Git Diff Output Formats

tab-separated pathname(s) of the file For `-c` and `--cc`, only the destination or final path is shown even if the file was renamed on any side of history. With `--combined-all-paths`, the name of the path in each parent is shown followed by the name of the path in the merge commit. Examples for `-c` and `--cc` without `--combined-all-paths`: ------------------------------------------------ ::100644 100644 100644 fabadb8 cc95eb0 4866510 MM desc.c ::100755 100755 100755 52b7a2d 6d1ac04 d2ac7d7 RM bar.sh ::100644 100644 100644 e07d6c5 9042e82 ee91881 RR phooey.c ------------------------------------------------ Examples when `--combined-all-paths` added to either `-c` or `--cc`: ------------------------------------------------ ::100644 100644 100644 fabadb8 cc95eb0 4866510 MM desc.c desc.c desc.c ::100755 100755 100755 52b7a2d 6d1ac04 d2ac7d7 RM foo.sh bar.sh bar.sh ::100644 100644 100644 e07d6c5 9042e82 ee91881 RR fooey.c fuey.c phooey.c ------------------------------------------------ Note that 'combined diff' lists only files which were modified from all parents. include::diff-generate-patch.adoc[] other diff formats ------------------ The `--summary` option describes newly added, deleted, renamed and copied files. The `--stat` option adds `diffstat`(1) graph to the output. These options can be combined with other options, such as `-p`, and are meant for human consumption. When showing a change that involves a rename or a copy, `--stat` output formats the pathnames compactly by combining common prefix and suffix of the pathnames. For example, a change that moves `arch/i386/Makefile` to `arch/x86/Makefile` while modifying 4 lines will be shown like this: ------------------------------------ arch/{i386 => x86}/Makefile | 4 +-- ------------------------------------ The `--numstat` option gives the diffstat(1) information but is designed for easier machine consumption. An entry in `--numstat` output looks like this: ---------------------------------------- 1 2 README 3 1 arch/{i386 => x86}/Makefile ---------------------------------------- That is, from left to right: . the number of added lines; . a tab; . the number of deleted lines; . a tab; . pathname (possibly with rename/copy information); . a newline. When `-z` output option is in effect, the output is formatted this way: ---------------------------------------- 1 2 README NUL 3 1 NUL arch/i386/Makefile NUL arch/x86/Makefile NUL ---------------------------------------- That is: . the number of added lines; . a tab; . the number of deleted lines; . a tab; . a NUL (only exists if renamed/copied); . pathname in preimage; . a NUL (only exists if renamed/copied); . pathname in postimage (only exists if renamed/copied); . a NUL. The extra `NUL` before the preimage path in renamed case is to allow scripts that read the output to tell if the current record being read is a single-path record or a rename/copy record without reading ahead. After reading added and deleted lines, reading up to `NUL` would yield the pathname, but if that is `NUL`, the record will show two paths.

The Git diff command offers various output formats, including `--summary`, `--stat`, and `--numstat`, which provide information on added, deleted, renamed, and copied files in different formats, suitable for both human and machine consumption, with options to customize the output.