Improving Git Diffs with Delta

Working with LLMs means reviewing way more diffs than before. I discovered delta a while back and this was such a huge improvement to working in a terminal and having amazing syntax highlighting for diffs.

If you spend significant time reviewing code changes in the terminal, delta can transform your workflow from reading simple diff output to working with syntax-highlighted, readable diffs.

Installing and Configuring Delta

First, install delta from https://github.com/dandavison/delta

Then configure your .gitconfig:

[core]
    pager = delta

[interactive]
    diffFilter = delta --color-only

[delta]
    navigate = true
    dark = true

[merge]
    conflictstyle = zdiff3

Visual Comparison

The difference is immediately visible when you run git diff. Without delta, you get standard monochrome output that can be hard to parse, especially for longer diffs. With delta, you get:

• Syntax highlighting based on file type

• Side-by-side or unified view options

• Line numbers

• Better visual separation between changes

Configuring Lazygit with Delta

I use lazygit for managing my git workflow. Configuring it to work with delta is simple, just add this line to your lazygit configuration:

git:
  paging:
    pager: delta --dark --paging=never --line-numbers

The Result

Without delta, lazygit displays diffs in plain diff format with just a bit of highlighting. With delta configured, you get the same rich syntax highlighting and visual improvements directly in your lazygit interface.

Here is how lazygit looked without delta configured:

And here is how it looks like with delta configured:

This makes reviewing changes faster and reduces eye strain when working through multiple diffs in a session. When you are working with LLMs and constantly reviewing generated code or refactorings, these small improvements in readability add up quickly.

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