# 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 ```sh sudo av install brew:difftastic ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install difftastic ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install difftastic ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/difftastic/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add difftastic ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: difftastic from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install difftastic ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: difftastic from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#difftastic ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/di/difftastic/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S difftastic ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: difftastic from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install difftastic ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: difftastic from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/difftastic ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/difftastic.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget (92%): ```sh winget install --id Wilfred.difftastic -e ``` Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: Wilfred.difftastic from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:difftastic - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.69.0 - **Source summary:** Diff that understands syntax - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-15T10:20:15-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - difft (cli) - difft (alias) ## Build dependencies - rust ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.69.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-15 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/Wilfred/difftastic - Upstream latest detected: 0.69.0 (current) ## 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. ### Sources - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** difftastic - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - difftastic: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/di/difftastic/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - difftastic - 0.68.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: difftastic from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Diff tool that understands syntax | https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/ - apk - difftastic-doc - 0.68.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: difftastic-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Diff tool that understands syntax (documentation) | https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/ - dnf - difftastic - 0.67.0-3.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: difftastic from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Structural diff that understands syntax | https://crates.io/crates/difftastic - pacman - difftastic - 0.69.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: difftastic from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | An experimental diff tool that compares files based on their syntax | https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk - zypper - difftastic - 0.69.0-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: difftastic from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | A structural diff that understands syntax | https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/ - zypper - difftastic-doc - 0.69.0-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: difftastic-doc from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Documentation for difftastic | https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/ - MacPorts - difftastic: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/difftastic/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Scoop - main/difftastic: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/difftastic.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget - Wilfred.difftastic: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: Wilfred.difftastic from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [rust](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rust/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [happy-coder](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/happy-coder/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [diff-so-fancy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diff-so-fancy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git. - [diffnav](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diffnav/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git. - [diffr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diffr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git. - [difi](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/difi/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, git. - [colordiff](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/colordiff/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff. - [diffoci](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diffoci/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff. - [diffoscope](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diffoscope/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff. - [diffstat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/diffstat/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/difftastic.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/difftastic.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph