The GitHub "Files changed" tab, locally. All changes between the
current branch (HEAD) and another branch — or an earlier commit on the
current branch — stacked in VS Code's native multi-file diff editor,
with a PR-style sidebar of changed files. No GitHub, no leaving the
editor.
What it does
Command Palette: Branch Diff… → one picker listing every other
branch (local + remote) and the last 40 commits on the current
branch.
Pick a branch → diffs HEAD against that branch tip
(branch..HEAD, "what I've added on top").
Pick a commit → diffs from that commit onwards, inclusive of
its own changes, up to HEAD. (Internally commit^..HEAD, so the
changes in the commit you just clicked are part of the diff —
which is what you'd expect.)
The result opens stacked in the native multi-diff editor: every
changed file in one scrollable view, syntax-highlighted, rename-
detected, native theme, live refresh as files change. Ideal for
watching agent edits land.
The file-list sidebar
A Branch Diff view appears in the Source Control panel with
every changed file in the active comparison:
Tree or flat list layout — toggled from the view title bar
(button on the left), persisted in settings.
Compact-folder collapsing in tree mode (a/b/c joined into one row
when intermediate folders only contain one subfolder — same idea as
the built-in SCM "CHANGES" view).
Per-file +x −y line counts (via the git API, no shelling out) and
themed add/modify/delete/rename status icons.
Click a file → reveals that file inside the already-open
multi-diff editor, scrolling to it instead of opening a separate
tab. Deleted files (no head-side content to reveal) open as a
standalone diff alongside.
Change Base… and Refresh actions on the view toolbar — swap
to a different base or re-run with the current one (HEAD is re-read
each time, so refresh picks up new commits).
The view header reflects the active comparison next to
"BRANCH DIFF" — e.g. "main ↔ develop · 66 files".
Relation to the native multi-diff editor
VS Code already opens a native multi-diff for the working tree, staged
changes, or a commit range selected in the Source Control Graph. Branch
Diff adds the one entry point that isn't built in: an ad-hoc
current-branch vs. arbitrary branch-or-commit comparison from a
single command — without hunting through the Graph or staging anything.
Same native editor, with the missing PR-style sidebar bolted on.
Settings
Setting
Default
What it does
branchDiff.viewMode
"tree"
How the file list renders. "tree" or "list".
branchDiff.compactFolders
true
In tree mode, collapse chains of single-subfolder folders into one row.
Development
No build step, zero runtime dependencies. The only devDependency is
@types/vscode for editor-level // @ts-check against the official
VS Code typings (nothing compiled — the editor's bundled TS checks the
JS in place). After npm install, press F5 ("Run
Extension") to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension
loaded; edit extension.js and reload the dev host to iterate. See
RELEASING.md for packaging.
