Branch Diff View

A tiny VS Code / Cursor extension that opens the full diff between the current branch and its base branch in a single multi-file diff view.

Install

From a `.vsix`

This extension is published to the VS Code Marketplace only, not Open VSX, so editors that use Open VSX (Cursor, VSCodium, Windsurf) install it from the .vsix instead. Every release attaches one to the GitLab Releases page. Download it and:

code --install-extension branch-diff-view-*.vsix    # or, in Cursor: "Install from VSIX..."

From source (`make`)

Clone the repo and build + install the .vsix locally with the bundled Makefile (needs Node.js and the code CLI on PATH):

git clone https://gitlab.com/breengles/vscode-branch-diff.git
cd vscode-branch-diff
make install            # build branch-diff-view.vsix and install it (use CODE=cursor for Cursor)

Then run Developer: Reload Window to activate. Re-run make install after changes; remove it with make uninstall.

Usage

In the Source Control view there is a collapsible Branch Diff View section (alongside Changes / Graph). It shows a file tree of every change against the base branch for the current mode. Click a file to open its diff.

The section title bar has:

Toggle Mode ($(arrow-swap)) -- switch between the two modes; the current one is shown next to the title (committed / working tree) and remembered per workspace.
Open All Changes in Diff Editor ($(diff-multiple)) -- open every change for the current mode in one multi-file diff editor.
Refresh ($(refresh)). The tree also refreshes automatically on git activity (commits, staging, edits).

Modes

Mode	Shows
`committed`	`merge-base(base, HEAD)` vs `HEAD` -- committed diff only (three-dot, PR-style).
`working tree`	`merge-base(base, HEAD)` vs the current working tree -- committed + staged + unstaged + untracked.

Commands

All are under the "Branch Diff View" category in the Command Palette; the two show* commands also sit in the Source Control view title bar.

Command / ID	Action
`branchDiffView.showDiff`	Open the committed multi-file diff.
`branchDiffView.showDiffWithWorkingTree`	Open the working-tree multi-file diff.
`branchDiffView.toggleMode` / `branchDiffView.openAll` / `branchDiffView.refresh`	Drive the Branch Diff View (title bar).

Optionally bind keys in your keybindings.json:

{ "key": "cmd+alt+d", "command": "branchDiffView.showDiff" },
{ "key": "cmd+alt+shift+d", "command": "branchDiffView.showDiffWithWorkingTree" }

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
`branchDiffView.baseBranch`	`""`	Branch to diff against. Empty = auto-detect (`main`, then `master`, incl. `origin/` variants).

Development

The extension source is a single extension.js; there is nothing to compile. The dev dependencies exist only to package and cut releases.

npm ci               # install the release toolchain
npm run package      # build a local branch-diff-view-<version>.vsix with vsce

Branch Diff View

breengles

Branch Diff View

Install

From a .vsix

From source (make)

Usage

Modes

Commands

Configuration

Development

From a `.vsix`

From source (`make`)