diff
Show differences between source and targets.
skillshare diff # All targets (interactive TUI)
skillshare diff claude # Specific target
skillshare diff agents # Agent targets only
skillshare diff --stat # File-level changes
skillshare diff --patch # Full unified diff
Interactive TUI
On a TTY, diff launches an interactive TUI with a left-right panel layout:
- Left panel — Target list with status icons (
✓synced,!has diffs,✗error) - Right panel — Detail view for the selected target (mode, filters, categorized diffs)
- Press Enter to expand file-level diff for a skill
- Press / to filter targets, Ctrl+d/u to scroll detail, q to quit
Use --no-tui for plain text output, or pipe to disable TUI automatically.
When to Use
- See exactly what's different between source and a target before syncing
- Find skills that exist only in a target (local-only, not yet collected)
- Identify local copies that could be replaced by symlinks
- Inspect file-level changes with
--stator full text diff with--patch
Example Output
claude
+ New 2 skills:
missing-skill
another-skill
! Local Override 1 skill:
local-copy
← Local Only 1 skill:
my-local-skill
2 new, 1 local override, 1 local only
cursor: fully synced
Grouped Multi-Target Output
When multiple targets have identical diff results, they are grouped into a single block to reduce noise:
claude, agents
+ New 2 skills:
skill-1
skill-2
cursor
+ New 1 skill:
skill-1
codex, copilot: fully synced
Targets with different results (e.g. due to include/exclude filters) are still shown separately.
Symbols
| Symbol | Label | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
+ | New | In source, missing in target | sync will add it |
+ | Restore | Was in target, deleted | sync will restore it |
~ | Modified | Content changed (copy mode) | sync will update it |
! | Local Override | Local copy instead of symlink | sync --force to replace |
- | Orphan | In manifest but not in source | sync will prune it |
← | Local Only | Only in target, not in source | collect to import |
File-Level Details
--stat
Shows which files differ within each skill:
skillshare diff --stat
claude
~ Modified 1 skill:
my-skill
+ new-file.md
~ SKILL.md
- old-file.md
--patch
Shows full unified text diff for modified files:
skillshare diff --patch
claude
~ Modified 1 skill:
my-skill
--- SKILL.md
- old line
+ new line
Both --stat and --patch imply --no-tui (plain text output).
What Diff Shows
Merge Mode Targets
For targets using merge mode (default):
- Lists skills in source not yet symlinked to target
- Shows skills that exist as local copies instead of symlinks
- Identifies local-only skills in target (not in source — preserved by sync)
Copy Mode Targets
For targets using copy mode:
- Lists skills in source not yet managed (missing from manifest)
- Shows content changes via checksum comparison
- Shows orphan managed copies no longer in source (will be pruned on sync)
- Identifies local-only skills (not in source and not managed)
Symlink Mode Targets
For targets using symlink mode:
- Simply checks if symlink points to correct source
- Shows "Fully synced" or warns about wrong symlink
Use Cases
Before Sync
Check what will change:
skillshare diff
# See what sync will do, then:
skillshare sync
Finding Local Skills
Discover skills you created directly in a target:
skillshare diff claude
# Shows: ← Local Only 1 skill: my-local-skill
skillshare collect claude # Import to source
Inspecting Changes
See exactly what changed in a skill before syncing:
skillshare diff --patch claude # Full text diff
skillshare diff --stat claude # File-level summary
Troubleshooting
When sync status shows issues:
skillshare status # Shows "needs sync"
skillshare diff claude # See exactly what's different
skillshare sync # Fix it
Agent Diff
Use the agents keyword to diff only agent targets:
skillshare diff agents # All agent-capable targets
skillshare diff agents claude # Specific target
skillshare diff agents --json # JSON output
Agent diff shows missing agents (need sync), orphan symlinks (need prune), and local-only agent files. Only targets with an agents path configuration are included. See Agents — Supported Targets for the full list.
Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--project, -p | Use project mode |
--global, -g | Use global mode |
--stat | Show file-level changes (implies --no-tui) |
--patch | Show full unified diff (implies --no-tui) |
--no-tui | Plain text output (skip interactive TUI) |
--json | Output as JSON (implies --no-tui) |
JSON Output
skillshare diff --json
{
"targets": [
{
"name": "claude",
"mode": "merge",
"synced": false,
"items": [
{"action": "link", "name": "missing-skill", "reason": "not in target", "is_sync": true},
{"action": "update", "name": "local-copy", "reason": "local override", "is_sync": true}
],
"include": [],
"exclude": []
}
],
"duration": "0.045s"
}