diffs.nvim

Syntax highlighting for diffs in Neovim

Enhance vim-fugitive and Neovim's built-in diff mode with language-aware syntax highlighting.

Features

• Treesitter syntax highlighting in :Git diffs and commit views
• Diff header highlighting (diff --git, index, ---, +++)
• :Gdiffsplit / :Gvdiffsplit syntax through diff backgrounds
• :Gdiff unified diff against any git revision with syntax highlighting
• Fugitive status buffer keymaps (du/dU) for unified diffs
• Background-only diff colors for any &diff buffer (:diffthis, vimdiff)
• Vim syntax fallback for languages without a treesitter parser
• Hunk header context highlighting (@@ ... @@ function foo())
• Configurable debouncing, max lines, and diff prefix concealment

Requirements

• Neovim 0.9.0+

Installation

Install with your package manager of choice or via luarocks:

luarocks install diffs.nvim

Documentation

:help diffs.nvim

Known Limitations

• Incomplete syntax context: Treesitter parses each diff hunk in isolation without surrounding code context. When a hunk shows lines added to an existing block (e.g., adding a plugin inside return { ... }), the parser doesn't see the return statement and may produce incorrect highlighting. This is inherent to parsing code fragments—no diff tooling solves this without significant complexity.

• Syntax flashing: diffs.nvim hooks into the FileType fugitive event triggered by vim-fugitive, at which point the buffer is preliminarily painted. The buffer is then re-painted after debounce_ms milliseconds, causing an unavoidable visual "flash" even when debounce_ms = 0.

• Conflicting diff plugins: diffs.nvim may not interact well with other plugins that modify diff highlighting. Known plugins that may conflict:

  • diffview.nvim - provides its own diff highlighting and conflict resolution UI
  • mini.diff - visualizes buffer differences with its own highlighting system
  • gitsigns.nvim - generally compatible, but both plugins modifying line highlights may produce unexpected results
  • git-conflict.nvim - conflict marker highlighting may overlap with diffs.nvim

Acknowledgements

• vim-fugitive
• codediff.nvim
• diffview.nvim
• @phanen - diff header highlighting, unknown filetype fix, shebang/modeline detection