How to Ignore Whitespace in Diffs Using the `ignore_whitespace` Setting in tuicr

Set ignore_whitespace = true in your config.toml to suppress all whitespace differences when rendering diffs in tuicr.

The tuicr terminal UI code reviewer provides a built-in configuration option to filter out whitespace-only changes from diffs. This setting propagates through the entire diff pipeline—from configuration parsing to the underlying Git operations—ensuring your code reviews focus on meaningful modifications rather than formatting noise.

How the ignore_whitespace Setting Works

When you enable ignore_whitespace, tuicr processes your preference through four distinct stages:

1. Configuration Loading

The App::load_config() function in src/config/mod.rs reads the ignore_whitespace key from your config.toml and stores it in AppConfig.ignore_whitespace.

2. Diff Mode Selection

During VCS backend discovery in src/vcs/git/mod.rs, the boolean value converts to a DiffWhitespaceMode:

let whitespace_mode = if cfg.ignore_whitespace.unwrap_or(false) {
    DiffWhitespaceMode::IgnoreAll
} else {
    DiffWhitespaceMode::Normal
};

3. Git Diff Options Generation

The diff_options() function in src/vcs/git/diff.rs applies the whitespace mode to libgit2's diff options:

fn diff_options(whitespace_mode: DiffWhitespaceMode) -> DiffOptions {
    let mut opts = DiffOptions::new();
    // … other options …
    opts.ignore_whitespace(whitespace_mode.ignores_all());
    opts
}

The call opts.ignore_whitespace(true) maps directly to libgit2's git_diff_options flag, instructing Git to treat whitespace as insignificant during line comparison.

4. TUI Rendering

All diff hunks displayed in tuicr's unified or side-by-side views no longer highlight changes consisting solely of whitespace differences.

Configuring ignore_whitespace in tuicr

Enable Whitespace Ignoring

Create or edit your configuration file and add the setting:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/tuicr/config.toml
• Windows: %APPDATA%\tuicr\config.toml

# Ignore all whitespace changes when showing diffs

ignore_whitespace = true

Disable Whitespace Ignoring

Set the value to false or remove the key entirely:

ignore_whitespace = false

Omitting the key defaults to false, preserving all whitespace differences in diffs.

Verifying Your Configuration

Run tuicr and check the status line for startup messages listing effective configuration values. For programmatic verification, use:

let cfg = tuicr::config::load_config()?.config.unwrap();
println!("ignore_whitespace = {:?}", cfg.ignore_whitespace);

Technical Implementation Details

The following source files implement the ignore_whitespace functionality in agavra/tuicr:

File	Purpose
src/config/mod.rs	Parses ignore_whitespace from config.toml into AppConfig
src/vcs/traits.rs	Defines DiffWhitespaceMode and ignores_all() helper
src/vcs/git/mod.rs	Converts config value to DiffWhitespaceMode for Git backend
src/vcs/git/diff.rs	Builds libgit2 DiffOptions with whitespace handling
src/vcs/git/cli.rs	Implements same setting for Git CLI backend (sparse-checkout support)

Minimal libgit2 Example

To understand the underlying mechanism, this standalone example demonstrates the core libgit2 behavior that tuicr leverages:

use git2::{DiffOptions, Repository};

let repo = Repository::open(".")?;
let mut opts = DiffOptions::new();
opts.ignore_whitespace(true); // equivalent to tuicr's ignore_whitespace = true
let diff = repo.diff_index_to_workdir(None, Some(&mut opts))?;

Summary

• Set ignore_whitespace = true in config.toml to hide whitespace-only diff changes
• The setting flows from configuration parsing through src/config/mod.rs to Git operations in src/vcs/git/diff.rs
• libgit2's DiffOptions.ignore_whitespace() performs the actual filtering at the VCS level
• Changes take effect immediately on next tuicr launch without restart requirements
• Both libgit2 and Git CLI backends support this configuration

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the tuicr configuration file located?

On Linux and macOS, tuicr reads from ~/.config/tuicr/config.toml. On Windows, the path is %APPDATA%\tuicr\config.toml. Create the directory and file if they don't exist.

Does ignore_whitespace affect how tuicr stages or commits changes?

No. The ignore_whitespace setting only affects diff display in the TUI. It does not modify Git's behavior when staging hunks or creating commits. Whitespace changes remain present in your working directory and can still be committed normally.

Can I toggle ignore_whitespace without restarting tuicr?

No. tuicr loads configuration once at startup via App::load_config(). Changes to config.toml require a restart to take effect. There is no runtime toggle in the current implementation.

What whitespace characters does this setting ignore?

The ignore_whitespace setting uses libgit2's default whitespace-ignoring behavior, which treats spaces, tabs, and other horizontal whitespace as insignificant when comparing lines. Line ending differences (CRLF vs LF) may be handled separately depending on your Git configuration.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}