How do I use Meld as a merge tool with Sourcetree on Windows?

Question

I have the following in my .gitconfig file:

[user]
    name = myname
    email = myname@gmail.com
[core]
    autocrlf = true
    excludesfile = C:\\Users\\myname\\Documents\\gitignore_global.txt
[diff]
        tool = meld
[difftool "meld"]
        cmd = "C:/Program Files (x86)/Meld/meld/meld.exe"
        prompt = false
[merge]
        tool = meld

[mergetool "meld"]
        cmd = "C:/Program Files (x86)/Meld/meld/meld.exe"
[difftool "sourcetree"]
    cmd = "C:/Program Files (x86)/Meld/meld/meld.exe $PWD/$LOCAL $PWD/$BASE $PWD/$REMOTE"
[mergetool "sourcetree"]
    cmd = 'C:/Program Files (x86)/Meld/meld/meld.exe' \"$LOCAL\" \"$REMOTE\" \"$MERGED\"
    trustExitCode = true

And in Sourcetree, I have the following settings:

However, when I right-clicked a file on Sourcetree to do an external diff, I was able to open Meld, but the contents of the file were not displayed at all.

What have I done wrong in the settings?

Answer 1

I feel the existing answers slightly missed the point. Here is my own dog food:

Arguments Detail:

Diff:  $LOCAL $REMOTE
Merge: $LOCAL $BASE $REMOTE --auto-merge --output=$MERGED

For External Diff, you need to remove $BASE from your argument list.

For 3-way merging, you need to click on the External Merge Tool option instead, which will only be available if there are any unsolved conflicts.

If you are not restricted to Sourcetree + Meld, I reckon the Git Extensions + KDiff3 suite could be a good open-sourced alternative also.

Answer 2

The actual setting to use here in order to have a real 3-way merge, with read only THEIRS and MINE tabs is this:

$LOCAL $BASE $REMOTE --auto-merge --output=$MERGED

Note the = after --output.

I've finally got this command right by digging in comments on the second answer to this question Git merging using Meld.

Answer 3

For OS X it looks like this:

• Diff Command: meld.

  • Arguments: @LOCAL @REMOTE

• Merge Command: meld.

  • Arguments: $LOCAL $BASE $REMOTE --auto-merge --output=$MERGED

P.S.

To use it from command line you have to install it via brew: brew install meld

Answer 4

If you don't want to modify the PATH environment variable, you can use the DOS-compatible short names:

C:\Progra~1 = C:\Program Files
C:\Progra~2 = C:\Program Files (x86)

That avoids the trouble-causing spaces in the path and plays nice with Sourcetree. It's hackish, but it works. You can then use something like this as the path to Meld:

C:\Progra~1\Meld\meld.exe

It may not be guaranteed that Progra~1 maps to the 64-bit directory, so you might need to experiment with which one maps to which.

Answer 5

Try adding the location of meld.exe to your PATH (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Meld), and then in the Diff Command, just enter meld instead of the full path. See the gist How to use meld with Sourcetree on Windows.