Compare Two Texts and See the Differences
The problem
You have two versions of something — a config file, a code snippet, a contract draft, an API response — and you need to know exactly what changed. Reading both side by side and trying to spot differences manually is slow and error-prone, especially when the changes are subtle: a single character, a swapped line, a removed comma.
Git has diff, but that only works for tracked files. If you are comparing two Slack messages, two database records, two email drafts, or two outputs from different environments, you need a tool that takes arbitrary text and highlights the differences.
How it works
- Paste the original text in the left panel.
- Paste the modified text in the right panel.
- See the diff instantly — added lines are highlighted in green, removed lines in red, and changed lines show the specific characters that differ.
Everything runs in your browser. Neither version is sent anywhere.
When to use this tool
- Code review without git — compare two versions of a function someone sent you, or diff a code snippet against documentation
- Config comparison — spot the difference between your staging and production config files, or compare two
.envfiles - Document editing — see what changed between two drafts of a proposal, contract, or email
- Debugging API responses — compare two JSON responses to find what changed between requests
- Database records — paste two rows or documents and find the discrepancies
Tips for better diffs
If you are comparing JSON, format both sides first (use the JSON Formatter) so the diff is line-by-line rather than one giant blob. The same goes for minified code or SQL — formatting first makes the meaningful differences stand out.
For configs, sort the keys alphabetically on both sides before diffing. Otherwise a reordered but identical config will show up as entirely changed.
Why I built it
I often need to compare things that are not in a git repo — API responses from two environments, config files from different servers, text that someone pasted in a chat. Opening a terminal to use diff means saving both texts to temporary files first. This tool skips that step entirely.