VisualDiffer

Overview

VisualDiffer is a macOS application designed to visually compare folders and files with clarity and speed.
It lets you instantly see what has changed between two directories — new, modified, or missing files — through a clean side-by-side interface.
The app helps developers, designers, and anyone managing multiple versions of projects to easily identify differences, filter unwanted files, and synchronize content more efficiently.

Key Features

🟩 Side-by-side folder comparison — instantly highlights differences between directories (added, removed, or modified files).
🧩 File-level diff view — inspect detailed content changes line-by-line (for supported file types).
🧹 Powerful filters — exclude version control, backup, or temporary files (e.g., .git, .svn, .zip, .DS_Store).
🖱️ Drag & drop support — compare folders by simply dragging them into the app window.
📦 Export and automation — integrate comparisons into scripts or workflows using CLI tools (if available).
⚡ Fast comparison engine — optimized to handle large folder structures efficiently.

For more information, visit the VisualDiffer Wiki.

⚡ Caveats

[!WARNING] This is a port of the original project written in Objective-C. The Swift code was rewritten from scratch without using conversions made by AI models. Maximum care was taken in rewriting the code, but regressions or new bugs are possible.

📦 Installation

[!NOTE] The installed application:

is notarized

is sandboxed

Notarization is Apple's automated security check for macOS apps.

Sandboxing restricts what an app can access on your Mac, for example the application can only access files/folders the user explicitly grants access to.

From Homebrew

You can install visualdiffer using homebrew with this command:

brew install visualdiffer

From GitHub Releases

Download from releases, unzip, and drag the app to Applications folder

🛠️ Build

See Contributing

License

Released under the GPL3 License.
See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

VisualDiffer was inspired by the need for a fast, reliable, and elegant folder comparison tool for macOS.
Thanks to all contributors, testers, and users who continue to improve the project.

Visualdiffer

Install / Use

README