Doing .json file diffs using plain vanilla diff works, but it’s a pain you don’t really need.

Another way of doing .json file diffs follows, add it to .bashrc or whatever shell you’re using and you’ll always carry it with you 😎

Prerequisites:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install jq git-delta -y

For .bashrc:

bashjsondiff() {
  if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then
    echo "Usage: jsondiff  "
    return 1
  fi
  #
  diff -u --label="$1" --label="$2" \
    <(jq -S . "$1") \
    <(jq -S . "$2") | delta --side-by-side
}

If you don’t want delta to go full-blown syntax theming the output, you can change the delta --side-by-side to be delta --side-by-side --syntax-theme=none instead.

Tweak to your liking.

🤓