Make Your Git Diff Fancy: Supercharge Your Workflow with git-delta

· origo's blog

If you spend any time working with git, you know the pain: You run git diff and are greeted by a wall of monochrome text. It's hard to spot what's changed, and even harder to enjoy the process. But what if your diffs could be beautiful, colorful, and easy to navigate?

Enter git-delta #

git-delta is a syntax-highlighting pager for git and diff output. It transforms your diffs from boring to brilliant, with features like:

See the Difference #

Standard git diff output (BORING):

Fancy git-delta diff (AWESOME):

How to Get This Fancy Diff #

1. Install git-delta #

On macOS:

1brew install git-delta

On Ubuntu/Debian:

1sudo apt install git-delta

Or download from the releases page.

2. Configure git to use delta #

Add the following to your ~/.gitconfig (or use git config --global ...):

 1[core]
 2    pager = delta
 3
 4[delta]
 5    dark = true                # Use dark theme (set to false for light backgrounds)
 6    syntax-theme = Dracula     # High-contrast syntax theme
 7    true-color = always        # 24-bit color
 8    side-by-side = true        # Side-by-side diffs
 9    line-numbers = true        # Show line numbers
10    navigate = true            # n/N to jump between diff sections
11    file-style = bold yellow   # File headers stand out
12    file-decoration-style = yellow ul
13    hunk-header-style = line-number syntax
14    hunk-header-decoration-style = blue box
15    commit-decoration-style = bold magenta ul
16    commit-style = bold magenta
17    minus-style = red normal
18    plus-style = green normal
19    zero-style = syntax normal
20    diff-stat-align-width = 60
21    tabs = 4
22    max-line-length = 200
23    wrap-max-lines = 3
24    diff-highlight = true
25    hyperlinks = true
26
27[diff]
28    algorithm = histogram
29
30[interactive]
31    diffFilter = delta --color-only
32
33[merge]
34    conflictstyle = zdiff3
35
36[alias]
37    d = diff
38    ds = diff --staged
39    dc = diff --cached
40    lg = log --graph --oneline --decorate --all
41    showd = show --ext-diff
42
43[pager]
44    log = delta
45    show = delta
46    blame = delta

Why use diff.algorithm = histogram?

By default, git uses the myers diff algorithm, which works well for many cases but can sometimes produce confusing or less intuitive diffs—especially when code blocks are moved or reordered. The histogram algorithm is smarter about detecting moved and changed blocks, resulting in diffs that are often easier to read and review. It's particularly effective for source code, where changes are rarely just simple line additions or deletions.

In short: histogram helps your diffs make more sense, so you can focus on what really changed.

3. Try it out! #

Run git diff and enjoy your new, beautiful diffs. Use n and N to jump between changes, and explore the side-by-side view.

Tip: For a list of available syntax themes, run delta --list-syntax-themes. If you use a light terminal, set dark = false and pick a light theme.

Conclusion #

Upgrading your git diff output is one of the easiest ways to boost your productivity and make code review a pleasure. With git-delta, your diffs become clear, colorful, and even fun to read.

Give it a try, and never go back to boring diffs again!