Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install difftastic with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget, zypper

Diff that understands syntax. Version 0.69.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-15.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install difftastic

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install difftastic

MacPorts ports tree · devel/difftastic/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add difftastic

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · difftastic · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install difftastic

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · difftastic · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#difftastic

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/di/difftastic/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S difftastic

Arch Linux sync databases · difftastic · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install difftastic

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · difftastic · source: download.opensuse.org

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/difftastic

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/difftastic.json · source: api.github.com

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Wilfred.difftastic -e

Windows Package Manager source index · Wilfred.difftastic · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Diff that understands syntax

Commands and aliases

  • difft

history

Project history and usage

Difftastic is a structural diff tool that compares files using syntax rather than only lines, producing human-oriented output for code review and version-control workflows.

Project history

The project README defines Difftastic as a syntax-aware diff tool and explicitly contrasts it with line-oriented diffing. Its changelog shows rapid development from the 0.1 series in 2021 through regular parser, display, Git-integration, and performance improvements.

Adoption history

The official installation documentation covers multiple package-manager routes, and the README highlights compatibility with Git and other version-control systems. The manual provides specific Git aliases, `diff.external`, and `difftool` configuration, which made the tool easy to adopt incrementally.

How it is used

Difftastic is commonly invoked as `difft` directly or wired into Git so `git diff`, `git show`, or `git log -p` can display syntax-aware differences. When files are unrecognized or parsing fails, the README documents fallback behavior to line-oriented diffing.

Why package nerds care

Difftastic is interesting to package nerds because it packages tree-sitter-backed structural comparison as a normal CLI. It lets maintainers review source changes in languages where reformatting, delimiters, and nested syntax can obscure the real change in a traditional unified diff.

Timeline

  • 2021: 0.1 series began, followed by frequent early releases.
  • 2022: Changelog shows continued language, parser, and display expansion through the 0.30 series.
  • 2025: 0.63 taught directory diffs to ignore `.git` directories.
  • 2026: 0.69 released with punctuation-aware syntactic comparison improvements.

Related projects

  • Difftastic is related to traditional `diff`, Git external diff drivers, Git difftool integration, and tree-sitter parsers; its README also points users interested in AST merging to mergiraf.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
difftcliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version0.69.0
manager updated2026-06-15
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected0.69.0

https://github.com/Wilfred/difftastic

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:difftastic
Version0.69.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/difftastic
Homepagehttps://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/Wilfred/difftastic
Upstream docshttps://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://github.com/Wilfred/difftastic/archive/refs/tags/0.69.0.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-15T10:20:15-04:00
Pulseupdated
Build dependenciesrust
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namedifftastic
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

difftastic

nix profile install nixpkgs#difftastic
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/di/difftastic/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
apk95%

difftastic 0.68.0-r0

Diff tool that understands syntax

https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/

sudo apk add difftastic
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: difftastic
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: difftastic from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

difftastic-doc 0.68.0-r0

Diff tool that understands syntax (documentation)

https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/

sudo apk add difftastic-doc
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: difftastic
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: difftastic-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

difftastic 0.67.0-3.fc45

Structural diff that understands syntax

https://crates.io/crates/difftastic

sudo dnf install difftastic
  • License: MIT AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND Unicode-DFS-2016 AND Apache-2.0 AND (Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception OR Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND CECILL-C AND
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: rust-difftastic
  • 5 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: difftastic from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

difftastic 0.69.0-1

An experimental diff tool that compares files based on their syntax

https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk

sudo pacman -S difftastic
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 4 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: difftastic from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

difftastic 0.69.0-1.1

A structural diff that understands syntax

https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/

sudo zypper install difftastic
  • License: Apache-2.0 AND MIT
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: difftastic
  • 3 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: difftastic from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

difftastic-doc 0.69.0-1.1

Documentation for difftastic

https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/

sudo zypper install difftastic-doc
  • License: Apache-2.0 AND MIT
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: difftastic
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: difftastic-doc from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

difftastic

sudo port install difftastic
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: devel/difftastic/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Scoop95%

main/difftastic

scoop install main/difftastic
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/difftastic.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
winget95%

Wilfred.difftastic

winget install --id Wilfred.difftastic -e
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Difftastic
Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: Wilfred.difftastic from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • rustBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • happy-coderPopular package that depends on this formula.

Same workflow

  • diff-so-fancyShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git.
  • diffnavShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git.
  • diffrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git.
  • difiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git.
  • colordiffShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.
  • diffociShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment