Aggressive Git Diff

A Cursor and VS Code extension that aggressively highlights every current Git change in the workspace, always against HEAD.

There is no recording, no session, and no snapshot. The reference is automatic:

HEAD  vs  current working tree

Conceptually: git diff HEAD (staged + unstaged).

What it does

• Added lines: full-line green background.
• Modified lines: aggressive green/amber background on the new line.
• Deleted lines: each removed line is shown in place as red virtual text (− the exact code), not just a count. The red background is the deletion signal; strikethrough stays off so the code stays readable (especially over Cursor's agent review overlay).
• Untracked files: the entire file is painted as added.
• Explorer: files and folders with changes vs HEAD get a bright color and a badge (M, U, A, D).
• Explorer filter: a filter icon in the explorer title bar (next to New File) toggles a view that hides every file and folder without uncommitted changes.
• Opening a file that already had changes highlights them immediately.
• After a commit, if HEAD === working tree, highlighting clears on its own.
• Reacts to external edits (other agents, scripts, checkout, branch, reset) with debounce.
• Nested Git repositories work even when the workspace root itself is not a Git repo.

Screenshots

Full-line green highlighting in the editor, and changed files/folders marked in the explorer versus HEAD.

The explorer filter hides every unchanged file and folder, so the tree collapses to the directories that actually contain working-tree changes versus HEAD. Click the filter icon in the explorer title bar to turn this on or off.

Install in Cursor

1. Build the .vsix with npm run package.
2. In Cursor: Extensions → … → Install from VSIX…
3. Open a file with Git changes. Highlighting should appear without pressing any button.

cursor --install-extension aggressive-git-diff-0.1.5.vsix

Commands

• Aggressive Git Diff: Enable
• Aggressive Git Diff: Disable
• Aggressive Git Diff: Toggle
• Aggressive Git Diff: Refresh
• Aggressive Git Diff: Show Only Git Changes in Explorer

A discreet HEAD item sits in the status bar. You do not need to use it; the extension runs on its own.

The explorer filter button stays on until you click it again. It hides unchanged files in the native explorer; turn it off to see the full tree. Native Git/Cursor revision diffs are left alone — highlighting only applies to regular file editors, so the built-in diff view no longer overlaps with this extension.

Settings

{
  "aggressiveGitDiff.enabled": true,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.addedBackground": "rgba(40, 200, 90, 0.28)",
  "aggressiveGitDiff.modifiedBackground": "rgba(40, 200, 90, 0.22)",
  "aggressiveGitDiff.deletedBackground": "rgba(255, 70, 70, 0.32)",
  "aggressiveGitDiff.opacity": 0.25,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.showDeletedIndicators": true,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.showDeletedContent": true,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.strikeDeletedLines": false,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.highlightWholeLine": true,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.highlightExplorer": true,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.debounceMs": 200,
  "aggressiveGitDiff.maxFileSizeKb": 1024
}

Development

npm install
npm test
npm run compile
npm run build
npm run package

Press F5 in Cursor/VS Code with this folder open to launch an Extension Development Host.

Compatibility

Uses only public, stable VS Code extension APIs (createTextEditorDecorationType, setDecorations, registerFileDecorationProvider, watchers, commands, configuration). It does not depend on Cursor-internal APIs.