mediagit diff

Show changes between commits, working tree, and staging area.

Synopsis

mediagit diff [OPTIONS] [<commit>] [<commit>] [--] [<path>...]

Description

Shows differences between various states in MediaGit:

Working tree vs staging area (default)
Staging area vs last commit (--staged)
Between two commits
Working tree vs specific commit

MediaGit diff provides media-aware comparison including:

Visual diff for images (pixel-level comparison)
Audio waveform comparison
Video metadata and codec differences
Binary file size changes with compression impact

Options

Diff Selection

`--staged`, `--cached`

Show changes staged for commit (between staging area and HEAD).

`<commit>`

Show changes between working tree and specified commit.

`<commit> <commit>`

Show changes between two commits.

`-- <path>...`

Limit diff to specified paths.

Output Format

`-p`, `--patch`

Generate patch format (default).

`-s`, `--no-patch`

Suppress diff output, show only summary.

`--raw`

Generate raw diff format.

`--stat[=<width>[,<name-width>[,<count>]]]`

Generate diffstat showing file changes summary.

`--shortstat`

Output only last line of –stat format.

`--summary`

Output condensed summary of extended header information.

`--patch-with-stat`

Output patch along with stat.

Unified Context

`-U<n>`, `--unified=<n>`

Generate diffs with N lines of context (default 3).

`--no-prefix`

Do not show “a/” and “b/” prefixes in diff output.

`--src-prefix=<prefix>`

Show given source prefix instead of “a/”.

`--dst-prefix=<prefix>`

Show given destination prefix instead of “b/”.

Comparison Options

`-b`, `--ignore-space-change`

Ignore changes in amount of whitespace.

`-w`, `--ignore-all-space`

Ignore whitespace when comparing lines.

`--ignore-blank-lines`

Ignore changes whose lines are all blank.

`--binary`

Output binary diffs for binary files.

MediaGit-Specific Options

`--media-diff`

Enable enhanced media file comparison:

Image: Visual diff with pixel changes
Audio: Waveform comparison
Video: Metadata and codec changes

`--compression-impact`

Show compression impact of changes.

`--size-analysis`

Display detailed size analysis for binary files.

`--visual`

Generate visual representations for media files (requires external tools).

Display Options

`--color[=<when>]`

Show colored diff. When: always, never, auto (default).

`--no-color`

Turn off colored diff.

`--word-diff[=<mode>]`

Show word-level diff. Mode: color, plain, porcelain, none.

`--name-only`

Show only names of changed files.

`--name-status`

Show names and status of changed files.

Examples

Working tree vs staging area

$ mediagit diff
diff --git a/video.mp4 b/video.mp4
index a3c8f9d..b4d7e1a 100644
Binary files a/video.mp4 and b/video.mp4 differ
Size: 245.8 MB → 256.3 MB (+10.5 MB)
Compression impact: +1.8 MB (compressed)

diff --git a/config.json b/config.json
index e4f3a2b..f5g4b3c 100644
--- a/config.json
+++ b/config.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
   "output": {
-    "format": "mp4",
+    "format": "webm",
     "quality": "high"
   }

Staged changes

$ mediagit diff --staged
diff --git a/assets/logo.png b/assets/logo.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3c8f9d
Binary file assets/logo.png added
Size: 156.3 KB (compressed to 45.2 KB)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b4d7e1a..c5e9f2b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 # Media Project

+This project contains marketing assets.
+
 ## Usage

Compare commits

$ mediagit diff HEAD~2 HEAD
diff --git a/video_old.mp4 b/video_old.mp4
deleted file mode 100644
index a3c8f9d..0000000
Binary file video_old.mp4 removed
Size: 245.8 MB (freed: 42.1 MB compressed)

diff --git a/video_new.mp4 b/video_new.mp4
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5g4b3c
Binary file video_new.mp4 added
Size: 312.5 MB (compressed to 56.3 MB)

Net storage impact: +14.2 MB

Stat summary

$ mediagit diff --stat
 video.mp4       | Binary file: 245.8 MB → 256.3 MB (+10.5 MB)
 config.json     | 2 +-
 README.md       | 3 +++
 assets/logo.png | Binary file: 156.3 KB added
 4 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

Name and status only

$ mediagit diff --name-status
M       video.mp4
M       config.json
M       README.md
A       assets/logo.png

Specific path

$ mediagit diff -- video.mp4
diff --git a/video.mp4 b/video.mp4
index a3c8f9d..b4d7e1a 100644
Binary files a/video.mp4 and b/video.mp4 differ
Size: 245.8 MB → 256.3 MB (+10.5 MB)
Compression impact: +1.8 MB (compressed)

Metadata changes:
  Duration: 00:03:45 → 00:03:52 (+7 seconds)
  Resolution: 1920x1080 (unchanged)
  Codec: H.264 → H.265 (HEVC)
  Bitrate: 8.5 Mbps → 7.8 Mbps (-0.7 Mbps)

Media-aware diff

$ mediagit diff --media-diff image.jpg
diff --git a/image.jpg b/image.jpg
index e4f3a2b..f5g4b3c 100644
--- a/image.jpg
+++ b/image.jpg
@@ Image comparison:
  Size: 2.4 MB → 2.6 MB (+0.2 MB)
  Dimensions: 3840x2160 → 4096x2304 (+6.5% pixels)
  Format: JPEG (quality 90) → JPEG (quality 95)

  Pixel differences:
    Changed pixels: 127,483 (1.4% of image)
    Average color difference: 12.3 (ΔE)
    Significant changes in regions:
      - Top-left quadrant: +15.2% brightness
      - Bottom-right corner: Color shift (+8 hue)

  Compression impact: +0.3 MB (compressed)

Audio comparison

$ mediagit diff --media-diff audio.wav
diff --git a/audio.wav b/audio.wav
index a3c8f9d..b4d7e1a 100644
--- a/audio.wav
+++ b/audio.wav
@@ Audio comparison:
  Size: 45.2 MB → 47.8 MB (+2.6 MB)
  Duration: 00:04:32 → 00:04:32 (unchanged)
  Sample rate: 44.1 kHz → 48 kHz
  Bit depth: 16-bit → 24-bit
  Channels: Stereo (unchanged)

  Waveform analysis:
    RMS level change: -2.3 dB (quieter)
    Peak amplitude: -0.1 dB → -0.3 dB
    Dynamic range: 18.2 dB → 22.5 dB (improved)

  Compression impact: +0.8 MB (compressed with Zstd)

Compression impact analysis

$ mediagit diff --compression-impact --stat
 video_1.mp4   | Binary: 245.8 MB → 256.3 MB | Compressed: +1.8 MB
 video_2.mp4   | Binary: 312.5 MB → 298.7 MB | Compressed: -2.3 MB
 image.jpg     | Binary: 2.4 MB → 2.6 MB     | Compressed: +0.3 MB
 audio.wav     | Binary: 45.2 MB → 47.8 MB   | Compressed: +0.8 MB
 config.json   | 2 lines changed             | Compressed: +12 bytes (delta)

 Total impact:
   Original size change: +18.9 MB
   Compressed size change: +0.6 MB (96.8% compression efficiency)
   Deduplication opportunities: 3 chunks (4.2 MB potential savings)

Size analysis

$ mediagit diff --size-analysis video.mp4
diff --git a/video.mp4 b/video.mp4
index a3c8f9d..b4d7e1a 100644

Size Analysis:
  Original files:
    Before: 245.8 MB
    After:  256.3 MB
    Change: +10.5 MB (+4.3%)

  Compressed (Zstd level 3):
    Before: 42.1 MB (82.9% compression)
    After:  43.9 MB (82.9% compression)
    Change: +1.8 MB (+4.3%)

  Storage breakdown:
    Video stream: +10.2 MB
    Audio stream: +0.2 MB
    Metadata: +0.1 MB

  Chunk analysis:
    Total chunks: 63 → 65 (+2 chunks)
    Dedup chunks: 15 → 18 (+3 reused)
    New unique: 48 → 47 (-1 unique)
    Net new storage: +1.8 MB

Word-level diff

$ mediagit diff --word-diff config.json
diff --git a/config.json b/config.json
index e4f3a2b..f5g4b3c 100644
--- a/config.json
+++ b/config.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
   "output": {
    "format": [-"mp4"-]{+"webm"+},
    "quality": "high"
  }

Branch comparison

$ mediagit diff main..feature/optimize
diff --git a/video.mp4 b/video.mp4
index a3c8f9d..b4d7e1a 100644
Binary files differ
Size: 245.8 MB → 198.3 MB (-47.5 MB, 19.3% reduction)

Optimization applied:
  Codec: H.264 → H.265 (better compression)
  Bitrate: 8.5 Mbps → 7.2 Mbps
  Quality loss: Minimal (PSNR > 45 dB)

Compression impact: -8.1 MB compressed (-19.2%)

Comparing Specific States

Working tree vs HEAD

$ mediagit diff HEAD
# Shows unstaged and staged changes

Staging area vs HEAD

$ mediagit diff --staged
# Shows only staged changes

Working tree vs staging area

$ mediagit diff
# Shows only unstaged changes (default)

Two branches

$ mediagit diff branch1..branch2
$ mediagit diff branch1...branch2  # symmetric difference

Status Codes

When using --name-status:

A   Added
M   Modified
D   Deleted
R   Renamed
C   Copied
T   Type changed
U   Unmerged

Performance

MediaGit diff is optimized for media files:

Smart binary detection: Skip detailed diff for large binaries
Chunk-level comparison: Fast comparison using content-addressable chunks
Parallel processing: Multi-threaded diff generation
Incremental loading: Stream large diffs progressively

Typical performance:

Text files: ~100MB/s
Binary files (basic): ~500MB/s
Media analysis: ~50MB/s
Visual diff: ~10MB/s (CPU-intensive)

Exit Status

0: No differences found
1: Differences found
2: Error during diff operation

Configuration

[diff]
# Enable/disable color
color = "auto"  # auto | always | never

# Context lines
context = 3

# Rename detection
renames = true

# Binary file handling
binary = true

[diff.media]
# Enable media-aware diff
enabled = true

# Include metadata analysis
metadata = true

# Visual comparison for images
visual = false  # CPU-intensive

# Audio waveform comparison
waveform = false  # requires ffmpeg

[diff.compression]
# Show compression impact
show_impact = true

# Size analysis detail level
size_detail = "summary"  # summary | detailed | full

Media File Handling

Images

MediaGit can compare images at various levels:

# Basic size comparison (fast)
$ mediagit diff image.jpg

# Pixel-level comparison
$ mediagit diff --media-diff image.jpg

# Visual diff (generates side-by-side comparison)
$ mediagit diff --visual image.jpg

Videos

Video comparison includes:

Metadata changes (codec, resolution, bitrate)
Duration differences
Quality metrics (when available)
File size and compression impact

Audio

Audio comparison features:

Format and encoding changes
Sample rate and bit depth
Waveform analysis (requires ffmpeg)
RMS and peak levels

Notes

Binary File Diffs

Binary files show size changes by default:

Binary files a/video.mp4 and b/video.mp4 differ
Size: 245.8 MB → 256.3 MB (+10.5 MB)

Use --binary to see binary patch format (useful for small binaries).

Large File Performance

For very large files, diff uses:

Chunk-based comparison (fast)
Sampling for preview (configurable)
Metadata-only mode for quick checks

Rename Detection

MediaGit automatically detects file renames:

$ mediagit diff --name-status
R100    old_video.mp4 -> new_video.mp4

The number indicates similarity percentage (100 = identical content).

Keyboard shortcuts

MediaGit-Core Documentation