CLI Usage¶

Access diff·log from your terminal without opening a browser. The CLI is built with Bun and shares the same codebase as the web app.

Installation¶

Download Binary¶

Download the latest release for your platform from GitHub Releases:

# Linux (x64)
curl -L https://github.com/SmileyChris/difflog/releases/latest/download/difflog-linux-x64 -o difflog
chmod +x difflog
sudo mv difflog /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -L https://github.com/SmileyChris/difflog/releases/latest/download/difflog-darwin-arm64 -o difflog
chmod +x difflog
sudo mv difflog /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Intel)
curl -L https://github.com/SmileyChris/difflog/releases/latest/download/difflog-darwin-x64 -o difflog
chmod +x difflog
sudo mv difflog /usr/local/bin/

Build from Source¶

Requires Bun to be installed:

git clone https://github.com/SmileyChris/difflog.git
cd difflog
bun install
bun cli:build

The compiled binary will be at ./dist/difflog.

Quick Start¶

First time? Create a profile or import one from the web:

difflog config  # Create new profile
# OR
difflog login   # Import from difflog.dev

Already set up? Just run:

difflog  # Shows your most recent diff

Authentication¶

The easiest way to log in — just like gh auth login:

difflog login

This will:

Print a 4-character verification code
Open your browser to difflog.dev
Show the same verification code in the browser
Let you select a profile from your browser's saved profiles
Automatically sync your profile and diffs to the CLI

Verification code example:

$ difflog login

  Verification code: a3f7

  Press Enter to open difflog.dev in your browser...

In your browser, you'll see the same code a3f7. If they match, click "Codes match" and select your profile.

No browser on this device?

Use difflog login --no-browser to print the URL instead of auto-opening. Copy the URL to a device that has your profile saved.

QR Code Fallback

If you don't have any profiles on the current device, the browser will show a QR code. Scan it with a phone/tablet that has your difflog profile.

If you know your profile ID and password, you can log in directly:

difflog login --profile YOUR_PROFILE_ID --password YOUR_PASSWORD

This bypasses the browser and authenticates directly with the difflog API. Useful for:

Automated scripts and CI/CD
Headless servers
Environments without a browser

Shared Profiles Only

Direct login requires a shared profile with a sync password. Local-only profiles don't have passwords and must use web-assisted login.

Commands¶

`difflog` (no arguments)¶

Smart default command — the fastest way to use difflog.

Behavior:

No profile? → Shows getting started options (config or login)
Has profile? → Shows your most recent diff

Examples:

# After setup: shows latest diff
difflog

# Pipe to a markdown reader
difflog | glow -

`difflog login`¶

Authenticate with difflog.

Options:

--no-browser - Print URL instead of auto-opening browser
--profile ID - Profile ID for direct login
--password PWD - Password for direct login

Examples:

# Interactive web login
difflog login

# Print URL without opening browser
difflog login --no-browser

# Direct login (shared profiles only)
difflog login --profile abc123... --password mypassword

`difflog archive`¶

Interactive browser for all your diffs and stars.

difflog archive

Navigation:

↑/↓ or k/j — Navigate items
Enter — Open selected diff (or star's source diff)
s — Toggle stars view (shows only diffs with starred articles)
d — Toggle back to diffs view
g — Generate new diff
Esc or a — Back to viewer
q — Quit

In stars mode, starred articles appear indented below their source diff. Only diffs with stars are shown.

Quick access

Press a from the interactive diff viewer to jump to the archive.

`difflog ls`¶

List your diff history.

$ difflog ls

2026-02-12  Next.js 15.1, Bun 1.2, React 19 patterns
2026-02-10  TypeScript 5.7, Deno 2.0, Vite 6.0
2026-02-08  SvelteKit 3.0, Astro 5.0, Tailwind 4.0

Diffs are listed with an index number, relative time, and title. Use the index with difflog show to read a specific diff.

`difflog show <id>`¶

Read a specific diff in the terminal.

difflog show <id>

Output:

Renders markdown with ANSI colors
Detects dark/light terminal theme
Linkifies URLs (supports OSC 8 where available)

Examples:

# Show a specific diff
difflog show 2026-02-12

# Pipe to a pager
difflog show 2026-02-12 | less -R

# Pipe to a markdown reader
difflog show 2026-02-12 | glow -

`difflog generate`¶

Generate a new diff directly from the terminal.

difflog generate [--now]

This runs the full AI pipeline (fetch feeds, curate, search, synthesize) using your profile settings and API keys from the OS keychain. If a diff already exists for today, it is replaced automatically.

Options:

--now - Skip the interactive depth selection screen and generate immediately using your profile's default depth

Requirements: - At least one AI provider API key configured (see difflog config ai) - Active profile from difflog login

Where to get API keys: - Anthropic (recommended) - Serper (optional, for web search) - DeepSeek - Google AI - Perplexity

`difflog config`¶

Interactive configuration wizard for managing your profile and AI settings.

First time? Running difflog config without a profile will create one for you.

Interactive Wizard¶

The full wizard provides a terminal-native interface with keyboard navigation:

difflog config

Navigation: - ↑/↓ or k/j - Navigate menu items (cycles at top/bottom) - Enter - Edit selected section - Esc or q - Quit (prompts to save if changes made)

Section Controls:

Topic Selection (Languages/Frameworks/Tools/Topics): - Space - Toggle item selection - Enter - Add custom item - Esc - Save and return to menu - Custom items appear inline with (custom) label

AI Configuration: - ↑/↓ or k/j - Navigate providers - ←/→ or h/l - Select column (search/curation/synthesis) - Space - Toggle provider for selected column - Enter - Edit API key for current provider - Cyan circle shows exactly what will be toggled - Yellow warnings for unset required providers

Depth & Focus: - ↑/↓ or k/j - Navigate depth options - Space - Select depth - Enter - Edit custom focus - Esc - Save and return to menu

Quick Commands¶

For scripting or quick edits without the interactive wizard:

difflog config name                              # Edit profile name
difflog config depth standard                    # Set depth (quick/standard/detailed)
difflog config topics add languages rust go      # Add languages
difflog config topics rm frameworks react        # Remove frameworks
difflog config topics focus "cloud native"       # Set custom focus
difflog config ai                                # Show AI config
difflog config ai key add anthropic sk-ant-...   # Add API key
difflog config ai key rm deepseek                # Remove API key
difflog config ai set serper deepseek anthropic  # Set providers (search/curation/synthesis)

Configuration Sections (in wizard order)¶

Name - Profile display name
AI - API keys and provider selections (search/curation/synthesis)
Languages - Programming languages you follow
Frameworks - Frameworks and libraries
Tools - Development tools and platforms
Topics - General technology topics
Depth & Focus - Generation depth (quick/standard/detailed) and custom focus

Profile Creation: If no profile exists, difflog config will prompt for a profile name and create a new local-only profile with default settings (standard depth, DeepSeek for curation, Anthropic for synthesis).

API Keys Storage: All API keys are stored securely in your OS credential manager: - macOS: Keychain - Linux: Secret Service (GNOME Keyring / KDE Wallet) - Windows: Credential Manager

Keys are never stored in plaintext configuration files.

How It Works¶

The CLI uses the same encryption and sync system as the web app:

Local-first storage: Profile, diffs, and stars stored in ~/.config/difflog/ (or OS equivalent)
Client-side encryption: All synced data is encrypted with your password
Full sync: Diffs, stars, API keys, and profile metadata all sync between web and CLI
Shared codebase: Uses the same TypeScript code as the web app, compiled to a standalone binary

For details on the web login flow, see CLI Login Architecture. For API key storage, see CLI Key Storage.

Configuration¶

The CLI stores data in standard OS locations:

Platform	Location
Linux	`~/.config/difflog/`
macOS	`~/.config/difflog/`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\difflog\`

Files:

session.json - Authentication session (profile ID, password salt)
profile.json - Profile metadata (name, languages, frameworks, topics, depth, provider selections, resolved mappings)
diffs.json - Cached diff history
read-state.json - Article read/unread tracking for interactive viewer
stars.json - Starred (bookmarked) articles

API Keys:

API keys are NOT stored in configuration files. They are securely stored in your OS credential manager:

macOS: Keychain (difflog-cli service)
Linux: Secret Service / GNOME Keyring / KDE Wallet
Windows: Credential Manager

Use difflog config ai to manage API keys.

Single Profile Design:

The CLI currently supports one active profile at a time. This keeps things simple for terminal workflows. To switch profiles, run difflog login again with a different profile.

The web app supports multiple profiles, but the CLI simplifies to a single-profile model for now.

Tips & Tricks¶

Pipe to Markdown Readers¶

The CLI outputs clean markdown. Pipe it to your favorite reader:

# glow
difflog show latest | glow -

# bat
difflog show latest | bat -l md

# mdcat
difflog show latest | mdcat

Aliases¶

Add shortcuts to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

alias dl='difflog'
alias dls='difflog show'
alias dll='difflog ls'

CI/CD Integration¶

Use direct login in CI pipelines:

#!/bin/bash
difflog login --profile "$DIFFLOG_PROFILE_ID" --password "$DIFFLOG_PASSWORD"
difflog show latest > CHANGELOG.md

Store credentials as secrets in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.

Troubleshooting¶

Problem: Error: Login timed out. Run 'difflog login' to try again.

Solution: The auth code expires in 5 minutes. Run difflog login again and complete the browser flow faster.

Connection failed¶

Problem: Error: Unable to connect to https://difflog.dev

Solution:

Check your internet connection
Verify you're not behind a restrictive firewall
Try using a VPN if your network blocks the domain

Verification code mismatch¶

Problem: The code in the terminal doesn't match the browser.

Solution: This indicates a potential security issue. Close the browser tab, press Ctrl+C to cancel the CLI, and run difflog login again. If the problem persists, report it as a bug.

No profiles found¶

Problem: Browser shows "No profiles found on this device."

Solution:

Create a profile at difflog.dev/setup
Or scan the QR code on a device that already has your profile
Or use difflog login --profile ID --password PWD for direct login (shared profiles only)

FAQ¶

Q: Do I need to be logged in to the website to use the CLI?

No. The CLI stores your profile and diffs locally. Once you've run difflog login, the CLI works offline for reading cached diffs.

Q: Can I use the CLI with a local-only profile?

Yes, via web-assisted login. The browser will send your local profile data to the CLI. Direct login (--profile/--password) only works with shared profiles.

Q: Is my data encrypted?

Yes. Shared profiles use the same client-side encryption as the web app. Local profiles are stored as plaintext on disk (same as browser localStorage).

Q: Can I use multiple profiles?

Not currently. The CLI uses a single-profile design for simplicity. To switch profiles, run difflog login again and select a different profile. Your API keys (stored in the OS keychain) are shared across profiles, so you won't need to re-enter them.

Q: How do I log out?

Use the logout command, which removes your profile, cached diffs, and API keys from the OS keychain:

difflog logout

Q: Where are my API keys stored?

API keys are stored in your operating system's secure credential manager, not in plaintext files:

macOS: Keychain Access (search for "difflog-cli")
Linux: GNOME Keyring or KDE Wallet
Windows: Credential Manager (Control Panel → Credential Manager)

Use difflog config ai to add or remove keys.

Q: How do I remove all my API keys?

# From CLI
difflog config ai key rm anthropic
difflog config ai key rm serper
# ... etc for each provider

# Or manually through your OS:
# macOS: Keychain Access → search "difflog-cli" → delete items
# Linux: Seahorse → search "difflog-cli" → delete items
# Windows: Credential Manager → search "difflog-cli" → remove credentials

Q: How big is the binary?

About 90 MB. It's a standalone Bun executable with the JavaScript runtime bundled. No external dependencies required.

Roadmap¶

Planned:

difflog summary — plain text summaries for scripts
--json output on all commands
Multi-profile support

CLI Usage¶

Installation¶

Download Binary¶

Build from Source¶

Quick Start¶

Authentication¶

Web-Assisted Login (Recommended)¶

Direct Login (Advanced)¶

Commands¶

difflog (no arguments)¶

difflog login¶

difflog archive¶

difflog ls¶

difflog show <id>¶

difflog generate¶

difflog config¶

Interactive Wizard¶

Quick Commands¶

Configuration Sections (in wizard order)¶

How It Works¶

Configuration¶

Tips & Tricks¶

Pipe to Markdown Readers¶

Aliases¶

CI/CD Integration¶

Troubleshooting¶

Login timeout¶

Connection failed¶

Verification code mismatch¶

No profiles found¶

FAQ¶

Roadmap¶

`difflog` (no arguments)¶

`difflog login`¶

`difflog archive`¶

`difflog ls`¶

`difflog show <id>`¶

`difflog generate`¶

`difflog config`¶