		<-p.doneCh
+	})
+}
+
+func (p *Poller) run() {
+	defer close(p.doneCh)
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(p.interval)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-p.closeCh:
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			current := observeAll(p.paths)
+			changed := false
+			for i := range current {
+				if current[i] != p.last[i] {
+					changed = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+			p.last = current
+			if changed {
+				p.onChange()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func observeAll(paths []string) []fileState {
+	states := make([]fileState, len(paths))
+	for i, path := range paths {
+		if info, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil {
+			states[i] = fileState{exists: true, modTime: info.ModTime(), size: info.Size()}
+		}
+	}
+	return states
+}
diff --git a/internal/filedata/poller_test.go b/internal/filedata/poller_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f46548a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/filedata/poller_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package filedata
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+const pollTestInterval = 5 * time.Millisecond
+
+func newPollerFixture(t *testing.T, paths []string) chan struct{} {
+	t.Helper()
+	changed := make(chan struct{}, 100)
+	p := NewPoller(paths, pollTestInterval, func() { changed <- struct{}{} })
+	t.Cleanup(p.Close)
+	return changed
+}
+
+func requireChange(t *testing.T, changed chan struct{}) {
+	t.Helper()
+	select {
+	case <-changed:
+	case <-time.After(testTimeout):
+		require.FailNow(t, "timed out waiting for change detection")
+	}
+}
+
+func requireNoChange(t *testing.T, changed chan struct{}, duration time.Duration) {
+	t.Helper()
+	select {
+	case <-changed:
+		require.FailNow(t, "unexpected change detection")
+	case <-time.After(duration):
+	}
+}
+
+// writeFileWithNewModTime rewrites a file and guarantees the observed (modTime, size) state
+// differs from the previous state, so the poller must detect it regardless of filesystem
+// timestamp granularity.
+func writeFileWithNewModTime(t *testing.T, path string, content string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), 0600))
+	newTime := time.Now().Add(time.Duration(len(content)) * time.Second)
+	require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(path, newTime, newTime))
+}
+
+func TestPollerDetectsModification(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "data.json")
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "one")
+	changed := newPollerFixture(t, []string{path})
+
+	requireNoChange(t, changed, 20*pollTestInterval)
+
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "two!")
+	requireChange(t, changed)
+}
+
+func TestPollerDetectsFileAppearing(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "data.json")
+	changed := newPollerFixture(t, []string{path})
+
+	requireNoChange(t, changed, 20*pollTestInterval)
+
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "created")
+	requireChange(t, changed)
+}
+
+func TestPollerDetectsFileDisappearing(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "data.json")
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "content")
+	changed := newPollerFixture(t, []string{path})
+
+	require.NoError(t, os.Remove(path))
+	requireChange(t, changed)
+}
+
+func TestPollerWatchesAllFiles(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path1 := filepath.Join(dir, "one.json")
+	path2 := filepath.Join(dir, "two.json")
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path1, "one")
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path2, "two")
+	changed := newPollerFixture(t, []string{path1, path2})
+
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path2, "two-changed")
+	requireChange(t, changed)
+}
+
+func TestPollerStopsOnClose(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "data.json")
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "one")
+	changed := make(chan struct{}, 100)
+	p := NewPoller([]string{path}, pollTestInterval, func() { changed <- struct{}{} })
+	p.Close()
+	p.Close() // idempotent
+
+	writeFileWithNewModTime(t, path, "two!")
+	requireNoChange(t, changed, 20*pollTestInterval)
+}