glob-diff

A lightweight utility for tracking file changes in your project by creating snapshots based on glob patterns. This library hashes files and records their modification times to efficiently detect when files have been created, updated, or deleted.

Features

- Track file changes between snapshots (create, update, delete)
- Efficient file comparison using modification timestamps and content hashing
- Flexible glob pattern support through globby
- Multiple snapshot support for different file groups
- Simple API with sensible defaults

Installation

``sh
npm i glob-diff
`

Usage

$3

Track changes to all JavaScript files in your project:

`ts
import { globDiff } from 'glob-diff'

// Detect changes in JavaScript files
const { changes, snapshot } = await globDiff('*/.js')

console.log('Changes:', changes)
//=> [{ type: 'create', filePath: '/path/to/file.js' }]

// snapshot is automatically saved to .glob-diff.json
// in the current directory and used for future comparisons.
`

$3

Track different file types with separate snapshots:

`ts
import { globDiff } from 'glob-diff'

// Track CSS files
const cssResult = await globDiff('*/.css', {
snapshotFilePath: '.glob-diff-css.json',
})

// Track JavaScript files
const jsResult = await globDiff('*/.js', {
snapshotFilePath: '.glob-diff-js.json',
})

console.log('CSS changes:', cssResult.changes)
console.log('JS changes:', jsResult.changes)
`

$3

Run a comparison without saving the snapshot:

`ts
import { globDiff } from 'glob-diff'

// Check for changes but don't save the snapshot
const tempResult = await globDiff('temp/*/.js', {
saveSnapshot: false,
})

console.log('Temporary file changes:', tempResult.changes)
`

$3

Use the full options object for more control:

`ts
import { globDiff } from 'glob-diff'

const result = await globDiff({
// Use glob patterns
patterns: ['src//.ts', '!src//.test.ts'],

// Or directly pass an array of files
files: ['src/index.ts', 'src/utils.ts'],

// Or specify exact files
// files: ['src/index.ts', 'src/utils.ts'],

// The directory in which to search
cwd: './packages/my-package',

// Include dotfiles
dot: true,

// Always hash files even if timestamps haven't changed
alwaysHash: true,

// Custom snapshot file location
snapshotFilePath: '.glob-diff-custom.json',

// Provide an existing snapshot object
// snapshot: existingSnapshotObject,
})
`

API

$3

$3

Returns a Promise that resolves to a GlobDiffResult containing:

- snapshot: The new snapshot object
- changes: An array of file changes with type ('create', 'update', or 'delete') and filePath`

See the TypeScript definitions in the source code for complete type information.