delta

A syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, and grep output

Version Control Development linuxmacoswindows Rust MIT

Description

delta provides syntax highlighting, line numbering, and side-by-side view for git diff output. It can be configured as the default pager for git, making diffs far more readable with language-aware highlighting.

Install

homebrewbrew install git-delta

aptsudo apt install git-delta

pacmansudo pacman -S git-delta

cargocargo install git-delta

AI Summary

Makes git diffs beautiful. Syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, and grep output with side-by-side view, line numbers, and word-level diff highlighting.

Capabilities

+ Syntax highlighting in diffs using bat's engine
+ Side-by-side diff view
+ Line numbers in diff output
+ Word-level diff highlighting
+ Navigate diffs with n/N in less
+ Hyperlinks to GitHub/GitLab
+ Configurable via .gitconfig

Use When

→ Reading git diffs and want better readability
→ Reviewing code changes in the terminal
→ Need side-by-side diff comparison

Avoid When

x Scripting that parses raw diff output
x Need plain text diff for piping

Usage Patterns

Configure as git pager

git config --global core.pager delta

Sets delta as the default pager for all git commands

Side-by-side diff

git diff | delta --side-by-side

Shows changes in side-by-side columns

Compare two files

delta file_a file_b

Diff two files with syntax highlighting

Input / Output

stdin: Diff output or text to highlight

stdout: Syntax-highlighted, formatted diff

Exit codes:

0 Success

Typical Pipelines

git diff | delta --side-by-side

git log -p --follow file.rs | delta

diff -u old new | delta

Related Tools

bat complementary

delta uses bat's syntax themes for highlighting

lazygit complementary

lazygit can use delta for diff rendering

View AGENTS.md for delta