diff.md

diff

difference

compare files line by line

---

References

• man diff

Quickstart

diff -y file1 file2 # Output in two columns
# -y == --side-by-side

# e.g. output
1   <
2     2
3     3
    > 4
# < : lines from file1
# > : lines from file2

Options

• -y, --side-by-side output in two columns
• -i, --ignore-case ignore case differences in file contents
• -E, --ignore-tab-expansion ignore changes due to tab expansion
• -Z, --ignore-trailing-space ignore white space at line end
• -b, --ignore-space-change ignore changes in the amount of white space
• -w, --ignore-all-space ignore all white space
• -B, --ignore-blank-lines ignore changes where lines are all blank
• ……

Usage

Sample

$ cat file1
1
2
3

$ cat file2
2
3
4

Default

$ diff file1 file2
1d0
< 1
3a3
> 4

Side by Side

• %< lines from FILE1
• %> lines from FILE2

$ diff -y file1 file2
1      <
2        2
3        3
       > 4

See Also

vimdiff

$ vimdiff file1 file2