How to make git diff write to stdout?

Question

By default git diff prints all +- lines to the stdout however I have a (devian) machine (which I connect through ssh) where git diff leads

Answer 1

The following core.pager value uses less, which prints to stdout, and also has pager functionality (if required), enabling scrolling up and down (unlike cat):

$ git config --global core.pager "less -FRSX"

It immediately quits if the diff fits on the first screen (-F), outputs raw control characters (-R), chops long lines rather than wrapping (-S), and does not use termcap init/deinit strings (-X).