Format guide
What is DIFF?
Diff / patch text is a diff / patch text used as readable text configuration or markup, created by Various. Unified diffs between file versions. Keep secrets local — Format Convertly converts in the browser without uploading.
DIFF format specifications
- Full name
- Diff / patch text
- Kind
- configuration / plain text
- File extension
- .diff
- MIME type
- text/x-diff
- Developer / standard
- Various
- Compression
- None (plain text)
- Quality model
- Lossless / not lossy
- Container
- No / single bitstream typical
- Common codecs
- —
- Technical sources
- —
- Transparency
- Not supported
- Animation
- No (still / non-animated typical use)
- Typical size
- Tiny
- Browser support
- Download/edit as text
- Compatibility
- Text editors and relevant runtimes
DIFF compression & quality
DIFF is text. Compress with ZIP/GZ only for transport.
Quality: Exact text
Typical size: Tiny
Transparency & animation
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
DIFF metadata
Usually none beyond encoding.
Best use cases for DIFF
- Unified diffs between file versions
- Developer workflows
- Config and docs pipelines
When to avoid DIFF
- Uploading secrets to untrusted converters
- Treating as a rich document format
Advantages
- Readable
- Scriptable
- Easy to convert to other text forms
Disadvantages
- Easy to leak secrets
- Dialect/tool specific
- Not for non-technical publishing
Compatibility
Text editors and relevant runtimes
Browsers: Download/edit as text
Software support
- VS Code
- Server tooling
- Format Convertly
Device support
- Developer and ops machines
How to open DIFF
Open with any text editor.
How to convert DIFF
Convert with Format Convertly’s browser text/data tools — keep secrets on-device.
Popular DIFF conversions
Related formats
DIFF tools
Tools extend the format graph beyond one-off conversion — compression, metadata, and utilities for real workflows.
DIFF FAQ
What is DIFF?
Diff / patch text. Unified diffs between file versions.
Are my DIFF files uploaded on Format Convertly?
No. DIFF conversion runs in your browser. Files are not sent to Format Convertly servers for processing.