Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install dwdiff with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Diff that operates at the word level. Version 2.1.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install dwdiff

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install dwdiff

MacPorts ports tree · textproc/dwdiff/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install dwdiff

Debian stable package indexes · dwdiff · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#dwdiff

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

overview

Package summary

Diff that operates at the word level

Commands and aliases

  • dwdiff
  • dwfilter

history

Project history and usage

dwdiff is G. P. Halkes' word-level diff utility. The official page positions it against wdiff: mostly command-line compatible, but with user-defined whitespace and delimiter handling so punctuation or other single characters can be treated as words.

Project history

The official copyright notice covers 2006-2018 and 2020, and the official distribution directory carries 1.0 release artifacts. Later 2.1.x news entries show maintenance releases in 2018 and 2020 for ICU/pkg-config and compiler compatibility rather than feature expansion.

Adoption history

The official download section says several Linux distributions and BSDs shipped packages or ports, naming Fedora, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD, with additional Unix packaging through Sunfreeware, MacPorts, Homebrew, Slackbuilds.org, Slacky.eu, and OpenPKG. The batch input adds Debian, Ubuntu, Nix, MacPorts, and Homebrew entries.

How it is used

dwdiff compares text at word granularity and prints the new text annotated with insertion and deletion markers by default. It is useful when line diffs are too coarse, especially prose, documentation, localization, and wrapped text where changed words matter more than changed lines.

Why package nerds care

dwdiff matters because it is a classic small Unix text-processing tool that fills the gap between line-oriented diff and heavier document comparison. Its compatibility with wdiff plus delimiter controls made it packageable as a drop-in word-diff option across many Unix packaging systems.

Timeline

  • 2006: Official copyright range begins and 1.0 release artifacts are present in the official distribution directory.
  • 2018: Version 2.1.2 updates ICU handling and replaces icu-config with pkg-config.
  • 2020: Versions 2.1.3 and 2.1.4 fix GCC 10 and C99 compiler build issues.

Related projects

  • The official page explicitly compares dwdiff with wdiff. In the broader CLI ecosystem it complements diff, git diff --word-diff, colordiff, and document-oriented compare tools.

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.
  • Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 2 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
dwdiffcliglobal executable
dwfiltercliglobal 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 version2.1.4
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://os.ghalkes.nl/dwdiff.html

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:dwdiff
Version2.1.4
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/dwdiff
Homepagehttps://os.ghalkes.nl/dwdiff.html
Upstream docshttps://os.ghalkes.nl/dwdiff.html
LicenseGPL-3.0-only
Source archivehttps://os.ghalkes.nl/dist/dwdiff-2.1.4.tar.bz2
Last updated2026-06-22T14:03:13-07:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesgettext, icu4c@78
Build dependenciesgettext, pkgconf
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 Namedwdiff
Version Scheme0
Revision11
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.

Debian apt95%

dwdiff 2.1.4-2+b3

diff program that operates word by word

https://os.ghalkes.nl/dwdiff.html

sudo apt install dwdiff
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: dwdiff
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dwdiff
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: dwdiff from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

dwdiff

nix profile install nixpkgs#dwdiff
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dwdiff
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dw/dwdiff/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

dwdiff 2.1.4-2build2

diff program that operates word by word

https://os.ghalkes.nl/dwdiff.html

sudo apt install dwdiff
  • Section: universe/utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dwdiff
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: dwdiff from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
MacPorts95%

dwdiff

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

package graph

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

Related tools

  • gettextRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • diffutilsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff, text-processing.
  • colordiffShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.
  • diff-so-fancyShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.
  • diffnavShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.
  • diffociShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diff.
  • diffoscopeShares 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