# Diff

## Use a custom diff tool

By default, chezmoi uses a built-in diff. You can use a custom tool by setting
the `diff.command` and `diff.args` configuration variables. The elements of
`diff.args` are interpreted as templates with the variables `.Destination` and
`.Target` containing filenames of the file in the destination state and the
target state respectively. For example, to use [meld][meld], specify:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[diff]
    command = "meld"
    args = ["--diff", "{{ .Destination }}", "{{ .Target }}"]
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

!!! hint

    If you generate your config file from a config file template, then you'll
    need to escape the `{{` and `}}` as `{{ "{{" }}` and `{{ "}}" }}`. That way
    your generated config file contains the `{{` and `}}` you expect.

## Use VSCode as the diff tool

To use [VSCode][vscode] as the diff tool, add the following to your config:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[diff]
    command = "code"
    args = ["--wait", "--diff"]
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

## Use delta as the diff tool

To use [delta][delta] as the diff tool you must set `diff.pager` to delta, for
example:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[diff]
    pager = "delta"
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

## Don't show scripts in the diff output

By default, [`chezmoi diff`][diff-command] will show all changes, including the
contents of scripts that will be run. You can exclude scripts from the diff
output by setting the `diff.exclude` configuration variable in your
configuration file, for example:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[diff]
    exclude = ["scripts"]
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

## Don't show externals in the diff output

To exclude diffs from externals, either pass the `--exclude=externals` flag or
set `diff.exclude` to `["externals"]` in your config file.

## Customize the diff pager

You can change the diff format, and/or pipe the output into a pager of your
choice by setting `diff.pager` configuration variable. For example, to use
[`diff-so-fancy`][fancy] specify:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[diff]
    pager = "diff-so-fancy"
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

The pager can be disabled using the `--no-pager` flag or by setting `diff.pager`
to an empty string.

## Show human-friendly diffs for binary files

Similar to git, chezmoi includes a "textconv" feature that can transform file
contents before passing them to the diff program. This is primarily useful for
generating human-readable diffs of binary files.

For example, to show diffs of macOS `.plist` files, add the following to your
configuration file:

<!-- example-formats -->
```toml title="~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml"
[[textconv]]
    pattern = "**/*.plist"
    command = "plutil"
    args = ["-convert", "xml1", "-o", "-", "-"]
```
<!-- /example-formats -->

This will pipe all `.plist` files through `plutil -convert xml1 -o - -` before
showing differences.

[meld]: https://meldmerge.org/
[vscode]: https://code.visualstudio.com/
[delta]: https://dandavison.github.io/delta/
[fancy]: https://github.com/so-fancy/diff-so-fancy
[diff-command]: /reference/commands/diff.md