Git compare "base" version with "theirs" version of a conflicted file?

Question

Given a conflicted file foo.txt, how to tell git diff to show changes between the base version of the file and "their" version of the file?

I can see each of the versions via git show :1:foo.txt or git show:3:foo.txt - is there a simple way to compare the two versions?

This link shows how to view the patch that failed: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2118364/how-to-identify-conflicting-commits-by-hash-during-git-rebase --ie, it explains how to see the "theirs" patch. — Eddified, Feb 08 '13 at 19:36

score 24 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 26 '23 at 07:07

24

git diff :1:foo.txt :3:foo.txt

More info at man gitrevisions; look for :[<n>:]<path>.

edited Aug 26 '23 at 07:07

brillout

answered Feb 27 '13 at 08:30

jsageryd

git must have introduced this syntax somewhere between today and the time I asked the question, thanks for the good news :) – Rafał Dowgird Feb 27 '13 at 09:01
This syntax has been available for many years. Just to be sure I tried it out in a rather ancient version (1.5.5) from April 2008 and it sure works. :) – jsageryd Feb 27 '13 at 09:46
I'd swear I tried that, so either I made some stupid typo or it was broken in a particular version. I guess I'll never know :) – Rafał Dowgird Feb 27 '13 at 10:54
To save some typing: `function gdf13 { git diff ":1:./$1" ":3:./$1"; }` – Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com Dec 30 '14 at 17:44
3

Could anyone please point me to the documentation of this syntax for `git diff` and `git show`, i.e. `:1` and `:3`? I can't see it in documentation of `git diff` and `git show` – radix Jun 12 '18 at 11:41
1

[man gitrevisions](https://gitirc.eu/gitrevisions.html) look for `:[:]`. – jsageryd Jan 07 '20 at 19:41

Thomas Rawyler · Answer 2 · 2015-01-05T07:29:59.397

1

Simply type git diff and it will show only the conflicts.

Further reading: Advanced Merging

Notice the --base and --theirs arguments for diff

edited Jan 05 '15 at 07:29

answered Dec 13 '11 at 11:37

Thomas Rawyler

I only want to see "their" changes. When the chunks are large it is rather hard to infer that from the output of `git diff` alone. – Rafał Dowgird Dec 13 '11 at 11:43
If you mean that it's hard to see you might wanna use `git difftool` and then select your favourite diff ui, for instance meld. – Thomas Rawyler Dec 13 '11 at 11:45
Thanks, I know this (and also the diff3 conflict style option). I am just looking for a quick way to see "their" changes on a file. – Rafał Dowgird Dec 13 '11 at 11:51
As to `--base` and `--theirs` arguments for diff: can they be used to compare `--base` with `--theirs`? This would be what I'm looking for. – Rafał Dowgird Dec 13 '11 at 11:52
Sorry I got you wrong. `git diff --base --theirs` seems to change nothing in the output. – Thomas Rawyler Dec 13 '11 at 12:08
@ThomasRawyler link is dead – reto Dec 24 '14 at 11:50

2 Answers2