Perforce 2009.2: Command Reference

p4 diff

Synopsis

Compare a client workspace file to a revision in the depot.

Syntax

p4 [g-opts] diff [-dflag -f -m max -sa -sb -sd -se -sr -sl -t] [file[rev#]...]

Description

p4 diff runs a diff program on the Perforce client, comparing files in the client workspace to revisions in the depot.

This command takes a file argument, which can contain a revision specifier. If a revision specifier is included, the file in the client workspace is diffed against the specified revision. If a revision specifier is not included, the client workspace file is compared against the revision currently being edited (usually the head revision). In either case, the client file must be open for edit, or the comparison must be against a revision other than the one to which the client file was last synced.

If the file argument includes wildcards, all open files that match the file pattern are diffed. If no file argument is provided, all open files are diffed against their depot counterparts.

By default, the diff routine used is the one built into the p4 client program. To change this diff routine to an external diff program, set the P4DIFF environment or registry variable to point to the new program.

Options

-f	Force the diff (if no revision is specified, against the head revision), even when the client file is not open for edit.
-dflags	Pass flags to the underlying diff routine (see the Usage Notes below for details)
-m max	Limit output to diffs (or status) of only the first max files.
-sa	Show only the names of opened files that are different from the revision in the depot, or are missing.
-sb	Show only the names of files opened for integrate that have been resolved, but that have been modified after being resolved.
-sd	Show only the names of unopened files that are missing from the client workspace, but present in the depot.
-se	Show only the names of unopened files in the client workspace that are different than the revision in the depot.
-sr	Show only the names of opened files in the client workspace that are identical to the revision in the depot.
-sl file...	Every unopened file is compared with the depot, and listed with a status of same, diff, or missing. If you use the -f flag together with the -sl flag, files that are open for edit are also compared and their status is listed.
-t	Diff the revisions even if the files are not of type text.
g-opts	See the Global Options section.

Usage Notes

Can File Arguments Use Revision Specifier?	Can File Arguments Use Revision Range?	Minimal Access Level Required
Yes	No	read

•	The diff flags supported by p4 diff are:

Flag	Name
-dn	RCS output format, showing additions and deletions made to the file and associated line ranges.
-dc	context output format, showing line number ranges and three lines of context around the changes.
-ds	summary output format, showing only the number of chunks and lines added, deleted, or changed.
-du	unified output format, showing added and deleted lines with sufficient context for compatibility with the patch(1) utility.
-dl	ignore line-ending (CR/LF) convention when finding diffs
-db	ignore changes made within whitespace; this flag implies -dl.
-dw	ignore whitespace altogether; this flag implies -dl.

•	To pass more than one flag to the diff routine, group them together. For example:

p4 diff -dub file

specifies a unified diff that ignores changes in whitespace.

•	The header line of a unified diff produced with the -du option for use with patch(1) displays filenames in Perforce syntax, not local syntax.

Examples

p4 diff file#5	Compare the client workspace revision of file file to the fifth depot revision.
p4 diff @1999/05/22	Compare all open files in the client workspace to the revisions in the depot as of midnight on May 22, 1999.
p4 diff -du file	Run the comparison on file file, displaying output in a format suitable for the patch(1) utility.
p4 diff -sr | p4 -x - revert	Revert all open, unchanged files. This differs from p4 revert -a (revert all unchanged files, where resolving a file, even if no changes are made, counts as a change), in that it reverts files whose workspace content matches the depot content, including resolved files that happen to be identical to those in the depot. The first command shows all open, unchanged files. The second command (running p4 -x and taking arguments, one per line, from standard input, abbreviated as "-") reverts each file in that list. (This is the UNIX version of this command; it uses a pipe. Most operating systems have some equivalent way of performing these operations in series). For more information about the -x option to p4, see the Global Options section.

Related Commands

To compare two depot revisions	p4 diff2
To view the entire contents of a file	p4 print