Support

Start here

DiffScope is free and has no paid support desk, so self-help comes first. These pages cover almost everything people ask about:

Troubleshooting checklist

Work through the item that matches what you see. Each one takes a minute or two.

Windows SmartScreen blocks the app

DiffScope.exe is not code-signed yet, so the first launch shows “Windows protected your PC”.

1. Check the zip’s SHA-256 against the value on the download page (instructions on the security page).
2. Click More info, then Run anyway. Windows remembers the choice for that file.
3. If the exe will not start at all, right-click the downloaded zip before extracting, choose Properties, tick Unblock, and extract it again.

On managed company PCs, an administrator policy may block unsigned programs completely. In that case ask your IT team to allow the file by its hash.

Paths with spaces

If a TortoiseGit or git command opens the wrong file, opens nothing, or exits with code 2, the cause is usually a path with spaces that is not quoted.

• Quote the exe path: "C:\Program Files\DiffScope\DiffScope.exe".
• Quote every file argument: "%base", "%mine", or \"$LOCAL\" inside a git config cmd.
• In git-bash, prefer forward slashes in the exe path (C:/Tools/DiffScope/DiffScope.exe).

The integration guide has command lines that are already quoted correctly.

A merge is not marked as resolved

DiffScope reports the outcome through its exit code:

• Resolve every conflict and save before closing the merge window. Closing with conflicts left returns 1 on purpose.
• For git, set mergetool.diffscope.trustExitCode = true.
• An exit code of 2 means the command line was rejected. Run the same command in PowerShell with | Write-Output on the end to see the message (see CLI reference).

Nothing happens when I start it

• Make sure you extracted the whole zip. Running DiffScope.exe from inside the zip, or copying only the exe, does not work: it needs the files next to it.
• Check that you are on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11.
• Some antivirus tools quarantine new unsigned programs. Check your antivirus history, and restore the file if its SHA-256 matches.

Reset all settings

DiffScope keeps its settings in one folder. Deleting it returns everything to the defaults; your files and TortoiseGit or git settings are not affected.

1. Close every DiffScope window.
2. Delete the settings folder, for example with:

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\DiffScope"

Or paste %APPDATA% into the File Explorer address bar and delete the DiffScope folder there. It is created again the next time you start DiffScope.

Report a problem

A good report gets a problem fixed much faster. Please include:

1. The DiffScope version. Run this in the DiffScope folder (the pipe makes PowerShell wait for the output):
   PowerShellCopy

   .\DiffScope.exe --version | Write-Output

   It prints the version, for example DiffScope 1.0.1.
2. Your Windows version, for example “Windows 11 23H2”. Press Win+R and run winver to see it.
3. The exact command line, if DiffScope was started by TortoiseGit, git or a script (copy it from TortoiseGit settings or git config --get mergetool.diffscope.cmd), and the exit code if you have it.
4. What you did, what you expected and what happened, step by step. A screenshot helps for display problems.
5. Small sample files that reproduce it, only if they contain nothing confidential. Cut them down or replace the content where you can; often two short files that show the same problem are enough.

Contact

DiffScope collects nothing from the app, so we only learn about problems when you tell us. Thank you for taking the time.