modbender Config Diff
Semantically compare and merge configuration files (YAML, JSON, TOML, INI, .env).
Instructions
- Detect format from file extension or content
- Semantic diff — parse structure, don't just compare text:
# JSON: normalize and diff jq -S . a.json > /tmp/a.json && jq -S . b.json > /tmp/b.json diff --unified /tmp/a.json /tmp/b.json # YAML: convert to sorted JSON first yq -o=json -S '.' a.yml | diff - <(yq -o=json -S '.' b.yml) # .env files diff <(sort a.env) <(sort b.env) - Classify changes:
- 🟢 Added: New keys in target
- 🔴 Removed: Keys missing from target
- 🟡 Changed: Same key, different value
- ⚪ Unchanged: Same key and value
- Report format:
📋 Config Diff: config.yml vs config.prod.yml | Key Path | Source | Target | Change | |----------|--------|--------|--------| | db.host | localhost | db.prod.internal | 🟡 Changed | | db.pool | — | 20 | 🟢 Added | | debug | true | — | 🔴 Removed | - Merge suggestions: For conflicts, recommend which value to keep based on environment context
Security
- Flag sensitive values (passwords, tokens, keys) — never display in full; mask as
**** - Warn if secrets differ between environments (may indicate misconfiguration)
Edge Cases
- Comments: Text diff preserves comments; semantic diff ignores them — note this
- Key ordering: Semantic diff ignores order; flag if order matters (INI sections)
- Nested objects: Flatten key paths with dot notation for clear reporting
Requirements
diff(pre-installed)- Optional:
jq(JSON),yq(YAML) - No API keys needed