Create a Git Diff in Markdown
One of my favorite blogging tips is using diff formatting in GitHub flavored markdown. I use this to show what has changed in code snippets. This works for code snippets in most markdown packages and on Dev.to.
View on EggheadIf I wanted to show that I was changing a function from one thing to another, I could add a snippet that looks like this!
function addTwoNumbers (num1, num2) {
- return 1 + 2
+ return num1 + num2
}First, instead of specifying the programming language, use diff after the backticks. Then at the beginning of any lines of code you want to show as removed, add a -. At the beginning of any lines of code you want to show as added, add a +.
The code would look like this:
```diff
function addTwoNumbers (num1, num2) {
- return 1 + 2
+ return num1 + num2
}
```I have used this in tons of my coding tutorials, such as this one. It makes it a lot easier for readers to see what is changing from snippet to snippet.