Git Diff View

Review your branch's changes in VS Code, from the point it diverged from a base branch to your current files. Browse changed files, step through commits, and open side-by-side diffs with each revision clearly labelled.

• Review the combined changes or inspect one commit at a time.
• Include saved uncommitted changes and untracked files.
• Browse files as a folder tree or a flat list, with path and status filters.
• Open all visible changes together in VS Code's multi-diff editor.
• Keep multiple repository comparisons in one sidebar, restored across VS Code restarts.

Installation

Requires VS Code 1.95 or later and Git available on your PATH.

Install Git Diff View from the Visual Studio Marketplace, or run:

code --install-extension studykit.git-diff-view

To install a downloaded .vsix file, open the Command Palette and run Extensions: Install from VSIX…, then select the file. After an update, run Developer: Reload Window if needed.

Open your first comparison

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux).
2. Run Git Diff: Compare Repo with Ref….
3. Select a repository, or browse to a repository folder.
4. Select the branch or tag you want to compare against, such as origin/main.
5. In the Git Diff sidebar, expand All changes (전체 변경) and click a file to open its diff.

You can also start a comparison with the + button in the sidebar. Comparisons can include repositories outside your current workspace.

Choose what to compare

The default comparison starts at the merge-base: the common ancestor of your current branch and the selected base ref. It shows changes since those branches diverged, up to the current contents of your working tree.

To compare the selected base ref's current commit directly with your working tree, right-click the comparison and choose Compare with Base Directly. Choose Compare from Merge-Base to switch back.

Review changes

Each comparison contains:

• Revision labels showing the commit, branch or ref, and commit subject on each side.
• All changes (전체 변경) for the combined difference from the comparison's starting commit to your current files.
• Timeline (타임라인) for individual commits, plus Uncommitted changes (커밋 안 한 변경) when your working tree has changes. Click a file under a commit to compare it with that commit's first parent.

Files show their Git status: A (added), M (modified), D (deleted), or R (renamed). Both diff panes are read-only. Open the original file in your normal editor to make changes. Save edits before reviewing them; working-tree comparisons use the files on disk.

Right-click a comparison or a change group and choose Open All Changes to review its visible changes together in the multi-diff editor. Use Close Comparison to remove a comparison from the sidebar.

Adjust the view

Use the sidebar toolbar or the corresponding Git Diff commands in the Command Palette:

Changed folders expand automatically. Use Expand Changed Folders on a comparison, change group, or folder to reopen all folders containing changes. Clicking an unchanged file opens that revision in a read-only editor.

Comparisons refresh when you save a file in a compared repository or return to the VS Code window. Use Refresh after changes made outside the editor if the view is out of date.

Filter files

Run Git Diff: Filter Files… or use the filter button in the sidebar. Enter path patterns separated by commas, then choose which Git statuses to show.

src/**, !**/test/**

This shows files under src/ and excludes paths containing a test folder. Patterns are relative to the repository root; * matches within a path segment, ** spans folders, and ? matches one character. Prefix a pattern with ! to exclude it. Leave the path input empty to filter only by status.

Filters apply to every comparison and to Open All Changes. When unchanged files are shown, only the path patterns apply to those files. Run Git Diff: Clear Filter to remove the path and status filters.

Open comparisons from a terminal

On macOS or Linux, run Git Diff: Install git-diff-view in ~/.local/bin from the Command Palette or the empty Comparisons view. This installs the terminal command with executable permissions. Run it again after updating the extension to update the script; replacing a different existing file requires confirmation.

The terminal command requires git and python3, plus open on macOS or the VS Code code command on Linux.

# Compare the current repository with its default base.
git-diff-view

# Compare a repository with a specific base, starting at the merge-base.
git-diff-view /path/to/repo origin/main

# Compare the base ref directly with the current repository's files.
git-diff-view . origin/main --direct

Syntax: git-diff-view [repo] [base] [--direct]

repo defaults to the current directory. base defaults to origin/HEAD when available, falling back to common develop, main, or master refs, then HEAD. The comparison opens in the last active VS Code window. Run git-diff-view --help for a usage reminder.

If your terminal cannot find git-diff-view, add this to your shell startup file (for example, ~/.zshrc) and open a new terminal:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

The installer offers Copy PATH Command when this directory is missing from VS Code's PATH.

Use with Claude Code or Codex

The shared git-diff-view skill lets an agent open comparisons using the terminal command. Install git-diff-view as described above first. The skill installer requires Node.js and npm.

Project installation (default)

Run this from the root of the project where you use your agent:

npx skills add studykit/vscode-git-diff \
  --skill git-diff-view \
  --agent claude-code codex

Choose Symlink when asked for the installation method. The skill is installed in the project's .agents/skills/git-diff-view/ for Codex, with a link from .claude/skills/git-diff-view/ for Claude Code. Choose only the agent you use by changing the --agent argument to claude-code or codex.

Invoke it in Claude Code with /git-diff-view origin/main, or in Codex with $git-diff-view followed by a request such as "Show this repository's changes against origin/main in VS Code."

Global installation (optional)

To make the skill available across all your projects, explicitly add --global:

npx skills add studykit/vscode-git-diff \
  --skill git-diff-view \
  --agent claude-code codex \
  --global

The CLI remains at ~/.local/bin/git-diff-view for either installation scope.

Troubleshooting

• A comparison shows an error: check that its repository still exists and the base ref is available locally. Fetch remote refs with Git, then run Git Diff: Refresh.
• Revision labels above the diff are missing: enable Editor: Code Lens in VS Code settings.
• You need more detail about an error: open the Output panel and select Git Diff.