# Install diffr with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix

LCS based diff highlighting tool to ease code review from your terminal. Version 0.1.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install diffr.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:diffr
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install diffr
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install diffr
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/diffr/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install diffr
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: diffr from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#diffr
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/di/diffr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:diffr
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.1.5
- **Source summary:** LCS based diff highlighting tool to ease code review from your terminal
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/mookid/diffr>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/mookid/diffr>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- diffr (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.1.5
## Project history and usage

diffr is a terminal filter that refines unified diffs with word-level highlighting, making code review easier when ordinary line-oriented output is too coarse.

### Project history

The changelog records the initial 0.1.0 release on 2019-07-01. Early releases added color customization, split reusable logic into `diffr-lib`, optimized LCS post-processing, and added line-number display.

### Adoption history

The official README documents installation through Homebrew, Arch AUR, Cargo, and direct source builds. It also shows diffr configured as a Git pager and interactive diff filter, which is the main adoption path for daily review use.

### How it is used

diffr reads unified diff input on stdin and writes enhanced output on stdout. The README shows `git show HEAD | diffr` for one-off use and `.gitconfig` settings that route Git paging and interactive diffs through diffr.

### Why package nerds care

diffr matters to package and source maintainers because it stays in the Unix-filter tradition: no repository database, no review server, just a small CLI that improves the diffs developers already pipe around.

### Timeline

- 2019: 0.1.0 initial release.
- 2019: 0.1.2 split reusable logic into diffr-lib.
- 2020: 0.1.3 added line-number display.

### Related projects

- The README calls diffr an improvement on Git's diff-highlight script and notes Git's built-in `--word-diff` and `--color-words` options as related approaches.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/mookid/diffr#readme>
- <https://github.com/mookid/diffr/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - diffr - 0.1.5-2+b7: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: diffr from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | LCS based diff highlighting tool to ease code review from your terminal | https://github.com/mookid/diffr
- Nix - diffr: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/di/diffr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - diffr - 0.1.5-2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: diffr from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | LCS based diff highlighting tool to ease code review from your terminal | https://github.com/mookid/diffr
- MacPorts - diffr: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/diffr/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/diffr.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/diffr.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph