Get Started

Getting Started

Get DiffPulse running in your repository in under two minutes. You'll scaffold a policy file, verify your environment, and evaluate a feature branch diff.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 20 or later
  • Git repository with at least one commit

Install

Add DiffPulse as a dev dependency:

npm install -D @diffpulse/cli

Or run commands directly with npx — no install required.

Initialize

Scaffold your policy file and GitHub workflow template:

npx @diffpulse/cli init

This creates:

  • .diffpulse/policy.yaml — check and threshold configuration
  • .github/workflows/diffpulse.yml — CI workflow template

Verify your environment

npx @diffpulse/cli doctor

Doctor checks Node.js version, git availability, repository status, and policy file validity.

Run your first check

DiffPulse compares commits between a base ref and HEAD. For meaningful results, work on a feature branch: 

git checkout -b my-change
# ... edit files, commit ...
npx @diffpulse/cli check

On your default branch with no divergence, check may report zero changed files. Use a feature branch or pass --base <ref>.

Validate your policy

npx @diffpulse/cli config validate

Next steps