Help:Diff

This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus.

Shortcuts H:DIFF WP:DIFF

A diff (from the word "difference") is a web page displaying the difference between one version and another of a Wikipedia page. A particular version of a page is called a "revision"; each revision has a date and time of creation which can be seen in the page history. Clicking a "diff" link in a page's history will display the diff of two successive revisions.

Links to diffs are found on various special pages other than page histories, including the User contributions page which every user has, Recent changes, Related changes, and watchlists.

Using the history of a page, it is possible to generate a diff between any two versions – select the left radio button for the older version, the right radio button for the newer version, and click Compare selected revisions.

While editing a page, the Show changes button displays the changes you are about to make. The diff is also shown during an edit conflict.