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Download DiffScope

Free diff and 3-way merge for Windows. One portable zip: unzip it, run DiffScope.exe, done.

DiffScope 1.0.1

Latest Released Oct 5, 2026 Release notes

Platform
Windows 10/11, 64-bit (x64)
Package
Portable zip, no installer
Size
150.8 MB
License
Freeware
Download for Windows

DiffScope-1.0.1-win-x64.zip

  • No admin rights
  • No telemetry
  • Works offline
SHA-256 of DiffScope-1.0.1-win-x64.zip
ee57ff27e5a2ee1db9b45608ddc4c4f476599f63d7232be61a462b28528688ff

System requirements

OSWindows 10 or Windows 11
CPU64-bit x64 processor
DiskAbout 400 MB once unzipped
RightsStandard user, no admin
NetworkNone. The app never connects
OptionalTortoiseGit or git for integration

Not available yet: an installer (MSI/EXE), ARM64 builds, macOS and Linux, and package managers such as winget or Scoop. See the roadmap.

Install

DiffScope is portable. There is no installer and nothing is written to the registry.

  1. Download the zip

    Get DiffScope-1.0.1-win-x64.zip with the button above. Optionally check its SHA-256.

  2. Unzip it to a folder you keep

    Right-click the zip › Extract All… and choose a permanent folder, for example C:\Tools\DiffScope or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\DiffScope. Don’t run it from inside the zip.

  3. Run DiffScope.exe

    Double-click DiffScope.exe. The first time, Windows may show a SmartScreen warning; here’s why. Pin it to Start or the taskbar if you like.

  4. Connect your tools (optional)

    Point TortoiseGit or git at DiffScope.exe so diffs and merges open in it. See below.

Verify the download

To make sure the zip is exactly the file we published, compare its SHA-256 hash with the one in the download box. Run one of these in the folder you downloaded to:

Get-FileHash .\DiffScope-1.0.1-win-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256
certutil -hashfile DiffScope-1.0.1-win-x64.zip SHA256

The result must match (case doesn’t matter):

ee57ff27e5a2ee1db9b45608ddc4c4f476599f63d7232be61a462b28528688ff

If the hash doesn’t match

Don’t run it. Delete the file and download it again from this page. A mismatch means the file was damaged or altered on the way.

Windows SmartScreen

DiffScope.exe is not code-signed yet, so the first time you run it Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show “Windows protected your PC”. This is a warning about an unrecognised publisher, not a virus detection.

  1. Click More info.
  2. Check the app name reads DiffScope.exe.
  3. Click Run anyway. Windows remembers the choice for this file.

Tip

Verify the SHA-256 first. If it matches, the file is the one we built. If Windows also marks the zip as “downloaded from the internet”, you can tick Unblock in the zip’s Properties before extracting.

Set up TortoiseGit

In TortoiseGit › Settings › Diff Viewer, set both the diff viewer and the Merge Tool to External. Replace C:\Tools\DiffScope with your folder:

"C:\Tools\DiffScope\DiffScope.exe" %base %mine /title1=%bname /title2=%yname /leftreadonly
"C:\Tools\DiffScope\DiffScope.exe" /base:%base /mine:%mine /theirs:%theirs /merged:%merged /basename:%bname /minename:%yname /theirsname:%tname /mergedname:%mname

For git difftool / git mergetool, headless use and troubleshooting, see the integration guide and the CLI reference.

Uninstall

  1. If you set DiffScope up in TortoiseGit or git, switch the diff and merge tools back first.
  2. Close DiffScope and delete the folder you unzipped it to.
  3. To remove your settings too, delete %APPDATA%\DiffScope:
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\DiffScope"

Nothing else is left behind: no registry entries, services or scheduled tasks.

All versions

VersionReleasedSizeNotesDownload
1.0.1 Latest 2026-10-06 150.8 MB Headless CLI fix Zip
1.0.0 2026-10-05 150.8 MB Initial release Zip

Use the latest version unless you need an older one for a specific reason. Every change is in the changelog.