---
title: Integrate git diffs with word docx files
source: https://github.com/vigente/gerardus/wiki/Integrate-git-diffs-with-word-docx-files
---

# [Integrate git diffs with word docx files](https://github.com/vigente/gerardus/wiki/Integrate-git-diffs-with-word-docx-files)

This section was inspired by Martin Fenner's ["Using Microsoft Word with git"](http://blog.martinfenner.org/2014/08/25/using-microsoft-word-with-git/).

To configure git diff:

1.  [**Install pandoc**](http://pandoc.org/installing.html).
2.  Tell git how to handle diffs of .docx files.
	1.  Create or edit file ~/.gitconfig (linux, Mac) or "c:\\Documents and Settings\\user.gitconfig" (Windows) to add

```gitconfig
[diff "pandoc"]
textconv=pandoc --to=markdown
prompt = false
[alias]
wdiff = diff --word-diff=color --unified=1
```

2.  In your paper directory, create or edit file .gitattributes (linux, Windows and Mac) to add

```shell
   *.docx diff=pandoc
```

3.  You can commit .gitattributes so that it stays with your paper for use in other computers, but you'll need to edit ~/.gitconfig in every new computer you want to use.


Now you can see a pretty coloured diff with the changes you have made to your .docx file since the last commit

```shell
git wdiff file.docx
```

To see all changes over time

```shell
git log -p --word-diff=color file.docx
```

## Automatically when running `git commit`.

This is only going to work from linux/Mac or Windows running git from a bash shell.

1.  [**Install pandoc**](http://pandoc.org/installing.html). Pandoc is a program to convert between different file formats. It's going to allow us to convert Word files (.docx) to Markdown (.md).
    
2.  **Set up git hooks to enable automatic generation and tracking of Markdown copies of .docx files.**
    
    Copy these hook files to your git project's `.git/hooks` directory and rename them, or soft-link to them with `ln -s`, and make them executable (`chmod u+x *.sh`):
    
    - [pre-commit-git-diff-docx.sh](https://github.com/vigente/gerardus/blob/master/shell-script/pre-commit-git-diff-docx.sh) -\> .git/hooks/pre-commit
    - [post-commit-git-diff-docx.sh](https://github.com/vigente/gerardus/blob/master/shell-script/post-commit-git-diff-docx.sh) -\> .git/hooks/post-commit
    
    Now every time you run `git commit`, the pre-commit hook will automatically run before you see the window to enter the log message. The hook is a script that makes a copy in Markdown format (.md) of every .docx file you are committing. The post-commit hook then amends the commit adding the .md files.
    

## Manually by creating a Markdown copy of the .docx file.

This works in linux, Mac and Windows.

1.  [**Install pandoc**](http://pandoc.org/installing.html).
    
2.  **Edit your Word document** as needed.
    
3.  **Run pandoc** from the linux or Windows command line. This will create a Markdown version of your file (without Figures, but with equations in latex format)
    
    ```shell
     pandoc -s file.docx -t markdown -o file.md
    
    ```
    
4.  **Update the ChangeLog**
    
5.  **Commit both files with git**
    
    ```shell
     git add file.docx file.md
     git commit
    
    ```