README
¶
drift
A fast, interactive file comparison tool.
Compare directories, archives, binaries, plists, and text files with a terminal UI or structured JSON output.
Installation
go install github.com/block/drift/cmd/drift@latest
Or download a pre-built binary for your platform from a release
Or build from source:
gh repo clone block/drift
cd drift
go run ./cmd/drift --help
Usage
# Compare two directories
drift path/a path/b
# Compare two archives (.ipa, .apk, .aar, .jar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2)
drift app-v1.ipa app-v2.ipa
# Compare two binaries
drift bin-v1 bin-v2
# Force a specific comparison mode
drift -m binary lib-v1.dylib lib-v2.dylib
# JSON output (non-interactive, for scripting)
drift --json path/a path/b
Comparison modes
drift auto-detects the comparison mode based on the inputs:
| Mode | Inputs | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| tree | Directories, archives | File tree with added/removed/modified indicators, per-file diffs |
| binary | Mach-O binaries | Sections, sizes, symbols, load commands. Requires nm and size |
| plist | Property lists (.plist) | Structured key-value diff. Binary plists require plutil |
| text | Everything else | Line-by-line unified diff |
Use -m <mode> to override auto-detection.
Archives
drift transparently extracts and compares the contents of:
.ipa(iOS app bundles).apk(Android app bundles).aar(Android libraries).jar(Java archives).tar,.tar.gz/.tgz,.tar.bz2
Interactive TUI
When stdout is a terminal, drift launches an interactive Bubbletea-based TUI with a split-pane layout: file tree on the left, detail diff on the right.
Keybindings
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑/k, ↓/j |
Navigate tree |
→/enter/l |
Expand node |
←/h |
Collapse node |
tab |
Switch pane focus |
n/N |
Next/previous change |
f |
Cycle filter (all → added → removed → modified) |
1-4 |
Filter: all, added, removed, modified |
/ |
Search (fuzzy match in tree, text search in detail) |
s |
Swap A ↔ B |
c |
Copy detail to clipboard |
pgup/pgdn |
Scroll detail pane |
g/G |
Jump to top/bottom |
? |
Toggle full help |
q/ctrl+c |
Quit |
JSON output
Pass --json to get structured JSON output suitable for scripting and CI pipelines. For tree mode, the output is the full comparison result. For single-file modes (binary, plist, text), the output includes both the summary and the detailed diff.
Platform support
drift works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Core features (directory/archive comparison, text diffing) work everywhere. Some features require external tools and degrade gracefully when they are unavailable:
| Tool | Used for | Availability |
|---|---|---|
nm, size |
Mach-O binary analysis | macOS (Xcode CLI Tools), Linux (binutils) |
plutil |
Binary plist conversion | macOS only (XML plists work everywhere) |
xclip or xsel |
Clipboard | Linux only (macOS and Windows work natively) |
Directories