{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "filterdiff",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/filterdiff/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-06-15T16:37:16Z",
    "synopsis": "filterdiff [[-i PATTERN] | [--include=PATTERN]] [[-I FILE] | [--include-from-file=FILE]]\n[[-p n] | [--strip-match=n]] [--strip=n] [--addprefix=PREFIX]\n[--addoldprefix=PREFIX] [--addnewprefix=PREFIX] [[-x PATTERN] |\n[--exclude=PATTERN]] [[-X FILE] | [--exclude-from-file=FILE]] [[-v] | [--verbose]]\n[--clean] [[-z] | [--decompress]] [[-# RANGE] | [--hunks=RANGE]] [--lines=RANGE]\n[[-FRANGE] | [--files=RANGE]] [--annotate] [--format=FORMAT]\n[--as-numbered-lines=WHEN] [--remove-timestamps] [file...]\nfilterdiff {[--help] | [--version] | [--list] | [--grep ...]}",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "filterdiff - extract or exclude diffs from a diff file\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SYNOPSIS": {
            "content": "filterdiff [[-i PATTERN] | [--include=PATTERN]] [[-I FILE] | [--include-from-file=FILE]]\n[[-p n] | [--strip-match=n]] [--strip=n] [--addprefix=PREFIX]\n[--addoldprefix=PREFIX] [--addnewprefix=PREFIX] [[-x PATTERN] |\n[--exclude=PATTERN]] [[-X FILE] | [--exclude-from-file=FILE]] [[-v] | [--verbose]]\n[--clean] [[-z] | [--decompress]] [[-# RANGE] | [--hunks=RANGE]] [--lines=RANGE]\n[[-FRANGE] | [--files=RANGE]] [--annotate] [--format=FORMAT]\n[--as-numbered-lines=WHEN] [--remove-timestamps] [file...]\n\nfilterdiff {[--help] | [--version] | [--list] | [--grep ...]}\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "You can use filterdiff to obtain a patch that applies to files matching the shell wildcard\nPATTERN from a larger collection of patches. For example, to see the patches in\npatch-2.4.3.gz that apply to all files called lp.c:\n\nfilterdiff -z -i '*/lp.c' patch-2.4.3.gz\n\nIf neither -i nor -x options are given, -i '*' is assumed. This way filterdiff can be used to\nclean up an existing diff file, removing redundant lines from the beginning (eg. the text\nfrom the mail body) or between the chunks (eg. in CVS diffs). To extract pure patch data, use\na command like this:\n\nfilterdiff message-with-diff-in-the-body > patch\n\nNote that the interpretation of the shell wildcard pattern does not count slash characters or\nperiods as special (in other words, no flags are given to fnmatch). This is so that\n“*/basename”-type patterns can be given without limiting the number of pathname components.\n\nYou can use both unified and context format diffs with this program.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "OPTIONS": {
            "content": "",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "-i --include=",
                    "content": "Include only files matching PATTERN. All other lines in the input are suppressed.\n",
                    "flag": "-i"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-I --include-from-file=",
                    "content": "Include only files matching any pattern listed in FILE, one pattern per line. All other\nlines in the input are suppressed.\n",
                    "flag": "-I"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-x --exclude=",
                    "content": "Exclude files matching PATTERN. All other lines in the input are displayed.\n",
                    "flag": "-x"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-X --exclude-from-file=",
                    "content": "Exclude files matching any pattern listed in FILE, one pattern per line. All other lines\nin the input are displayed.\n",
                    "flag": "-X"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-p --strip-match=",
                    "content": "When matching, ignore the first n components of the pathname.\n\n-# RANGE, --hunks=RANGE\nOnly include hunks within the specified RANGE. Hunks are numbered from 1, and the range\nis a comma-separated list of numbers or “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a\nmodifier 'x' which inverts the entire range; either the first or the last in the span may\nbe omitted to indicate no limit in that direction.\n\n--lines=RANGE\nOnly include hunks that contain lines from the original file that lie within the\nspecified RANGE. Lines are numbered from 1, and the range is a comma-separated list of\nnumbers or “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a modifier 'x' which inverts the\nentire range; either the first or the last in the span may be omitted to indicate no\nlimit in that direction.\n",
                    "flag": "-p"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-F --files",
                    "content": "Only include files indicated by the specified RANGE. Files are numbered from 1 in the\norder they appear in the patch input, and the range is a comma-separated list of numbers\nor “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a modifier 'x' which inverts the entire\nrange; either the first or the last in the span may be omitted to indicate no limit in\nthat direction.\n",
                    "flag": "-F",
                    "long": "--files"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--annotate",
                    "content": "Annotate each hunk with the filename and hunk number.\n\n--format=unified|context\nUse specified output format.\n\n--strip=n\nRemove the first n components of pathnames in the output.\n\n--addprefix=PREFIX\nPrefix pathnames in the output by PREFIX. This will override any individual settings\nspecified with the --addoldprefix or --addnewprefix options.\n\n--addoldprefix=PREFIX\nPrefix pathnames for old or original files in the output by PREFIX.\n\n--addnewprefix=PREFIX\nPrefix pathnames for updated or new files in the output by PREFIX.\n\n--as-numbered-lines=before|after\nInstead of a patch fragment, display the lines of the selected hunks with the line number\nof the file before (or after) the patch is applied, followed by a TAB character and a\ncolon, at the beginning of each line. Each hunk except the first will have a line\nconsisting of “...”  before it.\n",
                    "long": "--annotate"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--remove-timestamps",
                    "content": "Do not include file timestamps in the output.\n",
                    "long": "--remove-timestamps"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-v --verbose",
                    "content": "Always show non-diff lines in the output. By default, non-diff lines are only shown when\nexcluding a filename pattern.\n",
                    "flag": "-v",
                    "long": "--verbose"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--clean",
                    "content": "Always remove all non-diff lines from the output. Even when excluding a filename pattern.\n",
                    "long": "--clean"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-z --decompress",
                    "content": "Decompress files with extensions .gz and .bz2.\n",
                    "flag": "-z",
                    "long": "--decompress"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--help",
                    "content": "Display a short usage message.\n",
                    "long": "--help"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--version",
                    "content": "Display the version number of filterdiff.\n",
                    "long": "--version"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--list",
                    "content": "Behave like lsdiff(1) instead.\n",
                    "long": "--list"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--grep",
                    "content": "Behave like grepdiff(1) instead.\n",
                    "long": "--grep"
                }
            ]
        },
        "EXAMPLES": {
            "content": "To see all patch hunks that affect the first five lines of a C file:\n\nfilterdiff -i '*.c' --lines=-5 < patch\n\nTo see the first hunk of each file patch, use:\n\nfilterdiff -#1 patchfile\n\nTo see patches modifying a ChangeLog file in a subdirectory, use:\n\nfilterdiff -p1 Changelog\n\nTo see the complete patches for each patch that modifies line 1 of the original file, use:\n\nfilterdiff --lines=1 patchfile | lsdiff | \\\nxargs -rn1 filterdiff patchfile -i\n\nTo see all but the first hunk of a particular patch, you might use:\n\nfilterdiff -p1 -i file.c -#2- foo-patch\n\nIf you have a very specific list of hunks in a patch that you want to see, list them:\n\nfilterdiff -#1,2,5-8,10,12,27-\n\nTo see the lines of the files that would be patched as they will appear after the patch is\napplied, use:\n\nfilterdiff --as-numbered-lines=after patch.file\n\nYou can see the same context before the patch is applied with:\n\nfilterdiff --as-numbered-lines=before\npatch.file\n\nFilterdiff can also be used to convert between unified and context format diffs:\n\nfilterdiff -v --format=unified context.diff\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SEE ALSO": {
            "content": "lsdiff(1), grepdiff(1), patchview(1)\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "AUTHOR": {
            "content": "Tim Waugh <twaugh@redhat.com>\nPackage maintainer\n\n\n\npatchutils                                   23 Jan 2009                               FILTERDIFF(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "filterdiff - extract or exclude diffs from a diff file",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "-i",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Include only files matching PATTERN. All other lines in the input are suppressed."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-I",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Include only files matching any pattern listed in FILE, one pattern per line. All other lines in the input are suppressed."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-x",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Exclude files matching PATTERN. All other lines in the input are displayed."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-X",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Exclude files matching any pattern listed in FILE, one pattern per line. All other lines in the input are displayed."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-p",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "When matching, ignore the first n components of the pathname. -# RANGE, --hunks=RANGE Only include hunks within the specified RANGE. Hunks are numbered from 1, and the range is a comma-separated list of numbers or “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a modifier 'x' which inverts the entire range; either the first or the last in the span may be omitted to indicate no limit in that direction. --lines=RANGE Only include hunks that contain lines from the original file that lie within the specified RANGE. Lines are numbered from 1, and the range is a comma-separated list of numbers or “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a modifier 'x' which inverts the entire range; either the first or the last in the span may be omitted to indicate no limit in that direction."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-F",
            "long": "--files",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Only include files indicated by the specified RANGE. Files are numbered from 1 in the order they appear in the patch input, and the range is a comma-separated list of numbers or “first-last” spans, optionally preceded by a modifier 'x' which inverts the entire range; either the first or the last in the span may be omitted to indicate no limit in that direction."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--annotate",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Annotate each hunk with the filename and hunk number. --format=unified|context Use specified output format. --strip=n Remove the first n components of pathnames in the output. --addprefix=PREFIX Prefix pathnames in the output by PREFIX. This will override any individual settings specified with the --addoldprefix or --addnewprefix options. --addoldprefix=PREFIX Prefix pathnames for old or original files in the output by PREFIX. --addnewprefix=PREFIX Prefix pathnames for updated or new files in the output by PREFIX. --as-numbered-lines=before|after Instead of a patch fragment, display the lines of the selected hunks with the line number of the file before (or after) the patch is applied, followed by a TAB character and a colon, at the beginning of each line. Each hunk except the first will have a line consisting of “...” before it."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--remove-timestamps",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Do not include file timestamps in the output."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-v",
            "long": "--verbose",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Always show non-diff lines in the output. By default, non-diff lines are only shown when excluding a filename pattern."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--clean",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Always remove all non-diff lines from the output. Even when excluding a filename pattern."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-z",
            "long": "--decompress",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Decompress files with extensions .gz and .bz2."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--help",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Display a short usage message."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--version",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Display the version number of filterdiff."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--list",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Behave like lsdiff(1) instead."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--grep",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Behave like grepdiff(1) instead."
        }
    ],
    "examples": [
        "To see all patch hunks that affect the first five lines of a C file:",
        "filterdiff -i '*.c' --lines=-5 < patch",
        "To see the first hunk of each file patch, use:",
        "filterdiff -#1 patchfile",
        "To see patches modifying a ChangeLog file in a subdirectory, use:",
        "filterdiff -p1 Changelog",
        "To see the complete patches for each patch that modifies line 1 of the original file, use:",
        "filterdiff --lines=1 patchfile | lsdiff | \\",
        "xargs -rn1 filterdiff patchfile -i",
        "To see all but the first hunk of a particular patch, you might use:",
        "filterdiff -p1 -i file.c -#2- foo-patch",
        "If you have a very specific list of hunks in a patch that you want to see, list them:",
        "filterdiff -#1,2,5-8,10,12,27-",
        "To see the lines of the files that would be patched as they will appear after the patch is",
        "applied, use:",
        "filterdiff --as-numbered-lines=after patch.file",
        "You can see the same context before the patch is applied with:",
        "filterdiff --as-numbered-lines=before",
        "patch.file",
        "Filterdiff can also be used to convert between unified and context format diffs:",
        "filterdiff -v --format=unified context.diff"
    ],
    "see_also": [
        {
            "name": "lsdiff",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lsdiff/1/json"
        },
        {
            "name": "grepdiff",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grepdiff/1/json"
        },
        {
            "name": "patchview",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/patchview/1/json"
        }
    ]
}