Direct answer
Can Diff Anything compare folders recursively?
Diff Anything compares folders in two-pane tree or table layouts with global search, status filters, progressive loading, ignore patterns, moved-file detection, and semantic nested-file comparison. Pro applies reviewed create, update, delete, and move plans with stale-result protection, progress, cancellation, metadata preservation, durable recovery, restart-safe rollback, and one-click undo.
Review workspace
Keep both trees visible while narrowing the result.
Switch between two-pane tree and table layouts, search across relative paths, and filter by status without losing the left and right context.
Results load progressively so a large tree can become reviewable before every entry is transferred into the interface.
On the free plan, the summary counts cover the whole tree and the list shows the first 100 entries; Pro lists every entry.
- Search and filter the whole comparison
- Apply ignore patterns to known noise
- Open a nested pair in the comparison mode suited to its content
Moved files
Distinguish relocation from deletion and creation.
Moved-file detection connects equivalent content at a new path. This keeps a reorganization or generated-artifact move intelligible instead of presenting it only as an unrelated removed file and added file.
Structured nested files can open in semantic comparison, so folder review does not flatten JSON, spreadsheets, images, or documents into a generic status.
Synchronization
Review the exact operation before changing a folder.
Pro creates an explicit create, update, delete, and move plan in either direction. Nested-selection pruning avoids duplicated work and stale-result protection rejects a plan when the compared sources have changed.
Progress and cancellation remain visible. Supported metadata is preserved, durable journals support restart-safe rollback, and one-click undo remains available after success.
Best for
Where this workflow fits.
- Comparing build output or release directories
- Finding added, removed, changed, and moved files across large trees
- Opening nested files in their text, structured, spreadsheet, image, document, or binary viewer
No accounts, cloud comparison service, analytics, or telemetry.
Relevant capabilities
What Diff Anything brings to the job.
Practical workflow
From setup to a reviewed result.
Choose sources
Open files or folders, paste content, or use Pro to load a saved profile with known options.
Select a mode
Use automatic detection or explicitly choose text, structured, cross-format spreadsheet, folder, archive, document, image, binary, or API comparison. In code comparisons, switch between Smart Diff and conventional Line Diff without changing sources.
Review and resolve
Navigate stable differences, apply supported changes, or use Pro to resolve three-way conflicts or approve a folder synchronization plan without losing source context.
Save or automate
Use Pro to export a report or retain a profile, invoke the CLI, or wire the comparison into Git and CI.
Useful in practice
Direct answers
Questions about folder compare tool.
Can Diff Anything compare folders recursively?
Diff Anything compares folders in two-pane tree or table layouts with global search, status filters, progressive loading, ignore patterns, moved-file detection, and semantic nested-file comparison. Pro applies reviewed create, update, delete, and move plans with stale-result protection, progress, cancellation, metadata preservation, durable recovery, restart-safe rollback, and one-click undo.
Does folder comparison detect moved files?
Yes. Diff Anything identifies equivalent content at a new relative path so a move can be reviewed separately from unrelated additions and removals.
Can folder synchronization be cancelled or undone?
Yes. Pro reports progress and supports cancellation, uses durable recovery and restart-safe rollback for incomplete work, and offers one-click undo after a successful reviewed plan.
Go deeper
Review cross-format spreadsheet values, release trees, documents, and visual assets with purpose-built navigation, safety checks, and rollback.
Read Compare folders, spreadsheets, documents, and imagesFree & Pro: what’s included
Available on the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store. Free desktop use lets you try every comparison engine for files up to 5 MiB per side and 10 new comparison sessions per local day; collection previews show the first 100 items and PDF previews show the first 3 pages. The free CLI supports text and JSON. A one-time Pro purchase removes the preview and session limits and unlocks larger sources within technical limits, saved profiles and history, report export, three-way merge, folder synchronization, batch manifests, trusted preprocessors, and every CLI mode.