diffsitter is a semantic diff tool for source code.
Instead of comparing files purely as text, it parses code with tree-sitter and computes differences from the abstract syntax tree, which helps it ignore non-meaningful formatting changes such as spacing and layout. The project is designed for developers who want diffs that better reflect code structure, and it also offers configuration options for file associations, output formatting, and filtering the syntax nodes that take part in comparisons.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Creates semantically meaningful diffs by comparing abstract syntax trees instead of raw text.
- Ignores purely formatting-related changes that don’t alter code meaning.
- Supports multiple languages through tree-sitter, including Bash, C#, C++, CSS, Go, Java, OCaml, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Typescript/TSX, and HCL.
- Lets you configure file associations and formatting options with a config file.
- Supports include and exclude rules for tree-sitter node kinds so you can control which syntax nodes are considered in the diff.
- Offers terminal-aware formatted output.
- Includes extensive logging for debugging and timing information.
- Cross-platform support – runs under Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: github.com/afnanenayet/diffsitter
Support:
Developer: Afnan Enayet
License: MIT License
diffsitter is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Terminal-Based Diff Tools | |
|---|---|
| difftastic | Structural diff tool that compares files based on their syntax |
| hunk | Terminal diff viewer with syntax highlighting and side-by-side views |
| diff-so-fancy | Attractive diffs with diff-highlight and more |
| delta | Viewer for git and diff output |
| icdiff | An improved colored diff |
| diffoscope | In-depth comparison of files, archives, and directories |
| colordiff | Wrapper for diff with pretty syntax highlighting |
| diffsitter | Semantic diff tool |
| objdiff | Local diffing tool for decompilation project |
| ydiff | Tool to view colored, incremental diff in a version controlled workspace |
| diffr | Word-by-word diff highlighting utility |
| dyff | diff tool for YAML files |
| Wdiff | Wordwise implementation of diff |
| dwdiff | diff program that operates at the word level |
| diffyml | Compares YAML documents by their structure |
| oyo | Step-through diff viewer |
| diff2html-cli | Generate HTML diffs |
| biodiff | Terminal-based binary diff viewer |
| dirdiff | Compute the differences between two directories |
| csvdiff | Fast diff tool for comparing CSV files |
| VBinDiff | Visual binary diff |
| riff | Wrapper around diff |
| csv-diff | Diffing CSV and JSON files |
| xmldiff | Compare XML documents |
| Patdiff | File diff using the Patience Diff algorithm |
| dead-ringer | Binary diff utility |
| sesdiff | Generates a shortest edit script |
| semdiff | Semantic diff tool written in Rust |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 LinuxLinks helps you discover the best free and open source software for Linux. Explore our extensive collection of recommended applications, including alternatives to popular proprietary software.We also publish software reviews, Linux tutorials, hardware reviews, free programming books and articles covering the wider open source community. Browse our Linux resources to discover more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application we haven't covered? Suggest a program for inclusion. Has your software been featured on LinuxLinks? Display one of our Featured on LinuxLinks badges on your website or GitHub README. |
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.