Git Diff: analyze your diff using claude (for VS Code)

A powerful VS Code extension that uses Claude AI to analyze your git changes and provide intelligent insights about code modifications, potential issues, and suggestions for improvement.

✨ Features

• 🔍 AI-Powered Analysis: Leverages Claude's advanced AI capabilities to understand your code changes
• 📊 Comprehensive Insights: Get summaries, impact assessments, and issue detection for your git diffs
• 🎯 Multiple Analysis Modes: Analyze all changes, staged changes only, or individual files
• 🌐 Rich Web View: Beautiful, interactive display of analysis results
• ⚡ Real-time Feedback: Instant analysis with progress indicators
• 🔍 Issue Detection: Automatically identifies security, integration, testing, and quality issues
• 📋 Raw Output Mode: View Claude's complete analysis response for maximum detail
• ✏️ Custom Prompts: Customize the analysis prompt to match your specific needs

📋 Prerequisites

Before using this extension, you need to have Claude Code installed on your system:

1. Install Claude Code from the official website: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview
2. Verify installation by running in your terminal:

   claude --version

3. Git must be installed and accessible in your PATH
4. Your workspace must be a git repository

📦 Installation

From VSIX File

1. Download the latest .vsix file from the Releases page
2. In VS Code:
   • Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
   • Run "Extensions: Install from VSIX..."
   • Select the downloaded .vsix file

From Source

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/claude-code-git-diff-visualizer.git
   cd claude-code-git-diff-visualizer

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Build the extension:

   npm run compile

4. Package the extension:

   npm install -g vsce
   vsce package

5. Install the generated .vsix file using the steps above

For Development

1. Clone and install dependencies as above
2. Open the project in VS Code
3. Press F5 to run the extension in a new Extension Development Host window

🚀 Usage

Quick Start

1. Open a git repository in VS Code
2. Make some changes to your code
3. Click the "Git Diff" button in the status bar
4. Wait for analysis while Claude reviews your changes
5. Review results in the interactive webview panel

Available Commands

Access these commands through the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P):

• Git Diff: Analyze All Changes - Analyzes all uncommitted changes
• Git Diff: Analyze Staged Changes - Analyzes only staged changes
• Git Diff: Show Last Analysis - Displays the most recent analysis results

Context Menu Actions

• Right-click a file in the Source Control view and select "Analyze This File" to analyze individual files

Understanding the Results

The analysis results show:

• 📝 Summary: Overall description of your changes
• 🎯 Impact Level: Assessment of change significance (High/Medium/Low)
• 📁 File Changes: Detailed breakdown for each modified file
• 🔍 Key Changes: Specific modifications highlighted
• ⚠️ Issues Detected:
  • 🔒 Security concerns
  • 🔌 Integration issues
  • 🧪 Testing gaps
  • 💡 Code quality suggestions
• 💭 AI Recommendations: Intelligent suggestions for improvement

⚙️ Configuration

Customize the extension through VS Code settings:

{
  "gitDiff.autoAnalyze": false,          // Auto-analyze when opening repository
  "gitDiff.includeUntrackedFiles": false, // Include untracked files in analysis
  "gitDiff.customPrompt": ""             // Custom prompt for analysis (empty = use default)
}

Access settings via:

• Command Palette → "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)"
• Search for "Git Diff"

Custom Prompts

You can customize the analysis prompt to focus on specific aspects:

1. Edit Prompt: Configure the prompt through settings (gitDiff.customPrompt)
2. Use Placeholder: Include {DIFF_PLACEHOLDER} in your prompt where the git diff should be inserted
3. Save Options: Choose to save globally (all projects) or per workspace

Example custom prompts:

• Security Focus: Focus on security vulnerabilities, authentication issues, and data exposure
• Performance Review: Analyze for performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, and optimization opportunities
• Best Practices: Check for code style, design patterns, and architectural consistency

🛠️ Development

Building from Source

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch for changes during development
npm run watch

# Package extension
vsce package

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss your ideas.

🔧 Troubleshooting

"Claude CLI is not installed or not in PATH"

• Ensure Claude Code is installed: Installation Guide
• Verify installation: claude --version
• Restart VS Code after installation

"No changes to analyze"

• Ensure you have uncommitted changes in your git repository
• Check that you're in a git repository (.git folder exists)
• For staged analysis, ensure files are staged with git add

Webview shows loading indefinitely

• Check VS Code Developer Console: Help → Toggle Developer Tools
• Look for error messages in the console
• Try refreshing with the "Refresh Analysis" button

Analysis takes too long

• Large diffs may take more time to analyze
• Try analyzing specific files or staged changes only
• Check your internet connection (Claude requires connectivity)

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Thanks to all contributors and users

📞 Support

• Report bugs: GitHub Issues
• Request features: GitHub Discussions
• Get help: Documentation Wiki

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Note: This extension requires an active Claude Code installation. Claude Code is a separate product from Anthropic and requires its own setup.