pi-diff

A pi extension that replaces the default write and edit tool output with Shiki-powered, syntax-highlighted diffs — side-by-side split view, unified stacked view, and word-level change emphasis, all rendered directly in your terminal.

Status: Early release.

Unified view — stacked single-column diff

Split view — side-by-side comparison

Features

• Syntax-highlighted diffs — full Shiki grammar highlighting (190+ languages) composited with diff background colors
• Split view — side-by-side comparison for edit tool, auto-falls back to unified on narrow terminals
• Unified view — stacked single-column layout for write tool overwrites
• Word-level emphasis — changed characters get brighter backgrounds so you see exactly what changed
• New file preview — syntax-highlighted preview when creating files
• Adaptive layout — auto-detects terminal width; wraps intelligently on wide terminals, truncates on narrow ones
• LRU cache — singleton Shiki highlighter with 192-entry cache for fast re-renders
• Large diff fallback — gracefully degrades (skips highlighting, still shows diff structure) for files > 80k chars
• Fully customizable — every color and threshold is overridable via environment variables

Install

pi install npm:@heyhuynhgiabuu/pi-diff

Latest release: https://github.com/buddingnewinsights/pi-diff/releases/latest

Or load directly for development:

pi -e ./src/index.ts

How It Works

pi-diff wraps the built-in write and edit tools from the pi SDK, including single-edit and multi-edit edit calls. When the agent writes or edits a file:

1. Before the write — reads the existing file content
2. Delegates to the original SDK tool (file is actually written)
3. After the write — computes a structured diff between old and new content
4. Renders the diff with syntax highlighting and word-level emphasis

The rendering pipeline:

Old content ──┐
              ├── diff (structuredPatch) ── parse ── highlight (Shiki → ANSI)
New content ──┘                                          │
                                                         ├── inject diff bg
                                                         ├── inject word-level bg
                                                         └── wrap/fit to terminal

Views

View	Used by	Description
Split	edit tool	Side-by-side with old on left, new on right. Diagonal stripes fill empty slots. Auto-falls back to unified when terminal < 150 cols or > 20% of lines would wrap.
Unified	write tool	Single column with +/- gutter. Compact, works at any terminal width.

Both views show:

• Colored border bars (▌) for changed lines
• Line numbers in the gutter
• Hunk separators (··· N unmodified lines ···)
• Word-level emphasis on paired add/del lines

Configuration

Diff Theme Presets

pi-diff ships with built-in theme presets optimized for different terminal backgrounds. Add to your .pi/settings.json:

{
  "theme": "dark",
  "diffTheme": "midnight"
}

Preset	Best for	Description
default	Dark theme bases (~#1e1e2e)	Original pi-diff colors — balanced contrast
midnight	Pure black (#000000) terminals	Subtle tints that don't overwhelm on black
subtle	Any dark theme	Minimal backgrounds — barely-there tints for a clean look
neon	Low-contrast displays	Higher contrast backgrounds for better visibility

Per-Color Overrides

Override individual diff colors in .pi/settings.json using hex #RRGGBB values:

{
  "theme": "dark",
  "diffTheme": "midnight",
  "diffColors": {
    "bgAdd": "#0d1a12",
    "bgDel": "#1a0d0d",
    "bgAddHighlight": "#1a3825",
    "bgDelHighlight": "#381a1a",
    "bgGutterAdd": "#091208",
    "bgGutterDel": "#120908",
    "bgEmpty": "#080808",
    "fgAdd": "#64b478",
    "fgDel": "#c86464",
    "fgDim": "#404040",
    "fgLnum": "#505050",
    "fgRule": "#282828",
    "fgStripe": "#1e1e1e",
    "fgSafeMuted": "#8b949e",
    "shikiTheme": "github-dark"
  }
}

diffColors overrides take priority over diffTheme presets, so you can start from a preset and tweak individual colors.

Auto-Derive (Default Behavior)

When no diffTheme or diffColors is set, pi-diff automatically derives background colors from your pi theme's diff foreground colors. This ensures diffs look good with any pi theme and terminal background — no configuration needed.

The auto-derive uses different intensity levels:

• Line backgrounds: 8–10% of the theme's diff fg color (subtle tint)
• Word highlights: 20–22% (more visible for changed characters)
• Gutters: 5–6% (subtler than line backgrounds)

Color Resolution Order

For each color, pi-diff checks (highest priority first):

1. Environment variable — e.g. DIFF_BG_ADD="#1a3320" (backward compatible)
2. diffColors from .pi/settings.json (per-color hex overrides)
3. diffTheme preset from .pi/settings.json (named preset bundle)
4. Auto-derived from pi theme's toolDiffAdded/toolDiffRemoved colors
5. Hardcoded fallback (original defaults)

Environment Variables

All settings are also controllable via environment variables. Add them to your shell profile or .envrc:

Theme

Variable	Default	Description
DIFF_THEME	github-dark	Shiki theme name (e.g., dracula, one-dark-pro, catppuccin-mocha)

Colors

Override any diff color with hex #RRGGBB format:

Variable	Default	Description
DIFF_BG_ADD	#162620	Background for added lines
DIFF_BG_DEL	#2d1919	Background for removed lines
DIFF_BG_ADD_HL	#234b32	Word-level emphasis on added text
DIFF_BG_DEL_HL	#502323	Word-level emphasis on removed text
DIFF_BG_GUTTER_ADD	#12201a	Gutter background for added lines
DIFF_BG_GUTTER_DEL	#261616	Gutter background for removed lines
DIFF_FG_ADD	#64b478	Foreground for + signs and add indicators
DIFF_FG_DEL	#c86464	Foreground for - signs and del indicators

Layout

Variable	Default	Description
DIFF_SPLIT_MIN_WIDTH	150	Minimum terminal columns to use split view
DIFF_SPLIT_MIN_CODE_WIDTH	60	Minimum code columns per side in split view

Example .envrc

# Use a different Shiki theme
export DIFF_THEME="catppuccin-mocha"

# Brighter add backgrounds
export DIFF_BG_ADD="#1a3a25"
export DIFF_BG_ADD_HL="#2d6040"

# Allow split view on narrower terminals
export DIFF_SPLIT_MIN_WIDTH=120

Architecture

src/
└── index.ts    # Extension entry point — wraps write/edit tools with diff rendering

Key internals

Component	Purpose
parseDiff()	Converts old/new content to structured DiffLine[] using diff.structuredPatch
hlBlock()	Shiki ANSI highlighting with LRU cache (192 entries)
injectBg()	Composites diff backgrounds into Shiki ANSI output (fg + bg layering)
wordDiffAnalysis()	Single-pass word diff → similarity score + character ranges
renderSplit()	Side-by-side renderer with diagonal stripe fillers
renderUnified()	Stacked single-column renderer
wrapAnsi()	ANSI-aware line wrapping with state carry-forward
shouldUseSplit()	Heuristic: split vs unified based on terminal width and wrap ratio

Rendering constants

Constant	Value	Description
MAX_PREVIEW_LINES	60	Max lines in edit preview (split view)
MAX_RENDER_LINES	150	Max lines in write result (unified view)
MAX_HL_CHARS	80,000	Skip syntax highlighting above this
CACHE_LIMIT	192	LRU cache entries for highlighted blocks
WORD_DIFF_MIN_SIM	0.15	Minimum similarity for word-level emphasis

Exports

The extension exports a __testing object for unit testing:

import { __testing } from "@heyhuynhgiabuu/pi-diff";

const { parseDiff, renderSplit, renderUnified, normalizeShikiContrast } = __testing;

Development

git clone https://github.com/buddingnewinsights/pi-diff.git
cd pi-diff
npm install
npm run typecheck   # TypeScript validation
npm run lint        # Biome linting
npm test            # Run tests

Load in pi for testing

# From the pi-diff directory
pi -e ./src/index.ts

# Or install globally
pi install .

How pi Extensions Work

pi-diff is a pi extension — a TypeScript file that exports a default function receiving the pi API:

export default function piDiffExtension(pi: any): void {
  // Get SDK tools
  const origWrite = createWriteTool(cwd);
  const origEdit = createEditTool(cwd);

  // Register enhanced versions
  pi.registerTool({
    ...origWrite,
    name: "write",
    execute: async (...) => { /* wrap + diff */ },
    renderCall: (...) => { /* preview */ },
    renderResult: (...) => { /* render diff */ },
  });
}

Extensions can:

• Register tools — pi.registerTool(definition)
• Listen to events — pi.on("session_start" | "input" | "before_tool_call" | ...)
• Register commands — pi.registerCommand("/name", handler)
• Register providers — pi.registerProvider("name", config)

See the pi docs for the full extension API.

License

MIT — huynhgiabuu