Diffmin

Compare API responses and JSON payloads without leaving VS Code — structural key-level JSON diff, git histogram algorithm, any file size.

Why Diffmin

The workflow every backend developer knows:

Get an API response → open a browser tab → paste → switch back to VS Code
→ copy second response → switch back → paste → compare → switch back again.

Diffmin kills this entirely:

Ctrl+Shift+P → Diffmin: Open Diff Panel → paste both → done.

Everything runs locally. Nothing leaves your machine.

Features

Two diff engines

• JSON structural mode — key-level comparison that understands your data. Shows address.city: "New York" → "San Francisco" instead of 40 lines of red/green noise.
• Text mode — uses git diff --histogram (git's own recommended algorithm) for semantically meaningful hunks. Falls back to Myers diff if git is not installed.

Works on any file size

Virtual scrolling renders only the visible rows — 500k-line files open instantly, scroll smoothly, never freeze.

Tight VS Code integration

• Compare two files — select any two files in Explorer → right-click → Diffmin: Compare Selected Files
  • .json files → structural diff in Diffmin
  • Everything else → VS Code's native diff editor
• Diff with HEAD — right-click a file → Diffmin: Diff with HEAD
  • .json files → structural diff (HEAD vs working tree)
  • Everything else → VS Code's native git diff

Diff view features

Usage

Open the diff panel (manual paste)

1. Ctrl+Shift+P → Diffmin: Open Diff Panel
2. Paste or type content into both panes
3. Click Compare

Compare two files from Explorer

1. Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click two files in the Explorer sidebar
2. Right-click → Diffmin: Compare Selected Files

Diff a file against git HEAD

1. Right-click any file in Explorer → Diffmin: Diff with HEAD — or right-click the editor tab title

Commands

Requirements

• VS Code ^1.85.0
• Git (optional — used for --histogram algorithm and Diff with HEAD; falls back gracefully if not installed)

License

© Abhishek Barkade