Branch Diff & PR Review (VS Code Extension)

A VS Code extension that brings the GitHub Pull Request review experience directly into your editor—with the ability to compare your current working branch against any branch (local or remote) and edit your code directly within the diff view.

🔗 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/samuelmevik/branch-diff
🐛 Report Issues: https://github.com/samuelmevik/branch-diff/issues

Features

🌿 Pick Any Base Branch: Compare your current working branch against main, develop, feature branches, or remote branches (origin/main).
✏️ Interactive & Editable Diff View:
- The left pane shows a read-only snapshot of the file from your chosen base branch.
- The right pane is your actual working workspace file: fully editable, with syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and instant Ctrl+S saving.
📂 Changed Files Sidebar (Activity Bar):
- View all changed files with GitHub-style status badges:
  - [M] Modified
  - [A] Added
  - [D] Deleted
  - [R] Renamed
- Additions and deletions breakdown (+15, -4).
- Toggle between Directory Tree view and Flat File List.
- Revert Changes to File: Inline discard button ($(discard)) and context menu action to quickly restore any file back to its base state.
🔀 Pull Request Mode (Three-dot Merge-base):
- By default, compares changes made since diverging from the base branch (git diff <base>...HEAD), exactly like GitHub PRs.
- One-click toggle to Direct Diff (git diff <base>..HEAD) if you prefer comparing directly against the base branch tip.
⚡ Auto-refresh:
- Changes update automatically whenever you save edits in the diff editor or switch branches in git.

How to Use

Click the Branch Diff icon ($(git-pull-request)) in the Activity Bar.
If a base branch is not yet selected, click Select a base branch to compare... or use the branch button in the view header.
Select your desired base branch from the QuickPick menu (e.g. main or origin/main).
Click on any file in the Changed Files list to open the side-by-side editable diff.
Make edits directly on the right pane and press Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S on macOS) to save!

Commands & Shortcuts

Command	Title	Action
`branchDiff.selectBaseBranch`	Select Base Branch to Compare	Choose target/base branch via QuickPick
`branchDiff.refresh`	Refresh Changes	Re-scans git diff and reloads changed files
`branchDiff.toggleViewMode`	Toggle Tree/Flat View	Switches between directory hierarchy and flat list
`branchDiff.toggleDiffMode`	Toggle Diff Mode	Toggles between PR Mode (`merge-base`) and Direct Diff
`branchDiff.openDiff`	Open Diff	Opens side-by-side editable diff editor
`branchDiff.openFile`	Open Working File	Opens the regular working file directly
`branchDiff.revertFile`	Revert Changes to File	Discards all changes to a file and restores base state

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

branchDiff.defaultBaseBranch: Default base branch to compare against (leave empty to auto-detect main/master).
branchDiff.diffMode: Comparison mode: mergeBase (PR mode) or direct (base tip diff).
branchDiff.viewMode: Default file view mode: tree (directory structure) or flat (file list).

Testing & Development

To test the extension locally:

Open this repository in VS Code.
Press F5 to start debugging. This launches an Extension Development Host window with the extension loaded.
Open any git repository in that window and test comparing branches!

Branch Diff & PR Review