RustDiff is a native GTK4 and Libadwaita desktop application for comparing structured documents semantically rather than relying only on raw line-by-line differences.
It understands the structure of JSON, XML and SQL input, which makes differences easier to interpret when formatting or layout changes would otherwise obscure the underlying data. The application combines editable source views with a structured differences panel, so users can inspect a change in context and jump directly to the relevant part of either document.
RustDiff also keeps comparison history locally, making it useful for repeated checks of configuration files, exported data, schemas and SQL statements. Its workflow is deliberately desktop-focused, with search, visual navigation and document formatting available without moving to a separate editor.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Provides side-by-side editors with syntax highlighting.
- Compares content automatically while typing with debouncing, with manual comparison available when required.
- Filters the differences table and lets users jump from a listed change to its document location.
- Searches within both editors with next/previous navigation and wrap-around.
- Displays the left-hand document as an interactive node graph.
- Pretty-prints documents to make structured content easier to inspect.
- Exports comparison results as plain text or styled HTML.
- Stores comparison sessions in a searchable, paginated SQLite history.
- Offers a guided welcome screen for starting a new comparison.
- Lets users collapse the differences panel to concentrate on the source documents.
- Supports keyboard shortcuts for comparison, export, history, searching, graph view and document formatting.
- Provides English and Spanish interface localisation.
- Uses a native GTK interface designed to integrate cleanly with modern Linux desktops.
Website: github.com/jereok91/rustdiff
Support:
Developer: jereok91
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
RustDiff is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| GUI Diff Tools | |
|---|---|
| Meld | Graphical diff viewer and merge application for the Gnome desktop |
| Kompare | KDE diff tool supporting a variety of diff formats |
| Diffuse | Tool for merging and comparing text files |
| TkDiff | Graphical front end to the diff program |
| objdiff | Local diffing tool for decompilation project |
| KDiff3 | Text difference analyzer for up to 3 input files |
| xxdiff | File and directories comparator and merge tool |
| RustDiff | Semantic JSON and XML diff tool |
| RCompare | File and directory comparison toolkit |
| Text Compare | Compare old and new text |
| Image Compare | Side-by-side image comparison tool for spotting differences |
| gap | Simple native graphical utility for comparing text files |
| meld-rs | Visual diff and merge tool for comparing files and directories |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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