git - Is there a way for me to literally diff 2 branches?

Question

I find sometimes I like to compare 2 branches using a diff tool that knows nothing about git.

So basically, a way to do a git diff that isn't version control aware.

For example, assume I had 2 branches I wanted to compare, master and develop.

checking the repo out into 2 folders
- myrepo_master -> myrepo checked out to master
- myrepo_develop -> myrepo checked out to develop
using some tool, like DiffMerge to compare the 2 folders.

Is there a way to do this with git itself, without having to check the branches out to 2 separate folders?

Did you rule out just configuring and using a [difftool](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-difftool)? — Romain Valeri, Oct 24 '19 at 16:11
Yeah I do use a difftool, but it just seems to be the tool that's used to diff an individual file, not the repo in general. — Brad Parks, Oct 24 '19 at 16:13

Piotr Wittchen · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-24T16:50:45.767

2

Maybe just do:

git diff master..develop

edited Oct 24 '19 at 16:50

answered Oct 24 '19 at 16:14

Piotr Wittchen

That seems to work, and as mentioned by @Lasse Vågsæther Karlsen, `git difftool -d master develop` seems to work, and uses the difftool I have configured as well – Brad Parks Oct 24 '19 at 16:43

1 Answers1