How to create a patch file on windows?

Question

On windows, I have two source files and want to create a patch with difference, like this one. But I'm unsure, what format this patch is and what app to use in order to create it? GNU diff output is very different from the patch I can see in the link above.

UnixUtils package for Windows does not work for binary files. Running "diff -u oldfile newfile >patchfile" gives a patch file with a single line of text, "Binary files file1.mp3 and file2.mp3 differ". (Unable to add comment due to being blocked by not having any reputation points. NOT user friendly!) — Stan Duncan, Dec 28 '17 at 09:22

score 27 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:27

27

Try WinMerge. You'll find a patch generator in the "Tools" menu.

answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:27

Aaron Digulla

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Although the OP is talking about source code which implies he is talking of text files I would like to add the information that WinMerge is not able to produce patch files for binary files. – Marged Mar 09 '16 at 17:14

score 24 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 19 '18 at 19:07

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Thanks, PhiLho & Lukáš! The diff program from UnxUtils works great under Windows 7 to generate the patch file:

diff -u oldfile newfile >patchfile

Likewise, the patch program from UnxUtils works great to apply the patch:

patch -u oldfile patchfile

edited Oct 19 '18 at 19:07

Stevoisiak

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answered Mar 09 '12 at 23:46

Dave Burton

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score 17 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:27

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The output format is called "unified diff", it can be generated using diff -u.

answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:27

Lukáš Lalinský

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Pupil · Answer 4 · 2013-09-13T07:23:06.053

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WinMerge is the best tool for windows. To create a patch file, you need to do the following:

File>Open

-- Here you open the files for which you are generating patch file.

Tools>Generate Patch

-- Here you specify the path where to save the patch file. And WinMerge will save patch file for you.

edited Sep 13 '13 at 07:23

answered Jul 12 '12 at 05:18

Pupil

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Note: The "normal" patch style uses angle brackets < > as line action indicators. The "unified" style uses + and - (like patches on drupal.org). – As If Mar 28 '19 at 20:26
You can also drag & drop two files (at once) to WinMerge. And WinMerge includes the full path to the files in the patch file. – PeterCo Jul 02 '20 at 12:02

score 7 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 01 '13 at 15:41

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WinMerge (http://winmerge.org/) is what you need. You also can compare whole file trees with this tool, which is an absolute must-have for some people.

answered Apr 01 '13 at 15:41

sha1

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score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:35

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The UnxUtils package offers lot of useful Unix tools for Windows, with a minimal impact on Windows installation (unzip, add location to path, use it).
It has a diff.exe

answered Oct 30 '09 at 08:35

PhiLho

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 01 '21 at 06:56

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In Beyond Compare 4 you can generate a unified diff by selecting the 'Session' > 'Text Compare Report...' menu item and then selecting 'Patch' for the layout and 'Unified diff' for the patch style. Then save the output to file, or to the clipboard.

answered Jan 01 '21 at 06:56

Ian Brumby

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 30 '22 at 20:51

I've also made a tool to generate patch files (like WinMerge html format) between two sets of changesets/folders/commits (as a zip downloaded from github or azure or just folders sitting in your drive) since currently WinMerge does NOT support path file generation from command-line to support automation.

use it like:

python diff_generator.py --c1 "path_to_file1.zip" --c2 "path_to_file2.zip" [--git]

or

python diff_generator.py --c1 "path_to_folder1" --ddc1 --c2 "path_to_folder2" --ddc2

How to create a patch file on windows?

8 Answers8