How to view differences in Git

Short answer

Use git diff to see changes between your working directory, staging area, and commits.

Steps

1. View unstaged changes:

git diff

2. View staged changes:

git diff --staged

3. Compare two commits:

git diff abc1234 def5678

4. Compare a specific file across branches:

git diff main..feature -- file.txt

Tips

• git diff --stat shows a summary of changed files.
• Use --word-diff for prose documents to see word-level changes.
• Redirect output to a file: git diff > changes.patch.

Common issues

• No output after staging: remember --staged is required for staged changes.
• Binary files: diffing binaries is not useful; use external diff tools for images.