Simple Git Diff

Review Git changes without switching branches.

Simple Git Diff brings your comparison into a dedicated VS Code sidebar. Compare branches, tags, commits, or saved files, then explore the changes in VS Code's built-in diff editor.

Why Simple Git Diff?

• Keep your work in place. Review another branch without checking it out.
• Find the changes that matter. Browse changed files by folder and filter by path or change type.
• Move through a review. Jump between files and individual changes.
• Keep a file open for reference. Pin its diff while you explore other files.
• Edit without losing your comparison. Open the source file separately from the read-only review.
• Pick up where you left off. Resume your last comparison after reloading the workspace.

Get started

1. Open a Git repository in VS Code.
2. Open Simple Git Diff in the Activity Bar.
3. Click Compare With... in the Comparison section.
4. If prompted, choose your repository.
5. Choose Base, the original version.
6. Choose Target, the version to compare against Base.
7. Select a file in Changed Files to open its diff.

Each side offers local branches, tags, commit IDs, and Working Tree (saved). Use saved files on one side at a time. Comparisons use the two selected versions directly, not their shared ancestor.

If your repository is missing from the picker, run Simple Git Diff: Open Repository.... Select the repository's root folder, not its parent or a subfolder. Workspaces with multiple repositories let you choose which one to review.

Make a review your own

Find and navigate changes

Changed Files groups files into folders and shows their Git change status. Expand folders or use Next File and Previous File to move through the visible files. Use Next Change and Previous Change to jump between changes within the selected file.

Use Filter by Path for a case-insensitive match against part of a path. Use Filter by Change Type to focus on additions, modifications, deletions, or other Git statuses. Combine both filters to narrow the list. Clear Filters restores all files.

The Comparison section keeps the repository, Base, Target, and file counts above the file list. Hover clipped values to read them in full. Open Comparison Details from the section's menu for more information.

Keep a reference and edit the source

Use Pin Diff to keep the selected comparison open while you review other files. Review text stays read-only and keeps the version that you opened.

Use Open Source to open the corresponding current file for editing, when available. Editing source files does not change the text in an existing review. Deleted or unavailable source files cannot be opened through this action.

Refresh or reverse a comparison

Comparisons do not update automatically when you edit files or move branch references. Use Refresh to compare the latest versions of your selections. Use Swap Sides to reverse Base and Target and make a fresh comparison.

Both actions also capture saved files again when Working Tree (saved) is selected. Previously kept diffs retain their original contents.

Resume after a reload

Run Simple Git Diff: Resume Last Comparison... to choose a saved comparison for the current workspace. The extension makes a fresh comparison and tries to return to your selected file. If that file is no longer available, it selects a remaining file when possible.

Resume saves your repository, comparison choices, and selected path. It does not restore filters, pinned tabs, unsaved edits, or old saved-file snapshots. Reloading the workspace does not start a review automatically.

Saved files, not unsaved edits

Working Tree (saved) compares files on disk against a branch, tag, or commit. It includes tracked files and nonignored untracked files. It does not compare staged content separately.

Save your edits before you compare. After another save, use Refresh to include the new content. The review stays fixed until you explicitly make a fresh comparison.

Saved-file snapshots expire when the extension session ends. After a reload, use Resume Last Comparison... or Compare With... to create a new review.

Commands and keyboard shortcuts

Open the Command Palette and search for Simple Git Diff. The commands below are also available through the sidebar toolbars, menus, or file context menu where applicable.

No default keyboard shortcuts are assigned. Open Keyboard Shortcuts, search for diffReview, and assign keys that fit your workflow. Your VS Code diff layout, preview behavior, file icons, and theme remain in control.

Requirements and current limits

• VS Code 1.139.1 or later, with the built-in Git extension enabled.
• Git available on the machine that hosts the repository.
• A trusted workspace backed by a filesystem, with the required commits already available in the repository.

Reviewing does not check out branches, fetch commits, stage files, or change your source files. Open Source opens an editable file only when you explicitly request it.

Choose branches and tags from the picker. Commit input accepts full or unique abbreviated hexadecimal IDs with at least four characters. Remote-tracking branches and expressions such as HEAD~1 are not supported as selections.

Text review supports UTF-8 regular files. Binary files, other encodings, symlinks, and submodule entries remain visible with an explanation instead of a text diff. Saved-file comparisons also reject text that requires unsupported Git attribute transformations, including Git LFS content.

Saved captures share a 512 MiB raw-content budget per extension session. This budget is not a total memory or disk limit. If capture capacity is exhausted, close retained saved reviews or reduce the saved content, then try again.

Desktop behavior was verified on VS Code 1.139.1 on macOS arm64. Other versions, operating systems, and SSH, container, or WSL workspaces are not yet verified. Browser, virtual, and untrusted workspaces are not supported.

Build an installable extension

Use Node.js 22 or later and npm. From the project folder, run:

npm ci
npm run package

The package command compiles the extension and creates simple-git-diff-0.1.0.vsix in the project folder. The filename follows the version in package.json. Only the compiled extension, Activity Bar icon, README, manifest, and license are included.

To install it, open Extensions in VS Code. Choose Install from VSIX... from the view's menu and select the file. Reload VS Code if prompted.

Building does not publish the extension. To publish, upload the tested VSIX under the tahuberesteknologi publisher in Marketplace management. The source repository is private, so its source and support links are available only to people with repository access.

Development

Use Node.js 22 or later and npm. Development tests require Git with SHA-1 and SHA-256 repository support.

npm ci
npm run compile
npm test

To try the extension from source, open this project in VS Code. Select Simple Git Diff: isolated Development Host in Run and Debug. Choose Run Without Debugging and select a Git repository to review. The launch configuration compiles the extension and uses an isolated development profile.

Engineering reports and verification evidence are kept under docs/architecture/. They are separate from this user guide.

License

MIT License. Copyright (c) 2026 Galih Fajar Fitra Ady. The full terms are in LICENSE.