Git Compare Ref Open, a small extension for a thing I do 100 times a day

I'm in a file. I want to see it against main, or against yesterday's commit, or against the branch I'm rebasing. Not the whole repo in a web UI. Not a custom diff panel. The normal VS Code diff, the one that already feels right.

I tried to find existing solutions with Git related extensions like GitLens or Git History, but none of them was fitting my need.

Requirements

Get a diff of the current file against a ref

Keyboard shortcut to achieve the action

Let me choose the refs I'm comparing against

The extension

Annoyed by that I built Git Compare Ref Open (with the help of Composer 2.5).

Compare the active file with a Git ref, with current on the left or right

Compare the active file between two Git refs

Browse changed files between two refs in a searchable QuickPick

Open the selected file directly in VS Code's native Git diff tab

Where to get it

Open VSX , I skipped the VS Code Marketplace; too much friction for a small side project. Also on GitHub if you prefer a .vsix.

Enjoy!