---
title: "Inspecting files"
description: "Show file contents at a snapshot and diff files across snapshots."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ver-vcs.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inspecting files

## `ver show`

Print a file's content as recorded in a snapshot:

```sh
ver show src/main.rs                      # at the current head
ver show src/main.rs --snapshot v1        # at a named snapshot
ver show src/main.rs -s 9f86d08...        # at a snapshot ID
```

Text files print as-is; binary files are hex-dumped. For large files, read a byte range:

```sh
ver show big.bin --offset 1024 --limit 4096
```

Output is piped through a pager.

## `ver diff`

Unified diff of one file between two snapshots:

```sh
ver diff src/main.rs --base v1            # v1 -> current head
ver diff src/main.rs --base v1 --head v2  # v1 -> v2
```

`--head` defaults to the current head. The output is a standard unified diff with the snapshot names in the file headers.

When the file exists in only one of the two snapshots, `diff` tells you instead of printing a patch:

```text
Path src/main.rs does not exist in base snapshot, but exists in head
```

Binary files can't be diffed; if either side isn't text, `ver diff` stays silent for that pair.

Source: https://ver-vcs.net/guides/inspecting/index.mdx