Editing in Diff View

Edit files and save changes directly in the diff viewer.

The diff viewer in Vertical Tabs supports inline editing. Edit files and save changes directly in the diff.

How it works

The right side of the diff (the working copy) is a full editor. Click into any line and start typing. The left side (the committed version) stays read-only for reference.

Edits appear as new diff highlights in real time.

Saving changes

Press ⌘ Cmd + S to save the file. A blue dot appears in the file header when there are unsaved changes.

Conflict detection

A file can change on disk while it is open in the diff viewer. This happens when an AI agent modifies the file, another editor saves it, or a git operation updates it.

When Vertical Tabs detects this conflict, it presents two options:

Overwrite: Save the current version, replacing the external changes
Revert: Discard edits and load the version from disk

Unsaved changes warning

If switching to a different file or closing the diff pane while a file has unsaved edits, a dialog presents three options:

Save: Write changes to disk
Don’t Save: Discard edits
Cancel: Stay on the current file

Full context toggle

By default, the diff shows only the lines that changed, plus a few lines of surrounding context. Click the Changes only toggle to switch between two views:

Changes only: The modified lines and their immediate context.
Full file: The entire file contents with changes highlighted inline.

Editing in separate windows

Right-click any file and select Open in Window to open the diff in its own window. The editor works the same way in both the inline pane and the popup window.

A separate window provides more screen space for larger files or complex changes.