For many users, the command line tool “diff” on Fedora is the go-to when wanting to compare the differences between two files. However, there are also a healthy selection of graphical tools available in Fedora for comparing the differences between two and even three files. Three of the graphical diff tools available in Fedora are Meld, Kompare and Diffuse.
Meld
Meld is the graphical diff tool that contains a multitude of features, including 2 and 3 file comparisons, syntax highlighting, direct file editing, support for comparing whole directories, and support for version control (including git).
You can install meld on fedora via the Software application, or using the command sudo yum install meld
Diffuse
Diffuse is another GTK based graphical diff tool option, and provides support for manual correction of line matching, direct editing of files, syntax highlighting and version control support. Check out the diffuse features page for the full list of features.
You can install Diffuse on Fedora via the Software application, or using the command sudo yum install diffuse
Kompare
Kompare is a graphical diff tool from KDE, and features the ability to compare two text files, recursive directory comparisons, the ability to view patches, and to merge a patch into a directory.
You can install Kompare on Fedora via the Software application, or using the command sudo yum install kompare
Pete Travis
Good stuff, meld is one I use regularly. If you use git and like one of these tools, you can set it as the default mergetool. Committing before you pull isn’t *quite* as painful:
Ryan Lerch
Thanks for the comment Pete!
I was thinking of doing another article on git GUIs. Do you have any favourite applications in that genre?
Pete Travis
I don’t have much experience with git GUIs, sorry.
The Git workflow can be daunting, and I think a lot of folks find git GUI applications appealing for that reason. However, I don’t think that any of them I’ve briefly played with reflected the way git works very well. Adding a layer of abstraction just for the sake of clicking instead of typing can confuse things further – but if you have the concepts down, I’m sure they can be a valuable tool.
Cristian Ciupitu
I use meld too for diff-ing, but for merging I prefer kdiff3. Last time I tried, meld’s interface didn’t make sense to me. Though now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll give it a try next time.
Lorenzo
Meld works with sftp or ssh?
Iestyn
Although appearing a little dated, TkDiff is another quite useful diff utility. (http://tkdiff.sourceforge.net/)
Ryan Lerch
Thanks lestyn! I didn’t know that one!
for those playing along at home, tkdiff is packaged up in fedora, you just have to install the “tkcvs” package to get it.
fhew
I used xxdiff. A simple yum install xxdiff works for me.