delta vs diff-so-fancy
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A syntax-highlighting pager that makes git, diff, and grep output easier to read.
Open source · MIT
A script that makes git and plain diff output easier for humans to read.
The short answer
Choose delta if you need…
- Developers who read a lot of git diffs or git show output in the terminal
- People who want syntax-highlighted git blame output
- Developers who use rg or git grep and want colored matches
- Users who want bat's color themes applied to their diffs
Choose diff-so-fancy if you need…
- Developers who review many diffs in the terminal
- People who use git from the command line and want clearer output
- Users who want a simple drop-in change with no complex setup
- Anyone reviewing changes made with plain diff -u
Side-by-side
| delta | diff-so-fancy | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | CLI |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 32.6k | 18.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Download the app |
| Main language | Rust | Perl |
| Last code update | 9 days ago | 19 days ago |
What each one is
delta
Delta is a terminal program that sits between git and your screen and recolors diffs, blame output, and grep results with syntax highlighting. It highlights changed words within lines and can show diffs side by side with line numbers. People use it to make reviewing code changes faster and easier to follow.
diff-so-fancy
diff-so-fancy is a command-line script that reformats the text output of diff tools, including git diff, so changes are easier to scan. It adds color, simplifies headers, and hides the leading + and - symbols, which helps you spot mistakes faster. You plug it into git as a pager or diff filter, or pipe ordinary diff output into it.
Best for
delta
- Developers who read a lot of git diffs or git show output in the terminal
- People who want syntax-highlighted git blame output
- Developers who use rg or git grep and want colored matches
- Users who want bat's color themes applied to their diffs
diff-so-fancy
- Developers who review many diffs in the terminal
- People who use git from the command line and want clearer output
- Users who want a simple drop-in change with no complex setup
- Anyone reviewing changes made with plain diff -u
Strengths
delta
- Uses the same syntax-highlighting themes as bat
- Highlights word-level changes within lines
- Configurable through standard git config settings
diff-so-fancy
- Simple to install: the README says copying one script into your PATH is enough
- Configurable through several git config options with documented defaults
- Works with both git and standard diff output
Not ideal for
delta
- People who only use a graphical git client or web-based code review, since delta works in the terminal
- Users who want to keep plain git output exactly as it is, since delta changes how diffs look by design
diff-so-fancy
- People who do not use a terminal or command-line git, since it only formats text output
- Users who want syntax-aware or structural diffs, because the README describes only line-based formatting
- Anyone who needs the exact raw diff text, since the symbols and headers are changed for display
Trade-offs
delta
- Output styling is extensive, so setting it up well takes some reading of the manual
- Commit hyperlinks are only supported for GitHub, GitLab, SourceHut, and Codeberg, per the README
diff-so-fancy
- The README describes several installation routes, and packaging problems must be reported to those package maintainers
- Some features, like semIntegration, depend on a separate tool named sem
- Only the README was reviewed here, so behavior on edge cases is not verified
Getting started
delta
Set delta as git's pager
git config --global core.pager deltaUse delta for interactive diff filtering
git config --global interactive.diffFilter 'delta --color-only'diff-so-fancy
Clone the repository (for development features)
git clone https://github.com/so-fancy/diff-so-fancySet git to use diff-so-fancy as the pager
git config --global core.pager "diff-so-fancy | less --tabs=4 -RF"Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between delta and diff-so-fancy?
delta: A syntax-highlighting pager that makes git, diff, and grep output easier to read. diff-so-fancy: A script that makes git and plain diff output easier for humans to read. delta suits developers who read a lot of git diffs or git show output in the terminal, while diff-so-fancy suits developers who review many diffs in the terminal.
Are delta and diff-so-fancy free?
delta: Free and open source. diff-so-fancy: Free and open source.
Is delta or diff-so-fancy more popular?
delta has more GitHub stars (32.6k) than diff-so-fancy (18.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to delta and diff-so-fancy?
Other options people compare them with include patch-package, lazygit, difftastic.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.