---
title: Pipeline Diff
sidebar_position: 14
---

# Pipeline Diff (`rocketride diff`)

A raw `git diff` of a `.pipe` file is dominated by **canvas coordinate churn**:
nudge a node and its `ui.position` `x`/`y` move, pan or zoom and the top-level
`viewport` shifts. None of that changes behavior, yet it buries the lines that do
— a swapped LLM provider, a re-tuned chunk size, a rewired retrieval step.

`rocketride diff` computes a **semantic** diff instead. It groups changes into
**Nodes** (added / removed / re-provisioned), **Edges** (the wiring between
components) and **Config** (per-field changes as readable dotted paths), and
collapses all layout churn into a single `Layout: changed` line.

It ships with the Python client as the `rocketride diff` CLI command, and the same
engine is importable as the `rocketride.pipediff` package.

> **Local only — no engine, no auth, no network.** Unlike every other
> subcommand, `diff` reads files (or a git ref) and compares parsed JSON entirely
> on your machine. It therefore takes **none** of the `--uri` / `--apikey` /
> `--token` connection options the other commands share. Python CLI only.

- [Install](#install)
- [Quickstart](#quickstart)
- [CLI reference](#cli-reference)
- [What counts as a change](#what-counts-as-a-change)
- [Output modes](#output-modes)
- [Review pipelines like code in CI](#review-pipelines-like-code-in-ci)
- [Python API](#python-api)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [Limitations](#limitations)

---

## Install

`diff` needs no extra: it is part of the `rocketride` CLI and adds no runtime
dependencies.

```bash
pip install rocketride
```

> **Before the CLI release:** `rocketride diff` ships in a release after 1.3.0, so
> PyPI does not serve it yet. Until then install the client package from this
> repository at a pinned commit — pip executes the source's build code, so pin a
> full commit SHA rather than a branch:
>
> ```bash
> pip install "rocketride @ git+https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server@<full-commit-sha>#subdirectory=packages/client-python"
> ```

## Quickstart

```bash
# Compare two files on disk (old first, then new)
rocketride diff old.pipe new.pipe

# Compare a working-tree file against a git ref (runs `git show <ref>:<file>`)
rocketride diff --git HEAD rag.pipe
rocketride diff --git main rag.pipe

# Machine-readable output
rocketride diff old.pipe new.pipe --json
rocketride diff old.pipe new.pipe --markdown

# Include the layout churn that is hidden by default
rocketride diff old.pipe new.pipe --include-layout
```

Because the command exits `1` when it finds a semantic change, it drops straight
into a shell gate:

```bash
if ! rocketride diff --git "origin/main" rag.pipe; then
  echo 'pipeline behavior changed — review the diff above'
fi
```

## CLI reference

```bash
rocketride diff <old.pipe> <new.pipe> [--include-layout] [--json | --markdown] [--exit-zero]
rocketride diff --git <ref> <file.pipe> [--include-layout] [--json | --markdown] [--exit-zero]
```

| Flag | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `<old.pipe> <new.pipe>` | The two files to compare (positional, old first). Pass exactly one file with `--git` instead. |
| `--git <ref>` | Diff the working-tree `FILE` against `<ref>` via `git show <ref>:<FILE>`. `<ref>` is any revision git accepts — a commit SHA, branch, tag, `HEAD`, `HEAD~1`, `origin/main`. If the file does not exist in `<ref>`, everything is reported as added, plus a version change from `null`. |
| `--include-layout` | Enumerate the layout churn that is hidden by default — each node's `ui` block as `ui.*` changes on that node, and the top-level `viewport` as `viewport.*` changes — and count it, so a layout-only edit then exits `1`. |
| `--json` | Emit a single JSON document to stdout (mutually exclusive with `--markdown`). |
| `--markdown` | Emit compact, PR-comment-friendly Markdown to stdout (mutually exclusive with `--json`). |
| `--exit-zero` | Always exit `0` on a successful run, even when changes are found. Use for informational, non-gating runs. |

**Exit codes:** `0` no semantic changes (or any successful run with
`--exit-zero`); `1` semantic changes were found; `2` usage error, or an
unreadable / unparseable file, or a bad git ref. Errors always go to stderr, so
`--json` and `--markdown` output on stdout stays pure.

`--json` here is a **format flag** — a whole JSON document on stdout — not the
shared `--json [FILE]` result envelope the connected subcommands use. That
difference is deliberate: `diff` produces a report, not a command result.

## What counts as a change

- **Nodes** are matched by `id`. A new or deleted `id` is an add/remove; an `id`
  present on both sides with a different `provider` is a provider change. A
  duplicate `id` within one file is rejected with exit `2` rather than silently
  shadowing a node.
- **Config** is deep-diffed into dotted paths — nested objects become
  `config.default.strlen`, list items become `config.instructions[0]` — and each
  leaf is reported as added, removed, or changed with its old → new value. JSON
  types are compared type-sensitively, so `false` → `0` is a change.
- **Edges** are the directed wires between components, reconstructed from every
  component's `input[]` (data lanes) and `control[]` (agent orchestration lanes,
  such as an agent's `llm`, `tool`, or `memory`). Rewiring a step shows up as a
  removed edge plus an added edge.
- **Version** — the top-level `version` field — is always reported and always
  counts as a change; it is never hidden by the layout rules.
- **Layout** — each node's `ui` block and the top-level `viewport` — is ignored by
  default and summarized as a single `Layout: changed` line, so a pure canvas move
  exits `0`. `--include-layout` enumerates the individual `ui.*` and `viewport.*`
  fields and makes them count, so a canvas-only edit then exits `1`.
- **Everything else at the top level is ignored.** `diff` reads exactly
  `components`, `version` and `viewport`; `project_id`, `isLocked`, and any key a
  later schema adds are editor/session metadata rather than pipeline behavior, so
  editing one never reports a change (even under `--include-layout`).

## Output modes

The default **human** output is grouped and colored (color auto-disables when
piped or when `NO_COLOR` is set), with `+` added, `-` removed, `~` changed:

```text
Pipeline diff: 1 node changed, layout changed

Config
  chunker_1
    ~ config.default.strlen: 512 -> 1024

Layout: changed (ui/viewport)
```

`--json` emits one stable, sorted document — `nodes`, `edges`, `viewport`, and a
`summary` block with counts and the overall `has_semantic_changes` flag:

```json
{
  "edges": { "added": [], "removed": [] },
  "nodes": {
    "added": [],
    "changed": [
      {
        "config_changes": [
          { "kind": "changed", "new": 1024, "old": 512, "path": "config.default.strlen" }
        ],
        "id": "chunker_1",
        "provider_change": null
      }
    ],
    "removed": []
  },
  "summary": {
    "config_changes": 1,
    "edges_added": 0,
    "edges_removed": 0,
    "has_semantic_changes": true,
    "layout_changed": true,
    "nodes_added": 0,
    "nodes_changed": 1,
    "nodes_removed": 0,
    "provider_changes": 0,
    "version_change": null,
    "viewport_changes": 0
  },
  "viewport": []
}
```

The top-level `viewport` array carries the same `{"path", "kind", "old", "new"}`
shape as a config change and is populated only under `--include-layout`;
`summary.viewport_changes` is its length.

`--markdown` emits a compact, PR-comment-friendly report — a one-line summary,
bullet lists for nodes and edges, and a table for config changes:

```markdown
**Pipeline diff:** 1 node changed, layout changed

**Config**

| Node | Field | Change |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `chunker_1` | `config.default.strlen` | `512` → `1024` |

_Layout (ui/viewport) changed._
```

Values reaching the Markdown report are untrusted `.pipe` content, so every value
is wrapped in a code span whose fence is longer than any backtick run inside it,
and pipes are escaped so a value cannot split the table row or break out of the
comment.

## Review pipelines like code in CI

The supported way to wire this into pull requests is the bundled
[`pipe-diff` composite action](https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server/tree/develop/.github/actions/pipe-diff),
which finds every changed `.pipe`, diffs each against the merge base with the
pull request's base branch, and maintains one **sticky** comment:

```yaml
# .github/workflows/pipe-diff.yml
name: Pipeline diff
on: pull_request
permissions:
  contents: read
  pull-requests: write
jobs:
  diff:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # default fetch-depth: 1 is fine; the action fetches the base itself
      - uses: actions/checkout@34e114876b0b11c390a56381ad16ebd13914f8d5 # v4
      - uses: rocketride-org/rocketride-server/.github/actions/pipe-diff@develop
```

Pin `@develop` to a commit SHA once the action is released, exactly as
`actions/checkout` is pinned above.

The [CLI reference](/connect/cli#diff) covers the action's inputs, the fork
pull-request caveat (a fork's `GITHUB_TOKEN` is read-only, so the action warns
and falls back to the job summary), and the inline equivalent for teams that
would rather not vendor a composite action.

## Python API

The CLI is a thin shell over `rocketride.pipediff`, which is importable and has
the same no-network guarantee. Every name below is exported from the package
root.

```python
from rocketride.pipediff import diff_pipes, load_pipe, render_markdown

old = load_pipe('old.pipe')
new = load_pipe('new.pipe')
diff = diff_pipes(old, new)

if diff.has_semantic_changes:
    print(render_markdown(diff, title='rag.pipe'))
```

### Engine

| Function | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `load_pipe(path_or_obj)` | Load and validate a pipeline from a filesystem path or an already-parsed `dict`. Raises `PipeDiffError` for an unreadable file, invalid UTF-8, invalid JSON, a non-object top level, a missing or non-list `components`, a component without a non-empty string `id`, a duplicate component `id`, or malformed `input[]` / `control[]` wiring. |
| `diff_pipes(old, new, *, include_layout=False)` | Compare two loaded pipelines and return a `PipeDiff`. `include_layout` folds each node's `ui` differences into its field changes and enumerates the top-level `viewport` into `PipeDiff.viewport_changes`. |
| `deep_diff_config(old, new)` | Deep-diff two config dicts into a list of `FieldChange` with dotted paths (`None` is treated as an empty dict). The building block `diff_pipes` uses per node. |
| `resolve_git_ref(ref, file_path)` | Return the parsed pipeline at a git ref via `git show <ref>:<path>`, or `None` when the file does not exist in that ref. Raises `PipeDiffError` when the path is outside a repository, the ref is unknown, `git` is unavailable or times out, or the retrieved contents are not a valid pipeline. Arguments are passed as an argv list (never a shell string). |
| `PipeDiffError` | The single exception type the package raises. The CLI maps it to exit code `2`. |

### Data model

| Type | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `PipeDiff` | The whole diff: `node_changes`, `edge_changes`, `version_change` (an `(old, new)` tuple or `None`), `layout_changed`, `viewport_changes`, and the `has_semantic_changes` property that decides the exit code. |
| `NodeChange` | One component change: `id`, `kind` (`added` / `removed` / `provider` / `config`), `provider_old`, `provider_new`, `field_changes`. A node whose provider *and* config changed yields two entries. |
| `FieldChange` | One field-level change: `path` (e.g. `config.default.strlen`, `ui.position.x`), `kind` (`added` / `removed` / `changed`), `old`, `new`. |
| `EdgeChange` | One wire: `from_id`, `lane` (the data `lane`, or the control `classType` such as `llm` / `tool` / `memory`), `to_id`, `kind` (`added` / `removed`). |

### Reporters

| Function | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `render_human(diff, *, use_color)` | The grouped terminal report. `use_color` is explicit — the CLI decides it from `NO_COLOR` and `stdout.isatty()`. |
| `render_json(diff)` | A plain `dict` ready for `json.dumps(..., sort_keys=True)`: `nodes`, `edges`, `viewport`, `summary`. |
| `render_markdown(diff, *, title=None)` | The PR-comment report. `title` adds a heading above it; without one the output starts at the `**Pipeline diff:**` summary line. |

Reporters take a `PipeDiff` and return a string (or `dict`) — they print
nothing, so they compose into your own tooling.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Cause / fix |
| --- | --- |
| `invalid choice: 'diff'` | The installed `rocketride` predates the subcommand — install from the repository at a pinned commit (see [Install](#install)). |
| Exits `2` with "Unknown git ref" | `--git` was given a ref this repository does not have. Fetch it first — in CI, check out with enough history (`fetch-depth: 0`) or fetch the base branch explicitly. |
| Exits `2` with "duplicate component id" | Two components in one file share an `id`. That would silently hide every change to the shadowed node, so it is rejected rather than diffed. |
| A canvas-only edit exits `0` and prints `Layout: changed` | Working as designed. Pass `--include-layout` to enumerate and count it. |
| Exit code `1` breaks the build | `1` means "changes found", not "failure". Add `--exit-zero` for an informational run. |

## Limitations

- **Nodes are matched by `id` only.** Delete a node and add an equivalent one
  under a new `id` and the diff reports a removal plus an addition, not a rename.
- **`--git` needs a real repository.** The ref side is read through `git show`, so
  the file must live inside a git worktree and the ref must be present locally.
- **No engine validation.** `diff` checks that both files are well-formed
  pipelines, not that they are runnable — use [`rocketride
  validate`](/connect/cli#validate) for that.

## See also

- [CLI reference](/connect/cli#diff) — the `diff` flag table alongside the rest of
  the CLI, and the full CI recipe
- [Side-by-side example](https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server/blob/develop/examples/pipe-diff-example.md)
  — the full before/after contrast and the PR-comment output
- [Pipeline reference](/reference/pipeline-reference) — the `.pipe` schema this
  command reads
- [Python SDK](/clients/python) — the client the command ships with