macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install spaceman-difflocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 4972
Install spaceman-diff with Homebrew
Diff images from the command-line. Version 1.0.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Diff images from the command-line
Project links
Commands and aliases
- spaceman-diff
history
Project history and usage
spaceman-diff is a small shell-oriented image diff helper that plugs into Git diff. It renders changed images as colorful ASCII approximations in the terminal and reports practical metadata such as file-size changes.
Project history
The official README describes spaceman-diff as a quick drop-in to `git-diff` for image files. It was cobbled together by Zach Holman and depends on jp2a and ImageMagick to convert image content into terminal-friendly output.
The project is intentionally narrow: it handles changed images passed through Git's diff driver mechanism and documents that simple additions or removals are not rendered because Git does not pass those cases to the external diff command in the same way.
Adoption history
The README documents Homebrew installation, which made the tool easy to try for macOS developers already using Git from the terminal. Its adoption is best understood as a niche Git workflow helper rather than a general-purpose image comparison application.
How it is used
Users install jp2a and ImageMagick, install the `spaceman-diff` script, add image patterns to `~/.config/git/attributes`, and configure a custom Git diff driver in `~/.gitconfig`. After that, ordinary `git diff` invocations can display terminal previews for changed PNG, JPEG, and GIF files.
The README positions the tool as a quick verification aid: it helps a developer confirm that an image change is the intended one and that file size did not change unexpectedly.
Why package nerds care
spaceman-diff matters to package nerds because it is a classic tiny CLI wrapper around other packaged tools. Its usefulness depends on Git attributes, ImageMagick, jp2a, and the shell all lining up cleanly through a package manager.
It also shows why small formulas exist: a few lines of glue can turn a developer's normal `git diff` habit into a richer terminal workflow without adding a heavyweight GUI dependency.
Timeline
- 2014: README screenshot assets indicate early public project activity.
- 2019: README screenshot was updated to show terminal image-diff output.
- Current README: Documents Homebrew installation and Git diff-driver configuration.
Related projects
- Git supplies the external diff-driver mechanism.
- jp2a converts JPEG images to ASCII for the terminal rendering path.
- ImageMagick handles image conversion tasks used by the script.
Sources
- https://github.com/holman/spaceman-diff#readme
- source_facts.package-manager
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:image
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
~/.config/git/attributes~/.gitconfig
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
spaceman-diff | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version1.0.3
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:spaceman-diff |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.0.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/holman/spaceman-diff |
| Repository | https://github.com/holman/spaceman-diff |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation