# GoogleContainerTools/container-diff

container-diff: Diff your Docker containers

Repository: https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/container-diff
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/container-diff
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2024-03-27T18:02:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3313, "days_push": 889, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3800, forks 232 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:20.112389+00:00)

## What it is
container-diff is a Google CLI tool for analyzing and comparing container images across criteria like file system, size, history, and package lists (apt, rpm, pip, npm). The project is now archived and in maintenance mode, with diffoci suggested as an alternative.

## Use cases
- diff two docker container images
- analyze what packages are inside a container image
- compare image sizes between two builds
- see what changed in an image file system after a rebuild
- inspect apt, pip, or npm package differences between images
- understand docker image history changes

## When to choose
- you need a quick one-off comparison of two container images and don't mind an unmaintained tool
- you want package-level (apt/rpm/pip/npm) diffs of images
- you're on a legacy setup already using it

## When to avoid
- starting a new project - the repo is archived and unmaintained
- you need ongoing support or new features - use diffoci instead
- you need OCI image index or advanced format support

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: container-images, image-diff, docker, archived, image-analysis, containers, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- GoogleContainerTools/container-diff (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:20.112389+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:26:52.998153+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/container-diff (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:20.112389+00:00, sha 6d44857a315d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.