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Zoddo

Member

Registered: 2021-06-11

Posts: 7

[SOLVED] pacdiff 3-way merge issue

Hello,

I think I've missed something probably obvious about using pacdiff, and I cannot find any proper documentation about how it's supposed to work.

Today I got the update to systemd 258, which caused conflicts (.pacnew files) for logind.conf and resolved.conf.
So I get out pacdiff which I recently discovered.
I invoke it using `pacdiff -s`. I also have these environment variables exported in my shell, to use meld instead of vim:

export DIFFPROG=/usr/bin/meld                                                                                                                         
export MERGEPROG=/usr/bin/meld

pacdiff greets me with:

=> pacnew file found for /etc/systemd/logind.conf
:: (V)iew, (M)erge, (S)kip, (R)emove pacnew, (O)verwrite with pacnew, (Q)uit: [v/m/s/r/o/q]

so I decide to choose "m", which open meld in a 3-way merge view that I'm accustomed to (screenshot).
I merge the changes in the middle section, which results in this, I save it and close meld.

pacdiff then writes in the console "Merged without conflicts", and proceeds to open a 2-way diff between the installed (not updated) config file... and an empty file (screenshot).
That's where it confuses me. What am I supposed to do with it? The left side doesn't contain the changes I merged in the 3-way diff (see the missing "WallMessage" option that got added in the 3-way merge).
If I close it without doing anything, pacdiff asks me "Would you like to use the result of the merge?" and if I respond yes, it proceeds to replace the config file with the right-side of the diff... basically emptying my config file.

Can someone explain what I'm supposed to do with this second diff?

Last edited by Zoddo (2025-09-18 21:45:37)

seth

Member

From: Don't DM me only for attention

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 69,157

Re: [SOLVED] pacdiff 3-way merge issue

Have you tried leaving MERGEPROG alone?

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Zoddo

Member

Registered: 2021-06-11

Posts: 7

Re: [SOLVED] pacdiff 3-way merge issue

oops my bad, I was under the impression that it was used to replace the vimdiff when doing the merge.
It was that.

Thanks!