A Visual Studio 2022 extension that brings GitHub pull request reviews directly into your IDE — no browser tab switching required.
Diffinitely adds a Pull Request Review tool window to Visual Studio 2022. It automatically detects the current Git branch, finds the corresponding GitHub pull request, and presents changed files and review comments in a tabbed side panel. Open diffs with one click, reply to review threads, and jump to GitHub — all without leaving the IDE.
- Changed Files Tree — Browse all PR-changed files in a hierarchical tree with file-type icons, change kind indicators (Added, Modified, Deleted, Renamed), and comment count badges.
- Side-by-Side Diff — Open any file in VS's native diff viewer, comparing the base version against the PR version. Use the View button on a comment to open the diff for that specific file.
- Review Comments — View all PR review comments with author avatars, file paths, timestamps, thread replies, and outdated badges. Reply to any thread directly from the extension.
- Comment Filtering — Filter comments by author and by resolution status (All / Resolved / Unresolved).
- View on GitHub — Opens the current pull request on GitHub.com in your default browser.
- Status Bar — A persistent footer always shows the current status (e.g., "Reply sent") and a loading indicator while data is being fetched.
- VS Theme Support — Fully integrates with Visual Studio's dark and light themes, including VS-styled tabs with hover and active-tab effects.
- Zero Extra Credentials — Picks up your GitHub token automatically from Git Credential Manager.
- Visual Studio 2022 (v17.14 or later)
- .NET 4.7.2
- Git installed and available in
PATH - A GitHub account with access to the repository being reviewed
- Build the solution (see below) or download the latest
.vsixfrom Releases. - Double-click the
.vsixfile to install. - Restart Visual Studio.
Go to View → Other Windows → Diffinitely - Pull Request, or use Extensions → Diffinitely.
The extension will automatically detect the active repository and current branch, then load the matching pull request from GitHub.
git clone https://github.com/EngstromJimmy/Diffinitely.git
cd Diffinitely
dotnet buildThe compiled .vsix will be in Diffinitely\bin\Debug\.
To run in a sandboxed experimental instance of Visual Studio, open the solution in VS 2022 and press F5.
Diffinitely/
├── Commands/ # VS extension commands (open diff, open for review)
├── Models/ # Data models (PR info, changed files, comments, tree nodes)
├── Services/ # GitHub API (Octokit) and Git repository logic
├── ToolWindows/ # WPF UI — XAML views, view model, value converters
├── DiffinitelyPackage.cs # VS package entry point
└── source.extension.vsixmanifest
Diffinitely resolves your GitHub token in this order:
- In-memory cache (current session)
- Git Credential Manager (
git credential fill)
The token is held in memory only and is never written to disk. On next launch, it will be re-acquired from Git Credential Manager (seamless if GCM already has the credential stored).
If none of these are available, the GitHub API is used unauthenticated (lower rate limits).
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Language | C# 12 |
| UI | WPF (XAML) |
| VS Integration | Visual Studio Extensibility SDK 17.14 |
| GitHub API | Octokit 14.0 |
| Architecture | MVVM |
Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request.
MIT License — see LICENSE for details.
If you find Diffinitely useful, consider sponsoring on GitHub — it helps keep the project going. ❤️