How do I diff the same file between two different commits on the same branch?

git git-diff
systempuntoout picture systempuntoout · Jul 26, 2010 · Viewed 812.4k times · Source

In Git, how could I compare the same file between two different commits (not contiguous) on the same branch (master for example)?

I'm searching for a compare feature like the one in Visual SourceSafe (VSS) or Team Foundation Server (TFS).
Is it possible in Git?

Answer

mipadi picture mipadi · Jul 26, 2010

From the git-diff manpage:

git diff [--options] <commit> <commit> [--] [<path>...]

For instance, to see the difference for a file "main.c" between now and two commits back, here are three equivalent commands:

$ git diff HEAD^^ HEAD main.c
$ git diff HEAD^^..HEAD -- main.c
$ git diff HEAD~2 HEAD -- main.c

Related questions

Comparing two branches in Git?

I have two branches, branch_1 and branch_2. How can I see the differences between the two branches in Git?

Read More
How to see the changes in a Git commit?

When I do git diff COMMIT I see the changes between that commit and HEAD (as far as I know), but I would like to see the changes that were made by that single commit. I haven't found any obvious …

Read More
Viewing unpushed Git commits

How can I view any local commits I've made, that haven't yet been pushed to the remote repository? Occasionally, git status will print out that my branch is X commits ahead of origin/master, but not always. Is this a …

Read More