delta/README.md

Δ

A syntax-highlighter for git.

(This project is at an early stage, but please feel free to open issues.)

Usage

delta 0.1.0
Dan Davison <dandavison7@gmail.com>
A syntax-highlighter for git.

USAGE:
    delta [FLAGS] [OPTIONS]

FLAGS:
        --compare-themes       Compare available syntax highlighting themes. To use this option, supply git diff output
                               to delta on standard input. For example: `git show --color=always | delta --compare-
                               themes`.
        --dark                 Use colors appropriate for a dark terminal background.  For more control, see --theme,
                               --plus-color, and --minus-color.
    -h, --help                 Prints help information
        --highlight-removed    Apply syntax highlighting to removed lines. The default is to apply syntax highlighting
                               to unchanged and new lines only.
        --light                Use colors appropriate for a light terminal background. For more control, see --theme,
                               --plus-color, and --minus-color.
        --list-languages       List supported languages and associated file extensions.
        --list-themes          List available syntax highlighting themes.
    -V, --version              Prints version information

OPTIONS:
        --minus-color <minus_color>    The background color (RGB hex) to use for removed lines.
        --plus-color <plus_color>      The background color (RGB hex) to use for added lines.
        --theme <theme>                The syntax highlighting theme to use.
    -w, --width <width>                The width (in characters) of the diff highlighting. By default, the highlighting
                                       extends to the last character on each line. By default, the width is equal to the
                                       current terminal width.

Installation

1. Install the Rust development environment:
   See https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install.

2. Clone this repo
   

3. Build the executable:
   

   cd delta
   cargo build
   

   This creates an executable inside the repo at target/debug/delta. Make sure this executable is found on your shell $PATH.

   For example, if ~/bin is in your $PATH, then you could use a symlink:

   cd ~/bin
   ln -s /path/to/delta/target/debug/delta delta
   

   Alternatively, you can ignore $PATH and use /path/to/delta/target/debug/delta in the next step.

4. Configure git to use delta:
   (Note that delta defaults to a dark theme, so if you're using a light terminal background, you'll want to use --light or --theme=<theme-name>.)

   Edit your ~/.gitconfig:

   [core]
       pager = delta
   

   Alternatively, run this command:

   git config --global core.pager delta
   

   You can pass arguments to delta in your .gitconfig. An example is

   [core]
       pager = delta --plus-color="#012800" --minus-color="#340001" --theme="base16-ocean.dark"
   

   Please include the = characters; I'm not sure why yet, but they're necessary when writing a delta command line in .gitconfig!

All git commands that display diff output should now display syntax-highlighted output. For example:

• git diff
• git show
• git log -p
• git stash show -p

24 bit color

delta works best if your terminal application supports 24 bit colors. See https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728. For example, on macos, iTerm2 works but Terminal.app does not.

If you're using tmux, it's worth checking that 24 bit color is working correctly. For example, run a color test script like this one, or the others listed at https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728. If you do not see smooth color gradients, see the discussion at tmux#696. The short version is you need something like this in your ~/.tmux.conf:

set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color:Tc"

and you may then need to quit tmux completely for it to take effect.

Credit

https://github.com/trishume/syntect
https://github.com/sharkdp/bat