Function Diff

Compare function-level changes in Python files between two Git refs (branches, tags, or SHAs). Reports added, removed, and modified functions/methods—useful for reviews and CI.

Install

pip install function-diff

Requires Python 3.8+ and Git on PATH.

CLI

function-diff <base_ref> <target_ref> [options]

function-diff main feature-branch
function-diff main HEAD --include-added
function-diff main HEAD --repo-path /path/to/repo
function-diff main feature --repo-url https://github.com/user/repo.git
function-diff main HEAD --send-email   # needs EMAIL_* (see below)

function-diff --version
function-diff --help

If you run from a Git checkout and omit --repo-path, the current directory is used when it contains .git. Otherwise set --repo-url or FUNCTION_DIFF_REPO_URL.

Python API

from function_diff import analyze, print_report, build_html_report

report = analyze(None, "main", "feature", repo_path=".")
print_report(report, include_added=True)
html = build_html_report(report, include_added=False)

Email from code: from function_diff.emailer import send_function_diff_email (set EMAIL_USER, EMAIL_PASS, EMAIL_TO; optional EMAIL_FROM, EMAIL_CC, SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT).

Environment variables

Gmail: SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com, SMTP_PORT=587.
Azure / Microsoft 365: often SMTP_HOST=smtp.office365.com, SMTP_PORT=587; set EMAIL_USER to the mailbox that authenticates and EMAIL_FROM to the visible sender if they differ.

GitHub Actions (minimal)

- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0
- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: "3.12"
- run: pip install function-diff
- run: |
    function-diff \
      ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }} \
      ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }} \
      --repo-path ${{ github.workspace }}

For email, pass secrets as EMAIL_USER, EMAIL_PASS, EMAIL_TO, etc., and add --send-email when appropriate.

How it works

Changed .py files between the two refs are diffed at the AST level: top-level functions and class methods (as Class.method) are hashed; decorator or body changes count as modified.

Optional: if zephyr-jira-linker is on PATH, branch names with a Jira key can enrich the email “implementor” field.

Examples

See examples/ and examples/usage_examples.py.

Maintainer docs

Build, publish, and contributing notes: DEVELOPMENT.md. Version history: CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Author

Pandiyaraj Karuppasamy — pandiyarajk@live.com · GitHub · PyPI