Introducing DiffShot: Effortless Visual Diffs for Your Git Workflow
Have you ever struggled to quickly visualize the impact of your code changes on your application’s user interface? Manually testing every modification can be tedious, and reviewers often find it challenging to grasp the visual effects of code updates. To address this challenge, we’ve developed DiffShot—a streamlined tool that transforms your git diffs into clear, visual summaries with minimal effort.
What is DiffShot?
DiffShot is a powerful utility designed to automatically analyze your code modifications and generate corresponding screenshots of the affected UI components across various viewports. The best part? It requires zero configuration, making it incredibly easy to integrate into your development process.
How Does It Work?
Using just one simple command after making your changes, DiffShot takes care of the rest:
bash
diffshot --compare main
Once executed, DiffShot performs the following actions:
- Identifies which UI components are impacted by your recent changes
- Launches or connects to your development server
- Captures screenshots of the affected areas across different device sizes
- Stores the images in the
.diffshot/screenshots/directory - Generates a Markdown summary suitable for inclusion in your pull request comments
Why Choose DiffShot?
Unlike other tools that require complex configurations or extensive test writing, DiffShot offers:
- Zero Setup Required – Simply point it at your project and run
- No Need for End-to-End Tests – It works without dedicated test scripts
- Automatic Detection of your development server commands
- Built-in Support for Authentication Flows
- Compatibility with any framework, including React, Vue, Laravel, and more
Ideal Use Cases
- Conduct quick visual checks before committing code
- Share visual summaries with reviewers to facilitate clearer feedback
- Confirm responsiveness and theme changes efficiently
Technology Behind the Magic
DiffShot leverages modern technologies such as TypeScript and Playwright, integrates seamlessly with git, and utilizes Claude Code for intelligent automation.
We’re planning to open-source DiffShot in the upcoming weeks and are eager to gather early feedback. Currently, we’re looking for approximately 20 developers willing to test it out, help identify edge cases, and contribute to its refinement.
If you’re interested in effortlessly visualizing your code changes without additional manual effort, leave a comment below or reach out—I’ll happily provide early access and support your integration efforts.
Stay tuned for updates as we prepare
