git-delta

delta is a syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, and grep output. It replaces the default git pager and enhances code reviews in the terminal by providing side-by-side views, line numbers, word-level diff highlights, and code theme support.

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1. Quick Comparison with Standard git diff

Feature	Standard git diff	git-delta
Word-Level Highlight	Basic (highlights changed lines)	✅ Advanced (highlights exact changed words)
Side-by-Side Diff	❌ No (inline only)	✅ Yes (--side-by-side)
Line Numbers	❌ No	✅ Yes (--line-numbers)
Syntax Highlighting	❌ No	✅ Yes (supports Dracula, Monokai, etc.)
Interactive Navigation	❌ No	✅ Yes (jump between changes with n/N)

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2. Installation

Install delta using your system's package manager:

# macOS/Linux (Homebrew)
brew install git-delta

# Debian/Ubuntu (APT)
sudo apt install git-delta

# Arch Linux (Pacman)
sudo pacman -S git-delta

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3. Git Configuration (~/.gitconfig)

Configure Git to use delta as its default pager by modifying your ~/.gitconfig file.

[core]
    # Set delta as the default pager for git commands
    pager = delta

[interactive]
    # Use delta for interactive command displays (e.g. git add -p)
    diffFilter = delta --color-only

[add]
    # Configure interactive staging behavior
    interactive = true

[delta]
    # General preferences
    side-by-side = true
    line-numbers = true
    navigate = true    # Use 'n' and 'N' to jump between file diff blocks
    light = false      # Set to true if using a light terminal theme

[merge]
    # Show conflict markers using zdiff3 layout
    conflictStyle = zdiff3

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4. Visual Layout Configurations

Customize your diff formatting inside the [delta] section of ~/.gitconfig.

1. Side-by-Side Diff

Display changed code blocks next to each other rather than inline.

[delta]
    side-by-side = true

2. Displaying Line Numbers

Enable line number columns on both sides of the diff.

[delta]
    line-numbers = true

3. Combining Features and Custom Styles

Enable both side-by-side layout, line numbers, and custom decorations together.

[delta]
    side-by-side = true
    line-numbers = true
    features = decorations

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5. Themes & Colors

Syntax Themes

Delta matches syntax highlighting with themes. You can list all themes by running delta --list-syntax-themes.

[delta]
    syntax-theme = Dracula
    # Alternative: syntax-theme = "Monokai Extended"
    # Alternative: syntax-theme = none (disables syntax highlighting)

Advanced Styling Options

Customize colors and decorations for modified blocks, headers, and lines.

[delta "decorations"]
    commit-decoration-style = bold yellow box ul
    file-style = bold yellow ul
    file-decoration-style = none
    hunk-header-decoration-style = cyan box ul

[delta "line-numbers"]
    line-numbers-left-style = cyan
    line-numbers-right-style = cyan
    line-numbers-minus-style = 124
    line-numbers-plus-style = 28

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6. CLI Usage (Outside Git)

Delta can also be used as a standalone file comparator or diff pager in the terminal.

# Compare two files directly
delta file1.txt file2.txt

# Pipe standard diff command into delta
diff -u file1.txt file2.txt | delta

# Compare sorted files using process substitution
delta <(sort list1.txt) <(sort list2.txt)

One-Time Git Overrides

You can temporarily bypass or change Delta parameters using the -c git configuration override flag.

# Run diff inline (temporary override to disable side-by-side)
git -c delta.side-by-side=false diff

# Temporarily disable line numbers
git -c delta.line-numbers=false show