Diff Viewer for PHP

Compare two PHP files, or two individual functions, side by side in an editable diff editor, straight from the VS Code Explorer. No copy-pasting between files.

Based on nurullahakin/diff-viewer by Nurullah Akın. See Credits.

Usage

Open a workspace with PHP files, then use any of:

• Explorer, right-click a .php file → Diff Viewer: Select as Old, then right-click another file → Diff Viewer: Compare with Selected Old.
• Explorer, select two .php files, right-click → Diff Viewer: Compare Selected Files.
• Editor, right-click inside a PHP function → Diff Viewer: Use Function at Cursor as Old / as New. The panel compares as soon as both sides are set.
• Command Palette → Diff Viewer: Open, then fill the fields manually.

In the panel, choose File or Function from Type, enter the targets in Old and New, and click Compare. Use Inline view to switch between a combined diff and side-by-side editors.

Both sides are editable and the diff updates as you type. Edits only affect the comparison, never the files on disk. Unsaved changes in open editors are what gets compared. The panel follows your VS Code theme and editor font.

Files

Enter a filename with or without .php, or a workspace-relative path:

UserControllerTest
tests/Feature/UserControllerTest.php

Use a relative path when multiple files share a name; a bare filename picks the first match.

Functions and methods

Enter a bare function name to search the workspace, or File::function to search one file:

UserService::getDiff
app/Services/UserService.php::getDiff

The part before :: is a file name, not a PHP class lookup. Qualify it with a relative path if several files share that name. Bare function names pick the first match.

Paste both targets

Paste a pair into either Old or New:

UserService::getDiff -> AccountService::getDiff

The left target goes into Old and the right one into New, whichever field receives the paste.

Privacy

Files are read through the VS Code API on your machine. Nothing is uploaded and the panel works offline. Input values and edits are not saved between sessions.

Limitations

• Only .php files are scanned, and only inside open workspace folders. Scanning skips node_modules, vendor, .git, dist and build.
• Function extraction uses simple name matching and brace counting, not a full PHP parser. Braces in strings or comments can produce incomplete snippets, and methods with the same name within one file are not distinguished.
• Files are not watched. Click Compare again to reload contents.

Credits

The diff viewer itself (diff editor, file and function lookup, A -> B paste, diff colors) comes from nurullahakin/diff-viewer by Nurullah Akın. This extension wraps it in a VS Code webview and adds the extension host, context menus and theme integration. Licensed under MIT.

Source and issues: https://github.com/oktayaydogan/diff-viewer-vscode