Compare files from the command line
Open the diff viewer to compare two or three files from the command line. For example, you can compare the current version of a file with its backup, or your local copy of a file with its copy from the remote repository or its copy from another branch.
You can find the executable for running IntelliJ IDEA in the installation directory under bin. To use this executable as the command-line launcher, add it to your system PATH as described in Command-line interface.
- Syntax
- idea64.exe diff <path1> <path2> [<path3>]
- Examples
Compare two files:
idea64.exe diff C:\MyProject\Readme.md C:\MyProject\Readme.md.bakOpen a blank diff viewer:
idea64.exe diff
By default, IntelliJ IDEA does not provide a command-line launcher. For more information about creating a launcher script for IntelliJ IDEA, refer to Command-line interface.
- Syntax
- idea diff <path1> <path2> [<path3>]
- Examples
Compare two files:
idea diff ~/MyProject/Readme.md ~/MyProject/Readme.md.bakOpen a blank diff viewer:
idea diff
You can find the script for running IntelliJ IDEA in the installation directory under bin. To use this script as the command-line launcher, add it to your system PATH as described in Command-line interface.
- Syntax
- idea.sh diff <path1> <path2> [<path3>]
- Examples
Compare two files:
idea.sh diff ~/MyProject/Readme.md ~/MyProject/Readme.md.bakOpen a blank diff viewer:
idea.sh diff