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The diff command displays the differences between your target state (what chezmoi wants to apply) and the destination state (your current files) for specified targets.

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Usage

chezmoi diff [target]...

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Description

The diff command shows what changes would be made by chezmoi apply without actually making those changes. If no targets are specified, it shows differences for all managed files. If a diff.pager command is set in the configuration file, the output will be piped to it (e.g., less).

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Custom Diff Commands

If diff.command is set, chezmoi will invoke it to show individual file differences. Each element of diff.args is interpreted as a template with variables:
  • .Destination - Path to the file in the destination state
  • .Target - Path to the file in the target state
Default value of diff.args is ["{{ .Destination }}", "{{ .Target }}"]. If diff.args doesn’t contain template arguments, these will be appended automatically.

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Flags

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--pager
string
Pager to use for output (e.g., less, more). Can be configured via diff.pager in the config file.
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--reverse
boolean
default:"false"
Reverse the direction of the diff, i.e., show the changes to the target required to match the destination. Can be configured via diff.reverse in the config file.
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--script-contents
boolean
default:"true"
Show script contents in the diff.
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-x, --exclude
types
Exclude entry types (comma-separated: dirs, files, remove, scripts, symlinks, always, encrypted, externals, templates).
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-i, --include
types
Include only specified entry types (comma-separated: dirs, files, remove, scripts, symlinks, always, encrypted, externals, templates).
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--init
boolean
default:"false"
Recreate the config file from the template in the source directory.
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-P, --parent-dirs
boolean
default:"false"
Show differences for all parent directories.
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-r, --recursive
boolean
default:"false"
Recurse into subdirectories.

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Configuration

Configure diff behavior in your config file: 
[diff]
    pager = "less"
    command = "diff"
    args = ["--color=always", "{{ .Destination }}", "{{ .Target }}"]
Using a custom diff tool: 
[diff]
    command = "delta"
    args = ["{{ .Destination }}", "{{ .Target }}"]

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Examples

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Show all differences

chezmoi diff

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Show differences for a specific file

chezmoi diff ~/.bashrc

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Use a custom pager

chezmoi diff --pager "less -R"

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Show reverse diff

chezmoi diff --reverse
Shows what changes are needed in the source state to match the destination.

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Diff with syntax highlighting

chezmoi diff | delta
Pipe the output to delta or another diff viewer.

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Terminal Output

Standard unified diff format: 
$ chezmoi diff
diff --git a/home/.bashrc b/home/.bashrc
index abc1234..def5678 100644
--- a/home/.bashrc
+++ b/home/.bashrc
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 # Environment variables
-export EDITOR=vim
+export EDITOR=nvim
 export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

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Use Cases

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Before applying changes

chezmoi diff
chezmoi apply
Review changes before applying them.

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After making local changes

chezmoi diff
See how your local files differ from the source state.

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After updating from repository

chezmoi update --apply=false
chezmoi diff
chezmoi apply
Pull changes, review them, then apply.
  • apply - Apply the changes shown by diff
  • status - Show a concise status of changes
  • merge - Perform three-way merges for conflicts

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