A Rust port of nix-diff, a tool to explain why two Nix derivations differ.
- Compare two Nix derivations and show their differences
- Support for multiple input types:
.drvfiles (pre-built derivations)- Realized store paths
.nixfiles (will be instantiated automatically)- Flake references (e.g.,
nixpkgs#hello,path:/path/to/flake#package)
- Colored output with support for
NO_COLORenvironment variable - Configurable diff orientation (line, word, character)
- Minimal dependencies
nix buildnix-diff [OPTIONS] <INPUT1> <INPUT2>
Arguments:
<INPUT1> First input (.drv file, store path, .nix file, or flake#attr)
<INPUT2> Second input (.drv file, store path, .nix file, or flake#attr)
Options:
--color <MODE> Color mode: always, auto, never (default: auto)
--orientation <MODE> Diff orientation: line, word, character (default: line)
--context <LINES> Number of context lines (default: 3)
-h, --help Show this help messageCompare two derivations:
nix-diff /nix/store/abc123-hello.drv /nix/store/def456-hello.drvCompare realized store paths:
nix-diff /nix/store/abc123-hello /nix/store/def456-helloCompare Nix files (will be instantiated automatically):
nix-diff hello.nix goodbye.nixCompare flake outputs:
# Compare packages from flakes
nix-diff nixpkgs#hello nixpkgs#hello-wayland
# Compare local flake outputs
nix-diff .#packages.x86_64-linux.myapp .#packages.x86_64-linux.myapp-dev
# Compare using flake paths
nix-diff path:/path/to/flake1#package path:/path/to/flake2#packageDisable colors:
nix-diff --color never input1 input2
# or
NO_COLOR=1 nix-diff input1 input2# Enter development shell
nix develop
# Build
cargo build
# Run tests
cargo test
# Run benchmarks
cargo bench
# Format code
nix fmtBSD-3-Clause (same as the original nix-diff)