guide · git

Use Diffoniq as git difftool on Windows

git diff shows changes as text in the console. With a difftool you see them side by side, and with --dir-diff the whole change set as one folder comparison. Setting up Diffoniq for this takes one block in your .gitconfig — no plugin, no adapter.

1. Add Diffoniq to your .gitconfig

Open %USERPROFILE%\.gitconfig in an editor and add these lines. The path is where the installer puts Diffoniq; if you use the portable ZIP, put in the folder you unpacked it to.

[diff]
    tool = diffoniq
[difftool]
    prompt = false
[difftool "diffoniq"]
    cmd = \"C:/Program Files/Diffoniq/Diffoniq.exe\" --read-only-left --no-backup \"$LOCAL\" \"$REMOTE\"
[difftool "diffoniq-ro"]
    cmd = \"C:/Program Files/Diffoniq/Diffoniq.exe\" --read-only \"$LOCAL\" \"$REMOTE\"

The first entry is the everyday one. The second, diffoniq-ro, is for comparing two stored commits, where there is nothing you should edit.

2. Run it

Command	What you get
`git difftool`	Your uncommitted changes, file by file. Left is the last committed version, right is your working file — which you can still edit and save.
`git difftool --dir-diff`	The whole change set as one folder comparison: every changed file in one list, opened pair by pair.
`git difftool -t diffoniq-ro HEAD~1 HEAD`	Two commits against each other. Both sides are locked, because both are temporary copies.

Git waits until you close the Diffoniq window, then moves on to the next file. Press Esc to close a comparison and hand control back to git.

Why the two switches

For git difftool, git extracts the committed version into a temporary file and deletes it when the viewer closes. Diffoniq can edit and save, so a correction made on that side would vanish without a warning. --read-only-left locks the temporary side; the title bar then says [Read-only: left]. Your working file on the right stays editable, and you can drag lines from the old version into it.

--no-backup matters the moment you save: Diffoniq normally keeps the original as a .BAK file next to it. Inside a repository that would be a new, untracked file that is easy to commit by accident — and git already keeps the old version for you.

Both switches apply to that one call only. They are never written to Diffoniq’s settings, so opening Diffoniq yourself still works as before.

Good to know

Diff viewer, not merge tool. Diffoniq fills the diff.tool slot only. Keep your existing tool for git mergetool; Diffoniq cannot write a merge result.
Temporary names in the title. The left side shows the path git hands over, not a commit name.
Exit code is always 0. In the graphical mode Diffoniq does not report whether the sides matched. For scripts, use the /sync or report command line modes.
Archives too. If a commit changes a ZIP or another archive, Diffoniq opens both versions like folders and shows what changed inside.

The full reference, including TortoiseGit, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs, is in the help: Version control clients and IDEs.

Try it on your own repository

Diffoniq runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. Every feature is available for 30 days before you decide.

Try Diffoniq free for 30 days See pricing

Git is a trademark of Software Freedom Conservancy. Diffoniq is not affiliated with the Git project.