Diff shell extension diff-ext
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🧩 diff-ext – File Comparison Context Menu Extension
diff-ext is a Windows context menu extension that enables quick file comparisons via a configurable diff tool. It includes both classic and modern extensions and packages into an MSIX installer.
✅ Prerequisites
- Windows 10/11, version ≥
22621(for modern shell support) -
Visual Studio 2022 with:
-
Desktop development with C++
- CMake tools for Windows
- CMake ≥ 3.15
- Windows SDK (for
makeappx.exe) - PowerShell
📁 Project Structure
/
├── classic/ # Classic shell extension (IContextMenu)
├── modern/ # Modern ExplorerCommand extension
├── shared/ # Shared logic (MRU handling etc.)
├── diff-ext-setup/ # GUI setup tool
├── packaging/ # MSIX manifest and icons
├── CMakeLists.txt # Main CMake config
└── build.ps1 # Optional multi-arch build script
⚙️ Build Instructions
Step 1: Configure
Open Developer PowerShell for VS 2022, then:
mkdir build-x64
cd build-x64
cmake .. -A x64 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
Replace x64 with x86 or ARM64 if needed.
Step 2: Build
cmake --build . --config Release
Binaries will appear in:
build-x64/bin/
💠 GUI Setup
Run the configuration tool to set your preferred diff tool and MRU list capacity:
build-x64\bin\diff-ext-setup.exe
You can set:
- External diff tool executable path
- MRU list size (up to 64 entries)
📆 MSIX Packaging
MSIX generation runs as part of the build process:
<build-dir>\msix\diff-ext_x64.msix
To package manually:
makeappx.exe pack /d msix_build /p msix/diff-ext_x64.msix /overwrite
🔐 Code Signing (Optional)
To sign the MSIX package:
signtool sign /fd SHA256 /a /f path\to\YourCertificate.pfx /p yourPassword /tr http://timestamp.digicert.com /td SHA256 diff-ext_x64.msix
🧪 Testing & Registration
Classic DLLs must be registered manually (for test installs):
regsvr32 build-x64\bin\diff-ext-classic.dll
For modern shell extensions, install the MSIX package by double-clicking it.
🛉 Uninstall
To clean up:
reg delete "HKCR\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\YourHandler" /f
Or uninstall the MSIX from Apps & Features.
📄 License
BSD license.
🧵 Credits
Created by Sergey Zorin
