How to grep the git diff?

Question

Is there a way to show the git-diff filtered by a given pattern.

Something like

git grepdiff pattern

changed file
+++ some sentence with pattern
change         


        

Answer 1

Another possibility would be to view the whole diff and search the output using the normal less commands (type / and then the pattern).

When you have less configured to show some lines before the match using --jump-target=N, this is pretty useful. Try it like this:

PAGER="/usr/bin/less --jump-target=10" git diff

This means that the match should be shown on line 10 (shows 9 lines of context above), which may be enough to also see the file name.

You can also use e.g. --jump-target=.5 to make it position the match in the middle of the screen.