---
title: "See changed files in Studio"
description: "Check which locale files differ from the last git commit and which keys changed in each, from the Overview page of Verbatra Studio."
type: "how-to"
---
# See changed files in Studio

Check which locale files differ from the last git commit and which keys changed in each, from the Overview page of Verbatra Studio.

<AvailableFrom version="0.7.0" pkg="@verbatra/studio" />

Use this before you commit a run: it shows which locale files a translation run or an edit touched, and which keys changed in each, without leaving Studio. It only reads; Studio never stages, commits or restores anything.

## Open the Changes section [#open-the-changes-section]

Start Studio ([Review in Studio](https://verbatra.kreitz-webdev.de/docs/review-in-studio.md#start-studio)) and scroll the Overview page to **Changes**, under the locale table. It names the checked-out branch (or **Detached HEAD**) and lists every file that differs from the last commit, ten at a time with **Show all N files** for the rest:

| State | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Modified** | the file differs from the last commit |
| **Added** | the file is new and staged |
| **Deleted** | the file is gone from the working tree or the index |
| **Untracked** | git does not track the file yet |
| **Conflicted** | the file has unresolved merge conflicts |
| **Matches last commit** | a file you opened that no longer differs, kept in place until you close it |

Your source and target locale files are listed, and so are `verbatra.lock.json` and `verbatra.provenance.json`, which show a state and no key changes. A clean project says that no locale file differs.

## Read the key changes [#read-the-key-changes]

**Key changes (de)** opens that locale's file as keys, compared with the last commit: **Changed** keys with the old and new text side by side, **Added** keys and **Removed** keys. Press the button again to close it; one locale is open at a time. A changed or added key that the source also has links to its entry in Translations.

- **One file, many locales:** a catalogue such as `apple-xcstrings` keeps every locale in one file, so it has one button per locale. Each compares that locale only.
- **Long lists:** a list holds at most 500 keys and each text is cut at 2000 characters. When that happened, Studio says the list is incomplete and marks a cut text, and git itself has the full difference. A long list shows 50 keys at a time.
- **Only the order changed:** a modified file whose keys and texts are the same says so.
- **Conflicts:** a file with unresolved merge conflicts shows its state and no key changes. Resolve the conflicts in git first.
- **Safe text:** keys and values are shown as plain text, in the locale's own language and direction, never as markup.

## When there is nothing to show [#when-there-is-nothing-to-show]

Studio explains instead of raising an error when it cannot compare, for example when:

- the project is not in a git repository, or git is not installed or is older than a partial clone needs;
- git refuses the folder because another user owns it, or the folder is inside a bare repository;
- the repository configures a content filter, which Studio will not run;
- a `files.pattern` puts a locale file outside the project folder, for example with `../`, so a list could leave that file out.

A read that took too long or failed shows the page's error with its **Retry**. A project with a `custom:` format shows its changed files but never their key changes: Studio compares the committed file with the built-in format adapters only, which cannot run a custom adapter. See [Custom format adapters](https://verbatra.kreitz-webdev.de/docs/custom-format-adapters.md).

## Know how fresh it is [#know-how-fresh-it-is]

The section reads again when a locale, lock or provenance file changes on disk, when git's index or `HEAD` changes (a commit, a branch switch, a reset or `git add`), and when you come back to the Studio tab or window. If a read fails, Studio keeps the last answer and says so.

The same reads are available to your own code as [`localeGitStatus` and `localeGitDiff`](https://verbatra.kreitz-webdev.de/docs/sdk/review.md#localegitstatus), which list every reason a comparison can be unavailable and the git safeguards they apply.