gdiff

Open the current git repo's diff as a beautiful side-by-side HTML view in your browser. One command, any project, no per-repo setup.

gdiff                # working tree + staged vs HEAD
gdiff main           # diff vs main
gdiff HEAD~3 HEAD    # diff between two refs
gdiff --unified      # plain colored unified diff in terminal

Install

Quick (curl)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lord-eagle/gdiff/main/install.sh | bash

Drops gdiff into ~/.local/bin. Add it to PATH if not already.

Homebrew (tap) — coming soon

Tracking in issue #1. For now use the curl installer above.

Manual

git clone https://github.com/lord-eagle/gdiff.git
ln -s "$PWD/gdiff/bin/gdiff" ~/.local/bin/gdiff

Requirements

• git
• Browser network access for HTML mode — loads @pierre/diffs from esm.sh
• macOS or Linux (uses open / xdg-open)

--unified mode needs only git.

How it works

• Runs git diff (working tree + staged, or against the refs you pass).
• Streams the unified diff into a temp patch file.
• Writes a static HTML app to .git/gdiff/diff.html and opens it in your default browser.
• The app parses and renders the patch with @pierre/diffs.

The HTML view uses Diffs' CodeView, which handles virtualized file rendering, row/window measurement, scroll reconciliation, and syntax highlighting.

The HTML view includes a searchable, collapsible file tree, side-by-side/stacked view switching, per-file viewed/collapse state, file-level comment icons, and inline hunk expand controls for showing more context.

Review comments

In the HTML diff view:

• Click a line number (gutter) to add or edit feedback for that line. The code column stays selectable so you can still copy snippets.
• Drag across line numbers, or click one and then shift-click another, to comment on a range.
• Click the comment icon in a file header to leave file-level feedback.
• Each file header sticks while you scroll through that file, keeping its Viewed toggle and file-comment button reachable. The header controls stay in sync with sidebar state and the v / c keyboard shortcuts.
• Comments are saved to browser localStorage only, scoped to the repository so changed or removed anchors remain visible in the comment list. gdiff does not run a local server or write repository review-state JSON.
• Click the floating comment counter to open the comment list. The list includes stored comments even when their old anchors are no longer present in the current diff; those rows are marked not in current diff and can be deleted individually.
• Viewed file state is also saved to localStorage, scoped by repository and diff arguments. A file is restored as viewed only when its saved per-file diff hash matches the current diff, so changed or newly added files start unviewed until explicitly marked again.
• Click Copy prompt to copy all comments as structured feedback that can be pasted into an agent. Line comments include their enclosing @@ ... @@ hunk header plus nearby context lines, with the commented line prefixed by > . If the browser blocks the clipboard API, a fallback modal lets you copy manually.

Use it from Soloterm

Soloterm has no global config, so you wire gdiff per project. Two paths:

Option A — drop the example solo.yml into your project (one-liner):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lord-eagle/gdiff/main/examples/solo.yml -o solo.yml

Reload the project in Solo. Solo prompts to trust the YAML commands (security gate) — approve once, then:

• Diff (HTML) tab → browser pops with side-by-side view
• Diff (terminal) tab → ANSI unified diff in-pane

If your repo already has a solo.yml, copy the processes block from examples/solo.yml into yours instead of overwriting.

Option B — add via Solo UI (no file change):

1. Open the project in Solo.
2. Add Process → Command → gdiff → Save.
3. Click the tab any time you want to see the current diff.

Either way, you can also just run gdiff in any Solo terminal tab.

Credits

gdiff is a thin bash wrapper. The actual side-by-side HTML rendering is done by:

• @pierre/diffs — its CodeView handles virtualized file rendering, split/stacked layout, syntax highlighting, and line selection. Loaded in the browser at runtime from esm.sh (@pierre/diffs@1.2.7 by default; override with GDIFF_DIFFS_VERSION); not bundled.

Huge thanks to that project — gdiff would not exist without it.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.