# Install spaceman-diff with Homebrew Diff images from the command-line. Version 1.0.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:spaceman-diff ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install spaceman-diff ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:spaceman-diff - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.0.3 - **Source summary:** Diff images from the command-line - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - spaceman-diff (cli) - spaceman-diff (alias) ## Dependencies - imagemagick - jp2a ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.0.3 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/holman/spaceman-diff - Upstream latest detected: v1.0.3 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage spaceman-diff is a small shell-oriented image diff helper that plugs into Git diff. It renders changed images as colorful ASCII approximations in the terminal and reports practical metadata such as file-size changes. ### Project history The official README describes spaceman-diff as a quick drop-in to `git-diff` for image files. It was cobbled together by Zach Holman and depends on jp2a and ImageMagick to convert image content into terminal-friendly output. The project is intentionally narrow: it handles changed images passed through Git's diff driver mechanism and documents that simple additions or removals are not rendered because Git does not pass those cases to the external diff command in the same way. ### Adoption history The README documents Homebrew installation, which made the tool easy to try for macOS developers already using Git from the terminal. Its adoption is best understood as a niche Git workflow helper rather than a general-purpose image comparison application. ### How it is used Users install jp2a and ImageMagick, install the `spaceman-diff` script, add image patterns to `~/.config/git/attributes`, and configure a custom Git diff driver in `~/.gitconfig`. After that, ordinary `git diff` invocations can display terminal previews for changed PNG, JPEG, and GIF files. The README positions the tool as a quick verification aid: it helps a developer confirm that an image change is the intended one and that file size did not change unexpectedly. ### Why package nerds care spaceman-diff matters to package nerds because it is a classic tiny CLI wrapper around other packaged tools. Its usefulness depends on Git attributes, ImageMagick, jp2a, and the shell all lining up cleanly through a package manager. It also shows why small formulas exist: a few lines of glue can turn a developer's normal `git diff` habit into a richer terminal workflow without adding a heavyweight GUI dependency. ### Timeline - 2014: README screenshot assets indicate early public project activity. - 2019: README screenshot was updated to show terminal image-diff output. - Current README: Documents Homebrew installation and Git diff-driver configuration. ### Related projects - Git supplies the external diff-driver mechanism. - jp2a converts JPEG images to ASCII for the terminal rendering path. - ImageMagick handles image conversion tasks used by the script. ### Sources - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.config/git/attributes, ~/.gitconfig ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** spaceman-diff - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [imagemagick](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/imagemagick/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [jp2a](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jp2a/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [png2ico](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/png2ico/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [pngcheck](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pngcheck/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [pngcrush](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pngcrush/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [pngnq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pngnq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [pngpaste](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pngpaste/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [pngquant](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pngquant/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-tools, media. - [a52dec](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/a52dec/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media. - [aalib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aalib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media. - [terminalimageviewer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/terminalimageviewer/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cli, image, imagemagick, images, media. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/spaceman-diff.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/spaceman-diff.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph