interdiff

compares two unified diff files and generates a diff representing the changes

TLDR

Show differences between two patches

$ interdiff [old.patch] [new.patch]

Create a patch to convert from one version to another

$ interdiff [version1.patch] [version2.patch] > [upgrade.patch]

Strip leading path components from patch filenames

$ interdiff -p 1 [old.patch] [new.patch]

Display additional lines of context

$ interdiff -U [3] [old.patch] [new.patch]

Compare gzip/bzip2 compressed patches

$ interdiff -z [old.patch.gz] [new.patch.gz]

SYNOPSIS

interdiff [-U N] [-p N] [-d PAT] [-q] [-i] [-w] [-b] [-B] [-z] patch1 patch2

interdiff compares two unified diff files (patches) and generates a diff representing the changes between them. This is useful for understanding what changed between two versions of a patch or for creating incremental patches.Given patch1 that transforms A to B, and patch2 that transforms A to C, interdiff produces a patch that transforms B to C. This helps when reviewing patch revisions or creating upgrade paths between software versions.

PARAMETERS

-U N, --unified=N

Display N lines of context (default: 3).

-p N, --strip-match=N

Ignore N leading pathname components when matching filenames.

-d PAT, --drop-context=PAT

Exclude context for files whose names match pattern PAT.

-i, --ignore-case

Treat upper and lower case as identical when comparing.

-w, --ignore-all-space

Ignore all whitespace when comparing.

-b, --ignore-space-change

Ignore changes in the amount of whitespace.

-B, --ignore-blank-lines

Ignore changes that consist only of blank-line additions/removals.

-z, --decompress

Automatically decompress .gz and .bz2 patches.

-q, --quiet

Reduce warnings in output.

--no-revert-omitted

Do not revert portions of the first patch that are omitted from the second.

--help

Display usage information.

--version

Show version number.

CAVEATS

Both input patches must be in unified diff format. Context diffs are not supported. The patches must apply to the same base files for meaningful results. Complex patches with significant structural changes may produce confusing output.

HISTORY

interdiff is part of the patchutils package, written by Tim Waugh and first released around 2001. The patchutils suite provides tools for manipulating patch files, addressing common needs in software development and distribution workflows.