# Hunk vs diff-so-fancy

> Hunk vs diff-so-fancy. diff-so-fancy tidies git diff headers and markers in your pager. Hunk is a review UI with a file sidebar, split layouts, and agent notes. Compared honestly.

Source: https://hunk.dev/compare/hunk-vs-diff-so-fancy/ · Last checked: 2026-09-01

diff-so-fancy is a Perl script that tidies Git's diff output before your pager shows it: simpler file headers, `+` and `-` out of the gutter, colored empty lines, rulers between files. It adds no syntax highlighting and has no side-by-side view. Hunk is a review UI rather than a filter: a multi-file stream with a file sidebar, split and stack layouts, syntax highlighting, mouse support, watch mode, and inline agent annotations.

## Choose Hunk if

- You want syntax highlighting, which diff-so-fancy does not do.
- You want a side-by-side view, which diff-so-fancy does not do.
- You review multi-file changesets and want a sidebar and hunk navigation.
- You want the diff to reload as you edit, or agent notes attached to hunks.

## Choose diff-so-fancy if

- You want minimal, familiar output and nothing more.
- You want a Perl script and its `lib/` in `$PATH`, with no binary to install.
- Your habits are built around `less` and you do not want a UI.

## What diff-so-fancy is

diff-so-fancy is a Perl script you drop in `$PATH`, alongside its `lib/` directory, and put in front of your pager. It takes Git's diff output and makes it more human. File headers collapse to a readable line, the leading `+` and `-` come out of the gutter so copied code stays copyable, empty lines get colored so added and removed blanks are visible, and a ruler separates files.

It is deliberately small. No syntax highlighting, no side-by-side, no state. It is a text filter, and it has been one since 2015. It also covers `git add -p` through `interactive.diffFilter`, which Hunk does not replicate.

The standard diff-so-fancy setup:

```bash
git config --global core.pager "diff-so-fancy | less --tabs=4 -RF"
git config --global interactive.diffFilter "diff-so-fancy --patch"
```

## What you get by moving to Hunk

The two usual reasons people leave are the two things diff-so-fancy does not do: syntax highlighting and side-by-side. Hunk has both, with a responsive `auto` layout that picks split on wide terminals and stack on narrow ones, plus theme selection you change from inside the review.

Past that it is a different category of tool. Every visible file forms one review stream with a sidebar indexing it, `[` and `]` walk hunks across the whole changeset, `z` expands unchanged context without re-running the diff, and the mouse works for scrolling, menus, and jumping to a file. `hunk diff --watch` keeps the review current while you edit, and agent notes render inline beside the hunks they explain.

The trade is real. Hunk is a bigger program than a Perl script, and it takes over the screen instead of printing into your scrollback. If tidy output in `less` is what you want, diff-so-fancy is still fine.

Try it without changing your Git config:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://hunk.dev/install.sh | sh

hunk diff        # working tree, including untracked files
hunk show HEAD   # the last commit
```

## Hunk vs diff-so-fancy, capability by capability

diff-so-fancy is written in Perl and licensed MIT. Hunk is TypeScript, MIT, and ships as a standalone binary for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

| Capability | Hunk | diff-so-fancy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Syntax highlighting — diff-so-fancy restyles diff structure. It does not color code by language. | Yes | No |
| Side-by-side / split view | Yes | No |
| Word-level highlighting inside a changed line — diff-so-fancy computes character-level emphasis with a bundled copy of Git's contrib/diff-highlight, colored through `color.diff-highlight.*`, rather than a token-level word diff. | Yes | Partly |
| Themes — Hunk ships 65 bundled themes and takes custom ones. diff-so-fancy takes its colors from your Git color settings. | Yes | Partly |
| Cleaned-up file headers and gutter | Yes | Yes |
| File sidebar you can jump from | Yes | No |
| Hunk-by-hunk navigation across the changeset | Yes | No |
| Mouse: click, wheel, scrollbar, menus | Yes | No |
| Change layout, wrapping, and theme mid-review | Yes | No |
| Expand unchanged context in place | Yes | No |
| Watch mode that reloads the review | Yes | No |
| Inline agent and human annotations on a hunk | Yes | No |
| Works as a Git pager (`core.pager`) | Yes | Yes |
| Works in `git add -p` — diff-so-fancy sets `interactive.diffFilter`. Hunk is a review viewer and does not filter interactive staging. | No | Yes |
| Runs with no language runtime installed — diff-so-fancy needs Perl 5.14+. Hunk's script, Homebrew, mise, and Nix installs are standalone binaries; only the npm install needs Node.js 22+. | Partly | No |
| Native Jujutsu and Sapling support — diff-so-fancy works wherever a VCS lets you set a pager, and its docs show a Mercurial recipe. Hunk detects jj and Sapling workspaces and takes native revsets. | Yes | Partly |
| TypeScript extension API | Yes | No |

## Questions people ask

### Does diff-so-fancy have syntax highlighting?

No. It restyles the structure of Git's diff output, meaning headers, markers, empty lines, and rulers, but it does not color code by language. That is a common reason people move to a tool that does.

### Does diff-so-fancy have a side-by-side view?

No. Its output is a single column. Hunk's split layout is side-by-side and is the default on wide terminals.

### Is diff-so-fancy still maintained?

Yes. Commits continue through 2026, though tagged releases are infrequent: the last was v1.4.12 in August 2024. It is a mature script doing a fixed job, which is part of why it is still in so many dotfiles.

### Can I keep diff-so-fancy and add Hunk?

Yes. Leave `core.pager` pointed at diff-so-fancy and run `hunk diff` when you want to review. If you would rather have Git open Hunk for diff output, set `core.pager` to `hunk pager` instead. Non-patch output still falls through to your plain-text pager.

## Sources

- [diff-so-fancy, GitHub repository](https://github.com/so-fancy/diff-so-fancy)
- [Hunk: Git pager and difftool](https://hunk.dev/docs/workflows/git-pager-and-difftool/)
- [Hunk: layout and display](https://hunk.dev/docs/configure/layout-and-display/)

## Other comparisons

- [Hunk vs delta](https://hunk.dev/compare/hunk-vs-delta/) — delta restyles the text Git already printed. Hunk turns the same changeset into a review UI. Most people keep both.
- [Hunk vs difftastic](https://hunk.dev/compare/hunk-vs-difftastic/) — difftastic changes what the diff says. Hunk changes how you read the changeset. Different problems, both worth solving.
- [Hunk vs git diff](https://hunk.dev/compare/hunk-vs-git-diff/) — git diff prints the patch. Hunk renders the same patch as something you can navigate. Git stays the source of truth.
- [Hunk vs Plannotator](https://hunk.dev/compare/hunk-vs-plannotator/) — Both exist because agents write more code than you can read. Plannotator reviews it in the browser and covers plans. Hunk stays in the terminal.