Tool Git Delta

tool-git-delta

When To Use

• Improve readability of git patch review in terminal.
• Present staged and unstaged diffs with syntax awareness.
• Configure git pager output for ongoing review workflows.

Trusted Commands

git config --global core.pager delta
git config --global interactive.diffFilter 'delta --color-only'
git diff
git diff --staged
git show HEAD

Safe Defaults

• Keep plain git fallback available for non-interactive logs.
• Review both staged and unstaged diffs before commit.
• Prefer local overrides before changing global defaults in shared environments.

Common Pitfalls

• Package name may be git-delta while binary is delta.
• Without core pager config, delta is not used automatically.
• Styled output is for review, not machine parsing.

Output Interpretation

• Diff semantics are still git patch semantics with enhanced rendering.
• Side-by-side and line-number rendering help review speed.

Why It Matters For Agents

• Makes code review output significantly easier to summarize and verify.
• Improves human confidence in patch intent before merge.

Repo Conventions

• Use delta to improve review quality, not to replace tests.
• Preserve focused commits with minimal unrelated changes.

Trigger Examples

• Should trigger: "Show me a readable diff of staged changes."
• Should trigger: "Review this patch visually before commit."
• Should not trigger: "Install missing Python dependencies."