diff

Show a diff using short IDs, like git diff.

Usage

git loom diff [args...]

Alias: di

Each argument is a file, commit, or commit range. Arguments can be mixed freely in a single invocation.

Arguments

Argument	Description
`[args...]`	Files (short ID or path), commits (short ID, hash), or ranges (`left..right`)

What It Does

When No Arguments Are Given

Shows unstaged changes in the working tree — identical to git diff with no arguments.

When a Commit Is Given

Resolves the token to a full hash and passes it to git diff, showing the diff between that commit and the working tree.

When a File Is Given

Resolves the token to a file path and runs git diff HEAD -- <path>, showing all changes to that file since HEAD (staged and unstaged combined).

Tokens of the form left..right are resolved on each side and forwarded to git diff. Branch names, HEAD, and tags that can’t be resolved as short IDs are passed through to git unchanged, so all standard range forms work:

git loom diff HEAD~3..HEAD
git loom diff main..HEAD
git loom diff ab..3c

When a Commit and a File Are Both Given

The commit is placed before -- and the file after, limiting the diff to that file at that commit.

Target Resolution

Single tokens (not ranges) are resolved in this order:

Files — short ID or repository-relative path (checked before commits)
Commits — short ID, partial hash, or full hash

Range endpoints use lenient resolution: if a token cannot be resolved as a short ID or hash it is passed to git as-is, allowing HEAD, branch names, and tags.

Examples

Show unstaged changes

git loom diff
# Equivalent to: git diff

Diff a commit by short ID

git loom diff ab
# Shows the diff between commit "ab" and the working tree

Diff a file by short ID

git loom diff ma
# Shows all changes to the file with short ID "ma" since HEAD

Diff a commit range

git loom diff ab..d0
# Shows what changed between those two commits

Limit diff to a file at a specific commit

git loom diff ab ma
# Equivalent to: git diff <hash-of-ab> -- src/auth/login.rs

Prerequisites

A non-bare git repository.
For short IDs: upstream tracking configured on the current branch (same as git loom status).

git-loom