# How is git diff --relative supposed to work? 2 messages from 2026-01-06 to 2026-01-06. Participants: Johannes Sixt, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/64733 ## Johannes Sixt, 2026-01-06 08:15 Subject: How is git diff --relative supposed to work? Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/f1cd3ca7-9b31-45b0-b990-05f4d1f6b4f2%40kdbg.org ``` Try this in your favorite repository: $ echo foo >> Makefile $ git -P diff --name-only --relative=Ma kefile This doesn't look right. Shouldn't the path specified with --relative be interpreted as a directory instead of an arbitrary textual prefix? -- Hannes ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2026-01-06 10:22 Subject: Re: How is git diff --relative supposed to work? Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqfr8jjb1g.fsf%40gitster.g In-Reply-To: ``` Johannes Sixt writes: > Try this in your favorite repository: > > $ echo foo >> Makefile > $ git -P diff --name-only --relative=Ma > kefile > > This doesn't look right. Shouldn't the path specified with --relative be > interpreted as a directory instead of an arbitrary textual prefix? Sounds like an utter nonsense to me, too. If we assume Ma were a directory, would the result be "../Makefile" relative to the Ma directory? ```