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In.gitconfig file I setup up the git diff as follows:

[diff]
    tool = kdiff3

[difftool "kdiff3"]
    path = path_directory/kdiff3.app

In this setting kdiff is not accessible and I get the following error when I run in terminal 

>> git difftool
The diff tool kdiff3 is not available as 'Kdiff_local_software_path/kdiff3.app'
fatal: external diff died, stopping at modified_file

Do you have any suggestion I can fix this issue ? In my current setup Mac OS 10.10.5 git diff tool is git merge tool that I want to replace with kdiff.

J4cK
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4 Answers4

25

kdiff3 is generally located at the following location:

/Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3

so, try

[difftool "kdiff3"]
    path = /Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3

If you installed kdiff using brew, then you'd not need the difftool parameter in config for git 1.8 onwards. Just the following would work:

[diff]
    tool = kdiff3

If you installed kdiff mounting the dmg file to kdiff.app then set your local path as following:

[difftool "kdiff3"]
    path = directory_path_where_you_installed/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3
J4cK
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hjpotter92
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  • I have not installed with brew. I have kdiff3.app in my local directory. The problem is if I set my local path it can not find the path. Do you have any suggestion regarding setup the local kdiff3.app path location ? – J4cK Nov 15 '15 at 17:37
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    @J4cK Update the `path` to reflect the actual location of `kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3`. – hjpotter92 Nov 15 '15 at 17:41
  • for those who have installed kdiff3 with dmg and having `kdiff3: not found` it may help to add this symbolik link: `ln -s /Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3 /usr/local/bin/kdiff3` – Sasha Feb 09 '21 at 10:39
12

  1. Download kdiff3 and install as app(drag and drop the kdiff3 into your Applications): http://sourceforge.net/projects/kdiff3/files/kdiff3/0.9.98/kdiff3-0.9.98-MacOSX-64Bit.dmg/download

  2. Setup git config tool as following, works for me on MacBook Pro:

git config --global merge.tool kdiff3

and:

git config --global mergetool.kdiff3.cmd '/Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3 $BASE $LOCAL $REMOTE -o $MERGED'

Qiushi
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  • This didn't help for me. – Stef Joosten Jul 23 '18 at 06:13
  • I checked that /Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3 actually exists, so that cannot be the problem. I tried to edit in the .gitconfig file, but that is reset each time I start Sourcetree, so that doesn't help. Any ideas? – Stef Joosten Jul 23 '18 at 06:26
  • Worked for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ – Naguib Ihab Aug 02 '18 at 02:16
  • This works + going to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General -> press the button to open kdiff3 anyway if you hit a security error trying to open it. – rtaft May 20 '21 at 14:49
8

  1. First check whether kdiff3 is installed and recognized by git:

    $ type -a kdiff3
-bash: type: kdiff3: not found

    In cases where kdiff3 is not installed in macOS, git will also show following messages:

    $ git difftool --tool-help
$ # OR (both command would do)
$ git mergetool --tool-help
'git mergetool --tool=<tool>' may be set to one of the following:
        emerge
        opendiff
        vimdiff
        vimdiff2
        vimdiff3

The following tools are valid, **but not currently available**:
        ...
        gvimdiff3
        kdiff3
        meld
        ...

Some of the tools listed above only work in a windowed
environment. If run in a terminal-only session, they will fail.

  1. Then we should install kdiff3, there are many ways to do it:

    I personally prefer MacPort:

    $ port search kdiff3
kdiff3 @0.9.98_4 (devel)
    kdiff3 is a file comparing and merging tool.
$ sudo port install kdiff3
...installing process...

    After this, kdiff3 should be available to macOS and git 

    $ type -a kdiff3
kdiff3 is /opt/local/bin/kdiff3
$ git difftool --tool-help
'git difftool --tool=<tool>' may be set to one of the following:
        emerge
        kdiff3
        opendiff
        ...

  1. Finally, make sure the correct configuration for git:

    [diff]
    tool = kdiff3
[difftool]
    prompt = false
[merge]
    tool = kdiff3
    conflictstyle = diff3
YaOzI
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    for those who have installed kdiff3 with dmg and having `kdiff3: not found` it may help to add this symbolik link: `ln -s /Applications/kdiff3.app/Contents/MacOS/kdiff3 /usr/local/bin/kdiff3` – Sasha Feb 09 '21 at 10:43
5

You don't need to add any paths to your gitconfig as described in the other answers. This is all you need to configure in you .gitconfig

[diff]
    guitool = kdiff3
[merge]
    tool = kdiff3

Assuming you have homebrew installed on your machine:

brew update
brew tap caskroom/cask
brew cask install kdiff3

Explanation:

  1. setup to use cask

    brew tap caskroom/cask

  2. downloads kdiff3, moves it to your Applications dir and links kdiff3.sh to /usr/local/bin/kdiff3

    brew cask install kdiff3
Ilker Cat
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    As of August 2019 the following error is thrown `Error: Cask 'kdiff3' is unavailable: No Cask with this name exists.` – Brendan Aug 20 '19 at 05:20
  • See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58952344/brew-cask-install-kdiff3-fails – Tobias Jan 30 '20 at 23:25