NovaDiff

AI-Powered Code Folder Comparison & Intelligent Review

Compare two codebases instantly with beautiful side-by-side diffs, semantic understanding, and AI-generated insights.

The modern, open-source alternative to WinMerge, Meld, and Beyond Compare.

• Lightning-fast folder comparison with tree view and powerful filters
• Beautiful syntax-highlighted side-by-side diffs
• AI-Powered Insights: Get smart summaries of changes (new features, refactors, bug fixes, etc.)
• Semantic diffing — understands moved code, renamed variables, and logical changes
• Smart change categorization and prioritization
• AI Review Comments — automated suggestions and potential issue detection
• Merge assistance with intelligent conflict hints
• Ignore patterns, .gitignore support, and custom rules
• Modern, dark-first UI that feels native
• Documentation workspace with per-file AI summaries, risk signals, 3D code city, and a built-in code knowledge graph (Tree-sitter structure extraction, interactive explorer, compare overlay)
• Git & GitHub — gh auth detection, local clone discovery (macOS / Windows / Linux), pull request list & compare, human-in-the-loop auto-commit with optional push and PR creation

• Core two-folder comparison engine
• Local LLM support (Ollama / LM Studio) — per-file summaries (Settings + Summary tab)
• Git integration (status, publish, PR compare via worktrees, GitHub CLI)
• 3-way merge view
• VS Code extension
• Self-hosted web version

Prerequisites: Node.js (LTS), Rust (stable), Git, and optionally GitHub CLI (gh auth login) for pull requests and auto-publish.

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/NovaDiff.git
cd NovaDiff
npm install
npm run electron:dev

(electron:dev builds the Rust CLI once, then starts Vite + Electron.)

For the Vite dev server only (no Electron shell): npm run dev.

Release build: npm run electron:build (builds the novadiff-cli binary, then Vite + installers under release/).

First graph build compiles the in-repo engine (npm run graph:build runs automatically before npm run build / electron:dev).

• Shell: Electron + React + TypeScript
• Comparison engine: Rust CLI (novadiff-cli, Rayon-parallel hashing) + Electron UI
• Local review: Ollama (/api/chat) or LM Studio OpenAI-compatible (/v1/chat/completions); GPU/Metal via those servers
• AI Layer: OpenAI / Groq / Anthropic or local models via Ollama
• Diff & Parsing: Custom engine + Tree-sitter for semantic awareness

Classic diff tools are outdated. NovaDiff brings intelligence and clarity to code reviews — helping you understand not just what changed, but why and how it matters.

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTIONS.md for details.

MIT License

See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for open-source attributions.

Made with ❤️ for developers who want faster and smarter code reviews.