mcp-vsdiff
The mcp-vsdiff server exposes VS Code's advanced diff algorithm as a single MCP tool, compute_diff, for computing highly accurate diffs between two text strings.
Key capabilities:
Compare two strings to get a detailed unified diff with standard
@@-style hunks and 3 lines of contextDetect moved code blocks, annotating deletions with
{moved to block #N}and insertions with{moved from block #N}Control whitespace sensitivity via
ignoreTrimWhitespace(defaulttrue) — lines differing only in leading/trailing whitespace appear as unchanged contextSummary footer showing total insertions, deletions, and moved block counts
Metrics block (default
true) reportinghunkCount,changedLines,movedBlocks, andhitTimeoutVerbose metrics for a per-hunk breakdown
Paginate large diffs using
maxDiffLinesandskipDiffLinesMetrics-only mode via
metricsOnlyto assess the scale of changes without returning diff text
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@mcp-vsdiffShow diff with move detection between original and modified text"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
mcp-vsdiff
An MCP server that exposes VS Code's advanced diff algorithm as a tool.
What it does
Provides a single MCP tool, compute_diff, that computes a highly accurate unified diff between two strings using the same algorithm VS Code uses internally. Features include:
Move detection — identifies blocks of code that were moved, not just deleted/inserted
Unified diff output — standard
@@-style hunks with 3 lines of contextMove annotations — deleted lines show
{moved to block #N}and inserted lines show{moved from block #N}Summary footer — total insertions, deletions, and moved blocks at the end
Related MCP server: Git Stuff Server
Usage
Install
npm installRun
npm startThe server communicates over stdio and is compatible with any MCP client.
Tool: compute_diff
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | ✅ | The original text |
| string | ✅ | The modified text |
| boolean | Ignore leading/trailing whitespace differences per line (default: | |
| boolean | Append a JSON metrics block to the response (default: | |
| boolean | Add per-hunk breakdown to the metrics block (default: | |
| boolean | Return only the metrics block, no diff text — useful for large files (default: | |
| number | Truncate the diff text if it exceeds this number of lines (default: | |
| number | Number of diff text lines to skip from the beginning. Combine with |
Metrics fields
Field | Description |
| Number of separate change regions (lower = easier to review) |
| Real insertions + real deletions, excluding moved lines |
| Lines added, excluding moved lines |
| Lines removed, excluding moved lines |
| Number of detected move operations |
| Total lines involved in moves |
| Whether the diff computation hit the 5 s time limit |
ignoreTrimWhitespacegotcha: with the defaulttrue, a line whose only change is indentation (e.g. code moved into a deeperifblock) will appear as unchanged context, making the diff look cleaner than a plaingit diffwould. Set tofalseif indentation changes need to be visible.
MCP config example
{
"mcpServers": {
"vsdiff": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/mcp-diff/index.js"]
}
}
}Dependencies
@modelcontextprotocol/sdk— MCP server frameworkvscode-diff— VS Code's diff algorithm, extracted as a standalone package
Maintenance
Resources
Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.
Looking for Admin?
If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.
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