Viewing Difference Between Files from Command Line

You can use IntelliJ IDEA as a command line tool for viewing differences between files.

In the command line, run the diff command using the following syntax:
<IntelliJ IDEA> diff path1 path2

The selected files will be opened in the Differences Viewer for Files.

The command options are as follows:

Option	Description
`<IntelliJ IDEA>`	The platform-dependent IntelliJ IDEA launcher. On macOS and Linux, it is recommended to use the command line launcher created during the IntelliJ IDEA installation, or create one manually by selecting Tools \| Create Command-line Launcher on the IntelliJ IDEA main menu. Refer to Working with IntelliJ IDEA Features from Command Line for details.
`path1`	The full path to the local copy of the file.
`path2`	The full path to the repository version copy of the file.

Examples

Syntax: <IDE_HOME>\bin\idea.exe diff path1 path2
Example: <IDE_HOME>\bin\idea.exe diff C:\MyProject\Readme.md C:\MyProject\Readme.md.bak

Syntax: IntelliJ\ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea diff path1 path2
Example: IntelliJ\ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea diff ~/MyProject/Readme.md ~/MyProject/Readme.md.bak

Syntax: <IDE_HOME>/bin/idea.sh diff path1 path2
Example: <IDE_HOME>/bin/idea.sh diff ~/MyProject/Readme.md ~/MyProject/Readme.md.bak

Last modified: 4 April 2018

Procedures:

Merging Files from Command Line

Reference: