Text Diff guide
How to Compare Text and Read Added or Removed Lines
Compare two texts line by line, inspect additions and deletions and optionally ignore whitespace. Understand line-ending normalization and comparison size limits.
Open Text Diff →Before you start
- Use a current browser with JavaScript enabled. Read the limits below before using private or large inputs.
Step-by-step instructions
- Paste the original text in Before and the updated text in After.
- Enable Ignore whitespace only if spacing differences do not matter to your task.
- Click Compare to see added, removed and unchanged lines.
- Read + for added and − for removed; unchanged lines have no change marker.
- Copy the comparison or Clear both inputs. Example shows a small configuration change.
Interpret results and limitations
Comparison uses a bounded longest-common-subsequence algorithm with at most 1,000 lines and 100,000 characters per side. It compares lines, not individual words, and has no patch-application feature.
CRLF line endings are normalized to LF; trailing newlines are still compared. Ignore whitespace trims each line and collapses runs of whitespace for comparison, while displayed content is preserved. All text is rendered as text rather than injected HTML.
Example
Use this example to understand the expected behavior before working with your own input.
Before: status: draft
After: status: ready
- status: draft
+ status: readyTroubleshooting
A whitespace change is missing
Disable Ignore whitespace and compare again. CRLF-versus-LF differences are intentionally normalized even in exact mode.
The interface does not respond
Enable JavaScript, use a supported browser and check the input limits. Reloading clears temporary input and results.
Privacy and cleanup
Inputs and results stay in the current tab. Nothing is uploaded or stored in input history. Optional analytics receives fixed tool identifiers only; entered data, file names and generated values are excluded.
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Related tools and guides
Use Text Diff with the steps above, or continue with a related task.
Technical references
These references explain the underlying formats or browser behavior. The steps above describe the current AnyUtils tool.