ksdiff
Introduction
ksdiff is a command line tool used to launch Kaleidoscope from the Terminal and other apps. It offers a solution for two common scenarios, comparing input and merging input into and output.
Comparing Files
The following simplest possible command will open file1 and file2 in a new comparison in Kaleidoscope.
ksdiff file1 file2
Merging and Conflicts
ksdiff also allows you to start a merge operation, helping you to resolve potential conflicts between the two inputs. Here's a simple sample call opening file1 and file2, allowing you to merge both into a result outfile. Note that outfile does not need to exist when you call ksdiff, it will be created if needed.
ksdiff --merge --output outputfile file1 file2
Advanced Usage
Enjoy the real power of ksdiff by combining ksdiff with other tools and constructs of your shell:
ksdiff <(pngquant 4 image.png -o -) <(pngquant 256 image.png -o -) image.png
The example above compares a PNG image with two compressed variants of itself using indexed colors. See below in Further Reading to find a blog post going into such use cases.
Help Page
This is what typing ksdiff --help shows on the command line.
usage: ksdiff - send files to Kaleidoscope
--version show version information and exit
-h, --help show this help message and exit
COMMON COMMAND OPTIONS
[-w, --wait | -W, --no-wait] whether to wait for the document to be
closed in Kaleidoscope before exiting
the implied default varies per command
[-l, --label LABEL] use LABEL as the visible label for the
tab in Kaleidoscope, instead of the
default value, which is inferred from
the arguments passed to ksdiff’s parent
process
--no-stdin never read stdin even if we receive an
open pipe - needed for some host apps
e.g. JetBrains products
FILE OPTIONS
[-s, --snapshot | -S, --no-snapshot] whether the file is temporary. this
option will override the heuristics
ksdiff would otherwise use to determine
this state.
COMMANDS
[--diff] send files to open ----------------------------( diff )--
default if no other command given
implies --no-wait
FILE [opt] [...] the files to diff, '-' represents stdin
stdin will be prepended to the file list
if no '-' is provided.
--partial-changeset send part of a changeset ---------( partial-changeset )--
implies --no-wait
[--UUID UUID] use UUID to select which document to
add this changeset item to; follow this
with --mark-changeset-as-closed UUID
to tell Kaleidoscope that no more
changes are expected. if unspecified,
Kaleidoscope will watch the process
calling ksdiff and close the changeset
when it exits.
[--relative-path PATH] use PATH to describe the filename and
location for this changeset item within
its root (e.g. a source repository)
FILE [opts] FILE [opts] the files to diff
--mark-changeset-as-closed UUID marks the partial changeset submitted
under the given UUID as being closed
--changeset send a complete changeset ---------------( changeset )--
implies --no-wait
--filelist begin a file list (changeset item)
[--relative-path PATH] use PATH to describe the filename and
location for this changeset item within
its root (e.g. a source repository)
FILE [opts] FILE [opts] the files to diff
--merge send a merge -------------------------------( merge )--
implies --wait
--output OUTPUT use OUTPUT as the destination path for
this merge. creates OUTPUT if it does
not exist.
[--base BASE] use BASE as the base content for this
merge. can improve the quality of the
default selections for some merges.
FILE [opts] FILE [opts] the files to merge
Further Reading
We recently posted a series of articles on our blog describing both basics and tips & tricks for ksdiff. After reading those articles you should be able to make the most of ksdiff for your workflow. We also posted a very brief tutorial on how to use the command line on macOS.
Resolving Issues
If you have any issues with ksdiff and its operation, please update Kaleidoscope to version 3.6 or later. If you haven't done so, Kaleidoscope 3.6 will once need to update the ksdiff installation. The procedure is different for the Direct and the App Store version of Kaleidoscope:
- Direct: Follow the instructions presented in Kaleidoscope. You'll need to enter user and password of an administrator of your computer (typically yourself), so Kaleidoscope can remove the old ksdiff tool and install the new link.
- App Store: The App Store version of Kaleidoscope is running in App Sandbox, as required by Apple for the App Store. This basically means it has a very limited set of permissions to do things on your system. Kaleidoscope has no permission to remove the previous installation of the ksdiff tool, which is located in /usr/local/bin. Kaleidoscope 3.6 or later will show you an external Uninstaller that will carry out that task for your (after you entering your password). Once the old version has been removed, Kaleidoscope can request permission (again, through you entering your password) to install the new link for ksdiff.
Questions
Can’t find an answer to your question here? Send us an email and we’ll help you.