Raw output format ----------------- The raw output format from `git-diff-index`, `git-diff-tree`, `git-diff-files` and `git diff --raw` are very similar. These commands all compare two sets of things; what is compared differs: `git-diff-index `:: compares the __ and the files on the filesystem. `git-diff-index --cached `:: compares the __ and the index. `git-diff-tree [-r] [...]`:: compares the trees named by the two arguments. `git-diff-files [...]`:: compares the index and the files on the filesystem. All the commands print one output line per changed file, except `git diff-files` in the case of an unmerged file, which prints both an "unmerged" and an "in-place edit" line. An output line is formatted this way: ------------------------------------------------ in-place edit :100644 100644 bcd1234 0123456 M file0 copy-edit :100644 100644 abcd123 1234567 C68 file1 file2 rename-edit :100644 100644 abcd123 1234567 R86 file1 file3 create :000000 100644 0000000 1234567 A file4 delete :100644 000000 1234567 0000000 D file5 unmerged :000000 000000 0000000 0000000 U file6 ------------------------------------------------ That is, from the left to the right: . a colon. . mode for "src"; 000000 if creation, or if "src" is from the index and is unmerged. . a space. . mode for "dst"; 000000 if deletion, or if "dst" is from the index and is unmerged. . a space. . sha1 for "src"; 0\{40\} if creation, or if "src" is from the index and is unmerged. . a space. . sha1 for "dst"; 0\{40\} if deletion, if "dst" is from the index and is unmerged, or if "dst" is from the work tree and is out of sync with the index. . a space. . status, followed by optional "score" number. . a tab or a NUL when `-z` option is used. . path for "src" . a tab or a NUL when `-z` option is used; only exists for C or R. . path for "dst"; only exists for C or R. . an LF or a NUL when `-z` option is used, to terminate the record. Possible status letters are: - `A`: addition of a file - `C`: copy of a file into a new one - `D`: deletion of a file - `M`: modification of the contents or mode of a file - `R`: renaming of a file - `T`: change in the type of the file (regular file, symbolic link or submodule) - `U`: file is unmerged (you must complete the merge before it can be committed) - `X`: "unknown" change type (most probably a bug, please report it) Status letters `C` and `R` are always followed by a score (denoting the percentage of similarity between the source and target of the move or copy). Status letter `M` may be followed by a score (denoting the percentage of dissimilarity) for file rewrites. The sha1 for "dst" is shown as all 0's if a file on the filesystem is out of sync with the index. Example: ------------------------------------------------ :100644 100644 5be4a4a 0000000 M file.c ------------------------------------------------ Without the `-z` option, pathnames with "unusual" characters are quoted as explained for the configuration variable `core.quotePath` (see linkgit:git-config[1]). Using `-z` the filename is output verbatim and the line is terminated by a NUL byte. diff format for merges ---------------------- `git-diff-tree`, `git-diff-files` and `git-diff --raw` can take `-c` or `--cc` option to generate diff output also for merge commits. The output differs from the format described above in the following way: . there is a colon for each parent . there are more "src" modes and "src" sha1 . status is concatenated status characters for each parent . no optional "score" number . tab-separated pathname(s) of the file For `-c` and `--cc`, only the destination or final path is shown even if the file was renamed on any side of history. With `--combined-all-paths`, the name of the path in each parent is shown followed by the name of the path in the merge commit. Examples for `-c` and `--cc` without `--combined-all-paths`: ------------------------------------------------ ::100644 100644 100644 fabadb8 cc95eb0 4866510 MM desc.c ::100755 100755 100755 52b7a2d 6d1ac04 d2ac7d7 RM bar.sh ::100644 100644 100644 e07d6c5 9042e82 ee91881 RR phooey.c ------------------------------------------------ Examples when `--combined-all-paths` added to either `-c` or `--cc`: ------------------------------------------------ ::100644 100644 100644 fabadb8 cc95eb0 4866510 MM desc.c desc.c desc.c ::100755 100755 100755 52b7a2d 6d1ac04 d2ac7d7 RM foo.sh bar.sh bar.sh ::100644 100644 100644 e07d6c5 9042e82 ee91881 RR fooey.c fuey.c phooey.c ------------------------------------------------ Note that 'combined diff' lists only files which were modified from all parents. include::diff-generate-patch.adoc[] other diff formats ------------------ The `--summary` option describes newly added, deleted, renamed and copied files. The `--stat` option adds `diffstat`(1) graph to the output. These options can be combined with other options, such as `-p`, and are meant for human consumption. When showing a change that involves a rename or a copy, `--stat` output formats the pathnames compactly by combining common prefix and suffix of the pathnames. For example, a change that moves `arch/i386/Makefile` to `arch/x86/Makefile` while modifying 4 lines will be shown like this: ------------------------------------ arch/{i386 => x86}/Makefile | 4 +-- ------------------------------------ The `--numstat` option gives the diffstat(1) information but is designed for easier machine consumption. An entry in `--numstat` output looks like this: ---------------------------------------- 1 2 README 3 1 arch/{i386 => x86}/Makefile ---------------------------------------- That is, from left to right: . the number of added lines; . a tab; . the number of deleted lines; . a tab; . pathname (possibly with rename/copy information); . a newline. When `-z` output option is in effect, the output is formatted this way: ---------------------------------------- 1 2 README NUL 3 1 NUL arch/i386/Makefile NUL arch/x86/Makefile NUL ---------------------------------------- That is: . the number of added lines; . a tab; . the number of deleted lines; . a tab; . a NUL (only exists if renamed/copied); . pathname in preimage; . a NUL (only exists if renamed/copied); . pathname in postimage (only exists if renamed/copied); . a NUL. The extra `NUL` before the preimage path in renamed case is to allow scripts that read the output to tell if the current record being read is a single-path record or a rename/copy record without reading ahead. After reading added and deleted lines, reading up to `NUL` would yield the pathname, but if that is `NUL`, the record will show two paths.