gh-diff-extractor

A CLI tool to extract git diffs from GitHub pull request files pages, supporting private repositories.

Features

• 🔗 Extract diffs from GitHub PR URLs (including /files pages)
• 🔐 Support for private repositories with authentication
• 📄 Multiple output formats (diff and patch)
• 🎨 Colorised terminal output
• 📊 Diff statistics
• 💾 Save to file or output to stdout
• ⚙️ Flexible authentication (environment variables, config file, or CLI option)

Installation

Global Installation

npm install -g gh-diff-extractor

Local Installation

npm install gh-diff-extractor

Authentication

To access private repositories, you need a GitHub Personal Access Token. The tool supports multiple ways to provide authentication:

1. Environment Variable (Recommended)

export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token_here

2. Configuration File

gh-diff-extractor config --token your_github_token_here

3. Command Line Option

gh-diff-extractor --token your_github_token_here <url>

Creating a GitHub Token

1. Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
2. Click "Generate new token"
3. Select the following scopes:
   • repo (for private repositories)
   • public_repo (for public repositories)
4. Copy the generated token

Usage

Basic Usage

# Extract diff from a public PR
gh-diff-extractor https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

# Extract diff from a private PR (requires authentication)
gh-diff-extractor https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123/files

# Get patch format instead of diff
gh-diff-extractor --patch https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

# Save to file
gh-diff-extractor --output pr-123.diff https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

# Show statistics
gh-diff-extractor --stats https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

# Disable colours
gh-diff-extractor --no-color https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

Supported URL Formats

The tool accepts various GitHub PR URL formats:

• https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123
• https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123/files
• https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123/commits
• github.com/owner/repo/pull/123 (protocol will be added automatically)

Command Options

Usage: gh-diff-extractor [options] <url>

Arguments:
  url                          GitHub pull request URL

Options:
  -V, --version               output the version number
  -t, --token <token>         GitHub personal access token
  -o, --output <file>         Output file path (if not specified, prints to stdout)
  -p, --patch                 Get patch format instead of diff format
  -v, --verbose               Show verbose output
  --no-color                  Disable coloured output
  --stats                     Show diff statistics
  -h, --help                  display help for command

Configuration Commands

# Set GitHub token
gh-diff-extractor config --token your_github_token_here

# Validate token
gh-diff-extractor validate

# Validate specific token
gh-diff-extractor validate --token your_github_token_here

Examples

Extract diff with statistics

gh-diff-extractor --stats https://github.com/facebook/react/pull/25123

Output:

Files changed: 3, Insertions: 45, Deletions: 12
diff --git a/packages/react/src/React.js b/packages/react/src/React.js
index 1234567..abcdefg 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/React.js
+++ b/packages/react/src/React.js
...

Save diff to file

gh-diff-extractor --output react-pr-25123.diff https://github.com/facebook/react/pull/25123

Get patch format

gh-diff-extractor --patch https://github.com/facebook/react/pull/25123

Error Handling

The tool provides clear error messages for common issues:

• Invalid URL: Clear message about expected URL format
• Authentication failure: Instructions on how to set up authentication
• Repository not found: Verification steps for repository access
• Network issues: Guidance on connectivity problems

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Sharma-IT/gh-diff-extractor.git
cd gh-diff-extractor
npm install

Running Tests

npm test
npm run test:coverage

Building

npm run build

Development Mode

npm run dev -- https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Ensure all tests pass
6. Submit a pull request

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed information about the problem
3. Include the command you ran and the error message

Changelog

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• Support for GitHub PR diff extraction
• Authentication via tokens
• Multiple output formats
• Colorised terminal output
• Comprehensive error handling