How to Compare Two Text Files

A useful file diff should answer two questions: which lines changed, and what changed inside a paired modified line.

1. Select or paste both versions

Use the original on the left and the modified version on the right. LocalTextCompare reads selected files in the browser.

2. Normalize only what you mean to ignore

Line-ending normalization is usually safe for cross-platform text. Ignoring whitespace or case can hide changes, so enable those options intentionally.

3. Read the change types

+ marks additions, − removals and ~ paired modifications. The line-level diff uses a Myers-style sequence algorithm; paired modified lines get a token-level diff.

4. Navigate changes

Use Previous Change and Next Change instead of scanning long unchanged regions manually.

Compare two local files or open the full workspace.