Diffs

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openclaw.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

• before and after text
• a unified patch

• a gateway viewer URL for canvas presentation
• a rendered file path (PNG or PDF) for message delivery
• both outputs in one call

​

Quick start

openclaw plugins install diffs

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      diffs: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
}

​

Disable built-in system guidance

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      diffs: {
        enabled: true,
        hooks: {
          allowPromptInjection: false,
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

​

Typical agent workflow

​

Input examples

{
  "before": "# Hello\n\nOne",
  "after": "# Hello\n\nTwo",
  "path": "docs/example.md",
  "mode": "view"
}

{
  "patch": "diff --git a/src/example.ts b/src/example.ts\n--- a/src/example.ts\n+++ b/src/example.ts\n@@ -1 +1 @@\n-const x = 1;\n+const x = 2;\n",
  "mode": "both"
}

​

Tool input reference

​

Output details contract

​

Collapsed unchanged sections

• The viewer can show rows like N unmodified lines.
• Expand controls on those rows are conditional and not guaranteed for every input kind.
• Expand controls appear when the rendered diff has expandable context data, which is typical for before and after input.
• For many unified patch inputs, omitted context bodies are not available in the parsed patch hunks, so the row can appear without expand controls. This is expected behavior.
• expandUnchanged applies only when expandable context exists.

​

Plugin defaults

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      diffs: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          defaults: {
            fontFamily: "Fira Code",
            fontSize: 15,
            lineSpacing: 1.6,
            layout: "unified",
            showLineNumbers: true,
            diffIndicators: "bars",
            wordWrap: true,
            background: true,
            theme: "dark",
            fileFormat: "png",
            fileQuality: "standard",
            fileScale: 2,
            fileMaxWidth: 960,
            mode: "both",
            ttlSeconds: 21600,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

• fontFamily
• fontSize
• lineSpacing
• layout
• showLineNumbers
• diffIndicators
• wordWrap
• background
• theme
• fileFormat
• fileQuality
• fileScale
• fileMaxWidth
• mode
• ttlSeconds

​

Persistent viewer URL config

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      diffs: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          viewerBaseUrl: "https://gateway.example.com/openclaw",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

​

Security config

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      diffs: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          security: {
            allowRemoteViewer: false,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

​

Artifact lifecycle and storage

• Artifacts are stored under the temp subfolder: $TMPDIR/openclaw-diffs.
• Viewer artifact metadata contains:
  • random artifact ID (20 hex chars)
  • random token (48 hex chars)
  • createdAt and expiresAt
  • stored viewer.html path
• Default artifact TTL is 30 minutes when not specified.
• Maximum accepted viewer TTL is 6 hours.
• Cleanup runs opportunistically after artifact creation.
• Expired artifacts are deleted.
• Fallback cleanup removes stale folders older than 24 hours when metadata is missing.

​

Viewer URL and network behavior

• /plugins/diffs/view/{artifactId}/{token}

• /plugins/diffs/assets/viewer.js
• /plugins/diffs/assets/viewer-runtime.js

• If tool-call baseUrl is provided, it is used after strict validation.
• Else if plugin viewerBaseUrl is configured, it is used.
• Without either override, viewer URL defaults to loopback 127.0.0.1.
• If gateway bind mode is custom and gateway.customBindHost is set, that host is used.

• Must be http:// or https://.
• Query and hash are rejected.
• Origin plus optional base path is allowed.

​

Security model

​

Browser requirements for file mode

• Diff PNG/PDF rendering requires a Chromium-compatible browser...

​

Troubleshooting

​

Operational guidance

• Prefer mode: "view" for local interactive reviews in canvas.
• Prefer mode: "file" for outbound chat channels that need an attachment.
• Keep allowRemoteViewer disabled unless your deployment requires remote viewer URLs.
• Set explicit short ttlSeconds for sensitive diffs.
• Avoid sending secrets in diff input when not required.
• If your channel compresses images aggressively (for example Telegram or WhatsApp), prefer PDF output (fileFormat: "pdf").

​

Related

• Browser
• Plugins
• Tools overview