Compare Xml

# compare-xml A toolkit for **structured XML comparison** — find what changed between two XML documents, with control over how keys, values, and arrays are matched. > Online playground: **[comparexml.com](https://comparexml.com)** ## Why Most XML diff tools either output unstructured text or hide the parts that matter (where an element was added, whether an array differs in order or in content). `compare-xml` parses XML into a structured representation and returns a list of differences — every entry carries a path, the side it belongs to (`base` / `contrast` / `both`), and the kind of change (`added`, `deleted`, `valueChanged`) — so you can render, filter, or program against it. ## Features - **Deep comparison** of XML elements, attributes, arrays, and text values. - **Three array comparison strategies**: `byIndex` (default), `lcs` (minimal diff via Longest Common Subsequence), and `unordered` (multiset match). - **Case-insensitive** key and/or value matching. - **Path tracking** with both segment-array and dot-notation forms. - **CLI** with table or JSON output, reading from inline strings or files. - **MCP server** built in — drop the CLI into any MCP-aware AI assistant. - **Agent Skill** — a single skill that works in Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, and OpenCode. - Full **TypeScript** types. ## Packages This is a pnpm workspace: | Package | Description | |---------|-------------| | [`@compare-xml/core`](./packages/compare-xml-core) | Core comparison library (programmatic API). | | [`@compare-xml/cli`](./packages/compare-xml-cli) | Command-line tool & MCP server, built on top of `core`. | ## Quick Start ### Library ```bash npm install @compare-xml/core ``` ```typescript import { compareXML } from '@compare-xml/core'; const differences = compareXML({ baseXML: '<user><name>Alice</name><age>30</age></user>', contrastXML: '<user><name>Bob</name><age>30</age><email>bob@test.com</email></user>', }); // [ // { pathString: 'user.name', pathBelongsTo: 'both', diffType: 'valueChanged', ... }, // { pathString: 'user.email', pathBelongsTo: 'contrast', diffType: 'added', ... }, // ] ``` See the [core README](./packages/compare-xml-core/README.md) for the full API. ### CLI ```bash npm install -g @compare-xml/cli compare-xml base.xml contrast.xml ``` ``` ┌──────────────┬──────────────┐ │ Key │ Change Type │ ├──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ (Base) a │ valueChanged │ │ (Base) b │ deleted │ │ (Contrast) c │ added │ └──────────────┴──────────────┘ ``` Use `--json-export` for machine-readable output, or `--mcp` to launch as an MCP server. See the [CLI README](./packages/compare-xml-cli/README.md) for all flags and the MCP tool schema. ### MCP ```json { "mcpServers": { "compare-xml": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@compare-xml/cli@latest", "--mcp"] } } } ``` ### Skill A single [`SKILL.md`](./skills/compare-xml/SKILL.md) teaches AI coding assistants how to invoke the CLI on demand. The file follows the open [Agent Skills](https://github.com/anthropics/skills) format and works across Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, OpenCode, Cursor, and 50+ others. The fastest install is [`npx skills`](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) — it auto-detects every agent you have installed and drops the skill into each one: ```bash npx skills add unitstack/compare-xml ``` ## Development Requires Node.js ≥ 20 and pnpm. ```bash # install dependencies pnpm install # build all packages pnpm -r build # run tests across the workspace pnpm -r test # lint pnpm -r lint ``` The repo layout: ``` packages/ ├── compare-xml-core/ # @compare-xml/core — library ├── compare-xml-cli/ # @compare-xml/cli — CLI + MCP server └── internal/ # shared eslint/tsconfig (not published) skills/ └── compare-xml/ # SKILL.md for Claude Code / Codex CLI / OpenCode ``` ## License MIT