Good diff tools under Ubuntu GNOME

Question

Could somebody give me some recommendations on diff tools on Ubuntu? Actually what I need is not just file comparison, but also directory comparison.

I think diff tools under Windows is really most convenient, especially WinMerge.

But under Ubuntu, what I can get with high efficiency is only TkDiff, but it only support file comparison?

Hope to get some help from here.

score 71 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:17

71

Meld is an actively-developed, open-source GUI-based diff utility targeted at developers.

It is free
It runs on Linux
GNU License
40+ posts tagged as meld on Stack Overflow.
Actively developed through February 2013 (the time of this posting)
Allows two and three way comparison between files and folders
Supports Subversion, Git, and Mercurial

edited May 23 '17 at 12:17

Community

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answered Feb 20 '13 at 02:43

Brian Webster

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But can it open two 40M files? Nope. – Patrick James McDougle Mar 01 '13 at 19:12
Also, altho it has a pretty face, I find that it's not too bright sometimes (Just Plain Wrong), in ways that I have never seen with WinMerge. – MickeyfAgain_BeforeExitOfSO Apr 04 '13 at 21:43
very easy to install goto `update softwar center` then search `meld`, then install – suhailvs Aug 02 '13 at 09:17
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It doesn't support automatic merge, as kdiff3 does. Stopper for me. – CharlesB Feb 21 '18 at 10:28

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 01 '10 at 01:42

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I usually use kdiff3 and happy with it. It can handle directories too.

answered Nov 01 '10 at 01:42

Ilia K.

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`meld` has one advantage over `kdiff3` which I learned just today. `meld` is capable of operating with process substitution-style input: `meld <(ls this) <(ls that)`, while `kdiff3` not so much. – Wojciech Migda Nov 23 '15 at 10:41
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Wojciech your answer would actually be a right answer. Process substitution is invaluable for comparisons between ssh files and other less obvious diffs. – Paulo Neves Dec 08 '16 at 09:46
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`kdiff3` resolves most conflicts automatically, `meld` can't do that. – Suor Aug 21 '17 at 05:02

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 01 '10 at 01:38

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It's not free software, but Beyond Compare is now available for Linux. I haven't used the Linux version but found BC2 invaluable for merging and comparing files and directories on Windows.

answered Nov 01 '10 at 01:38

Gareth Davidson

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 26 '14 at 08:27

I'm using the Krusader::Synchronize Directories (Ctrl+Y) tool for this task.

It compares directories and selects a newer files to rewrite the older ones automatically, then you can check the list of the differences and compare the files content (kdiff, kompare or xxdiff) while necessary. Finally you can start the synchronize action (copying files) itself.

It is crucial for this tool to have a file timestamps (modification time) set correctly.

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 22 '16 at 17:03

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Although not opensource, p4merge is free and available on Linux, Windows and Mac. If you are used to Perforce, it will also feel familiar.

My personal taste is kdiff3 but p4merge worth to be mentioned.

answered Aug 22 '16 at 17:03

JrBenito

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 17 '14 at 01:08

While I find kdiff3 utmostly confusing every time, for simple tasks I like the dirdiff utility (see its manpage). It is a graphical tool, and while not strong in features for merging, it lets you get a quick overview of relevant differences (hide non-relevant by doing "File -> Hide selection").

Good diff tools under Ubuntu GNOME

6 Answers6