How to get diff working like git-diff?

This will do the +/- rather than < and >.

diff -u file1 file2

Since GNU diffutils 3.4 the flag --color has been added. Combining both makes the following:

diff --color -u file1 file2

The flag --color also takes an argument, valid options are never, always, or auto. Useful when you want to be more explicit on what needs to be done.

This is what I suggest and it's pretty close

diff -u FILE1 FILE2 | colordiff | less -R

• colordiff: You'll have to install this
  • brew install colordiff on my Mac.
  • port install colordiff on some Macs.
  • sudo apt-get install colordiff on Debian or Ubuntu
  • For other platforms, download the source from the main page or GitHub and follow the installation instructions
• -R: this tells Less to show colors instead of the raw codes.

I ultimately used -w because I didn't want to see whitespace diffs.

diff -w -u FILE1 FILE2 | colordiff | less -R

Edit: As suggested by @Ciprian Tomoiaga in the comment, you can make this a function and put it in your ~/.bashrc file too.

function gdiff () { diff -u $@ | colordiff | less -R; }

1. Install colordiff.

2. Update your ~/.colordiffrc (copying /etc/colordiffrc first, if necessary):

   # be more git-like:
   plain=off
   newtext=darkgreen
   oldtext=darkred
   diffstuff=darkcyan
   

3. Use colordiff -u file1 file2 for two files or colordiff -ruN path1 path2 for recursively comparing paths.

It's not exactly the same, but it's very close.

You can also use git diff --no-index -- A B (via manpage).