wdiff

Word-by-word file comparison tool

TLDR

Compare files word-by-word

$ wdiff [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

Statistics only

$ wdiff -s [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

Ignore case

$ wdiff -i [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

Use color output

$ wdiff -w $'\033[1;31m' -x $'\033[0m' -y $'\033[1;32m' -z $'\033[0m' [file1] [file2]

Show common words too

$ wdiff -c [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

Avoid wrapping

$ wdiff -n [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

SYNOPSIS

wdiff [-s] [-i] [options] file1 file2

wdiff compares two files on a word-by-word basis rather than line-by-line like traditional diff. This makes it particularly useful for comparing prose and text documents where changes often involve individual words within paragraphs rather than entire lines.
By default, deleted words are enclosed in `[-...-]` markers and inserted words in `{+...+}` markers, making changes easy to spot in the output. These markers can be customized with ANSI escape codes to produce colored output highlighting additions and deletions visually.
The statistics mode shows counts of deleted, inserted, and common words along with percentage changes. Case-insensitive comparison is available for situations where capitalization differences should be ignored.

PARAMETERS

-s, --statistics

Show statistics.

-i, --ignore-case

Case insensitive.

-c, --common

Show common words.

-n, --avoid-wrapping

No wrap markers.

-w STRING

Start delete marker.

-x STRING

End delete marker.

-y STRING

Start insert marker.

-z STRING

End insert marker.

CAVEATS

Large files may be slow. Complex formatting lost. Line structure ignored.

HISTORY

wdiff was written for comparing text documents. It provides human-readable differences for prose content.