diff2latex

A simple utility that produces github-styled diffs in a synthesizable LaTeX format.

Requirements

• lualatex for pdf generation (optional, only needed for PDF output)
• python 3.7+

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install diff2latex

From source

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/divadiahim/diff2latex.git
   cd diff2latex
   

2. Install dependencies and build the package

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   pip install -e .
   

Usage

Command Line Interface

• Grab 2 files that you want to diff and generate a plain diff diff -u file_1 file_2 > example.diff.
• To generate a LaTeX diff run diff2latex --highlight="default" build example.diff output. This will create a directory named output containing example.tex.
• To additionally generate a pdf pass the --pdf-output flag.

Library Usage

You can also use diff2latex as a Python library for programmatic diff processing:

Simple Usage

import diff2latex

# Convert diff content to LaTeX
diff_content = """--- old.py
+++ new.py
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-print("Hello")
+print("Hello, World!")
"""

latex_output = diff2latex.diff_to_latex(
    diff_content,
    highlight_style="github",
    file_extension=".py"
)

# Save to file
with open("output.tex", "w") as f:
    f.write(latex_output)

# Or create PDF directly
diff2latex.create_diff_pdf(diff_content, "output.pdf", highlight_style="github")

Class-based Processing

from diff2latex import DiffProcessor

# Create processor with default settings
processor = DiffProcessor(
    font_family="Monaco",
    highlight_style="monokai",
    file_extension=".cpp"
)

# Process multiple diffs with consistent styling
latex1 = processor.process(diff_content1)
latex2 = processor.process(diff_content2)

# Create PDFs
processor.create_pdf(diff_content1, "diff1.pdf")
processor.create_pdf(diff_content2, "diff2.pdf")

Advanced Usage

from diff2latex import Diff2Latex, CharColorizer
from io import StringIO

# Use core classes directly
colorizer = CharColorizer(style_name="github", ext=".py")
diff_io = StringIO(diff_content)
differ = Diff2Latex.build(diff_io, colorizer=colorizer)
latex_lines = differ.to_latex()

Available Functions

• diff2latex.diff_to_latex(content, **kwargs) - Convert diff string to LaTeX
• diff2latex.diff_file_to_latex(file_path, **kwargs) - Convert diff file to LaTeX
• diff2latex.create_diff_pdf(content, output_path, **kwargs) - Create PDF directly
• diff2latex.DiffProcessor(**kwargs) - Class-based processor for multiple diffs

Available Classes

All core classes are importable for advanced usage:

• Diff2Latex - Main diff processing class
• CharColorizer - Syntax highlighting
• ColorMap - Color mapping utilities
• CodeBlock, Cell, Line - Data models

See examples.py for more detailed usage examples.

Development

Setting up development environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/divadiahim/diff2latex.git
cd diff2latex

# Run the development setup script
./setup_dev.sh

# Or manually:
pip install -e .
pip install -r requirements.txt

Testing

Run the smoke tests to ensure everything works:

python test_package.py

Publishing

1. Update the version in diff2latex/__init__.py
2. Build and check the package:

   ./publish.sh
   

3. Upload to PyPI:

   # Test on TestPyPI first (recommended)
   python -m twine upload --repository testpypi dist/*
   
   # Then upload to PyPI
   python -m twine upload dist/*
   

TODOs

• Add a horizontal diff style.
• Add comprehensive unit tests
• Add GitHub Actions CI/CD
• Add documentation with examples