{ "mode": "man", "parameter": "git-difftool", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-difftool/1/json", "generated": "2026-06-15T19:56:51Z", "synopsis": "git difftool [] [ []] [--] [...]", "sections": { "NAME": { "content": "git-difftool - Show changes using common diff tools\n", "subsections": [] }, "SYNOPSIS": { "content": "git difftool [] [ []] [--] [...]\n\n", "subsections": [] }, "DESCRIPTION": { "content": "git difftool is a Git command that allows you to compare and edit files between revisions\nusing common diff tools. git difftool is a frontend to git diff and accepts the same options\nand arguments. See git-diff(1).\n", "subsections": [] }, "OPTIONS": { "content": "", "subsections": [ { "name": "-d, --dir-diff", "content": "Copy the modified files to a temporary location and perform a directory diff on them.\nThis mode never prompts before launching the diff tool.\n", "flag": "-d", "long": "--dir-diff" }, { "name": "-y, --no-prompt", "content": "Do not prompt before launching a diff tool.\n", "flag": "-y", "long": "--no-prompt" }, { "name": "--prompt", "content": "Prompt before each invocation of the diff tool. This is the default behaviour; the option\nis provided to override any configuration settings.\n\n--rotate-to=\nStart showing the diff for the given path, the paths before it will move to end and\noutput.\n\n--skip-to=\nStart showing the diff for the given path, skipping all the paths before it.\n\n-t , --tool=\nUse the diff tool specified by . Valid values include emerge, kompare, meld, and\nvimdiff. Run git difftool --tool-help for the list of valid settings.\n\nIf a diff tool is not specified, git difftool will use the configuration variable\ndiff.tool. If the configuration variable diff.tool is not set, git difftool will pick a\nsuitable default.\n\nYou can explicitly provide a full path to the tool by setting the configuration variable\ndifftool..path. For example, you can configure the absolute path to kdiff3 by\nsetting difftool.kdiff3.path. Otherwise, git difftool assumes the tool is available in\nPATH.\n\nInstead of running one of the known diff tools, git difftool can be customized to run an\nalternative program by specifying the command line to invoke in a configuration variable\ndifftool..cmd.\n\nWhen git difftool is invoked with this tool (either through the -t or --tool option or\nthe diff.tool configuration variable) the configured command line will be invoked with\nthe following variables available: $LOCAL is set to the name of the temporary file\ncontaining the contents of the diff pre-image and $REMOTE is set to the name of the\ntemporary file containing the contents of the diff post-image. $MERGED is the name of\nthe file which is being compared. $BASE is provided for compatibility with custom merge\ntool commands and has the same value as $MERGED.\n", "long": "--prompt" }, { "name": "--tool-help", "content": "Print a list of diff tools that may be used with --tool.\n\n--[no-]symlinks\ngit difftool's default behavior is create symlinks to the working tree when run in\n--dir-diff mode and the right-hand side of the comparison yields the same content as the\nfile in the working tree.\n\nSpecifying --no-symlinks instructs git difftool to create copies instead. --no-symlinks\nis the default on Windows.\n\n-x , --extcmd=\nSpecify a custom command for viewing diffs. git-difftool ignores the configured defaults\nand runs $command $LOCAL $REMOTE when this option is specified. Additionally, $BASE is\nset in the environment.\n\n-g, --[no-]gui\nWhen git-difftool is invoked with the -g or --gui option the default diff tool will be\nread from the configured diff.guitool variable instead of diff.tool. The --no-gui option\ncan be used to override this setting. If diff.guitool is not set, we will fallback in the\norder of merge.guitool, diff.tool, merge.tool until a tool is found.\n\n--[no-]trust-exit-code\ngit-difftool invokes a diff tool individually on each file. Errors reported by the diff\ntool are ignored by default. Use --trust-exit-code to make git-difftool exit when an\ninvoked diff tool returns a non-zero exit code.\n\ngit-difftool will forward the exit code of the invoked tool when --trust-exit-code is\nused.\n\nSee git-diff(1) for the full list of supported options.\n", "long": "--tool-help" } ] }, "CONFIG VARIABLES": { "content": "git difftool falls back to git mergetool config variables when the difftool equivalents have\nnot been defined.\n\ndiff.tool\nThe default diff tool to use.\n\ndiff.guitool\nThe default diff tool to use when --gui is specified.\n\ndifftool..path\nOverride the path for the given tool. This is useful in case your tool is not in the\nPATH.\n\ndifftool..cmd\nSpecify the command to invoke the specified diff tool.\n\nSee the --tool= option above for more details.\n\ndifftool.prompt\nPrompt before each invocation of the diff tool.\n\ndifftool.trustExitCode\nExit difftool if the invoked diff tool returns a non-zero exit status.\n\nSee the --trust-exit-code option above for more details.\n", "subsections": [] }, "SEE ALSO": { "content": "git-diff(1)\nShow changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc\n\ngit-mergetool(1)\nRun merge conflict resolution tools to resolve merge conflicts\n\ngit-config(1)\nGet and set repository or global options\n", "subsections": [] }, "GIT": { "content": "Part of the git(1) suite\n\n\n\nGit 2.34.1 02/26/2026 GIT-DIFFTOOL(1)", "subsections": [] } }, "summary": "git-difftool - Show changes using common diff tools", "flags": [ { "flag": "-d", "long": "--dir-diff", "arg": null, "description": "Copy the modified files to a temporary location and perform a directory diff on them. This mode never prompts before launching the diff tool." }, { "flag": "-y", "long": "--no-prompt", "arg": null, "description": "Do not prompt before launching a diff tool." }, { "flag": "", "long": "--prompt", "arg": null, "description": "Prompt before each invocation of the diff tool. This is the default behaviour; the option is provided to override any configuration settings. --rotate-to= Start showing the diff for the given path, the paths before it will move to end and output. --skip-to= Start showing the diff for the given path, skipping all the paths before it. -t , --tool= Use the diff tool specified by . Valid values include emerge, kompare, meld, and vimdiff. Run git difftool --tool-help for the list of valid settings. If a diff tool is not specified, git difftool will use the configuration variable diff.tool. If the configuration variable diff.tool is not set, git difftool will pick a suitable default. You can explicitly provide a full path to the tool by setting the configuration variable difftool..path. For example, you can configure the absolute path to kdiff3 by setting difftool.kdiff3.path. Otherwise, git difftool assumes the tool is available in PATH. Instead of running one of the known diff tools, git difftool can be customized to run an alternative program by specifying the command line to invoke in a configuration variable difftool..cmd. When git difftool is invoked with this tool (either through the -t or --tool option or the diff.tool configuration variable) the configured command line will be invoked with the following variables available: $LOCAL is set to the name of the temporary file containing the contents of the diff pre-image and $REMOTE is set to the name of the temporary file containing the contents of the diff post-image. $MERGED is the name of the file which is being compared. $BASE is provided for compatibility with custom merge tool commands and has the same value as $MERGED." }, { "flag": "", "long": "--tool-help", "arg": null, "description": "Print a list of diff tools that may be used with --tool. --[no-]symlinks git difftool's default behavior is create symlinks to the working tree when run in --dir-diff mode and the right-hand side of the comparison yields the same content as the file in the working tree. Specifying --no-symlinks instructs git difftool to create copies instead. --no-symlinks is the default on Windows. -x , --extcmd= Specify a custom command for viewing diffs. git-difftool ignores the configured defaults and runs $command $LOCAL $REMOTE when this option is specified. Additionally, $BASE is set in the environment. -g, --[no-]gui When git-difftool is invoked with the -g or --gui option the default diff tool will be read from the configured diff.guitool variable instead of diff.tool. The --no-gui option can be used to override this setting. If diff.guitool is not set, we will fallback in the order of merge.guitool, diff.tool, merge.tool until a tool is found. --[no-]trust-exit-code git-difftool invokes a diff tool individually on each file. Errors reported by the diff tool are ignored by default. Use --trust-exit-code to make git-difftool exit when an invoked diff tool returns a non-zero exit code. git-difftool will forward the exit code of the invoked tool when --trust-exit-code is used. See git-diff(1) for the full list of supported options." } ], "examples": [], "see_also": [ { "name": "git-diff", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-diff/1/json" }, { "name": "git-mergetool", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-mergetool/1/json" }, { "name": "git-config", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/json" } ], "tldr": { "source": "official", "description": "Show file changes using external diff tools. Accepts the same options and arguments as `git diff`.", "examples": [ { "description": "List available diff tools", "command": "git difftool --tool-help" }, { "description": "Set the default diff tool to Meld", "command": "git config --global diff.tool \"meld\"" }, { "description": "Use the default diff tool to show staged changes", "command": "git difftool --staged" }, { "description": "Use a specific tool to show changes since a given commit", "command": "git difftool {{-t|--tool}} {{opendiff}} {{commit}}" } ] } }