Plain English · Impact Analysis · Onboarding · Review Checklist

AI Explain Code Changes

Paste any git diff and get an instant explanation: what changed, what it affects, and what to watch out for. Free, browser-only, BYO Anthropic API key.

Stored in your browser only. Never sent to our servers. Get a free key

Explanation

How to explain code changes in 3 steps

1
Get your diff

Run git diff HEAD~1 or git show HEAD. Paste the output here — or paste any code snippet.

2
Choose mode

Plain English for a quick summary, Impact for risk, Onboarding for new devs, Checklist for review sign-off.

3
Use the explanation

Copy to your PR comment, share with a teammate, paste into Slack, or add to onboarding docs.

When developers use AI to explain code changes

Code review

Understand unfamiliar PRs in seconds. Get context on intent before you approve.

Onboarding

New to a repo? Run git log -p on recent commits and paste them in to understand the codebase history fast.

After vacation

Paste the diff of everything merged while you were out to catch up without reading every line.

Open-source patches

Understand a patch or backport before applying it to your codebase.

Explain code changes — FAQ

How do I get a git diff to explain?

Run git diff HEAD~1 for the last commit, git diff main..feature-branch for a PR comparison, or git show HEAD for the full latest commit with message. Copy the terminal output and paste it in.

What is the difference between the four modes?

Plain English Summary gives a concise, jargon-free explanation of what changed and why. Impact Analysis identifies what systems are affected and flags risks. Onboarding Guide explains with more context, written for someone new to the codebase. Review Checklist generates things to verify before approving the PR.

Does the AI understand context beyond the diff lines?

Git diffs include 3 lines of surrounding context by default. Claude uses both the changed lines and context to understand the purpose of the change. For complex diffs, run git diff -U10 to include more surrounding context for better explanations.

Is my code safe to paste in?

Nothing is stored by us. The diff goes directly from your browser to Anthropic's API using your own key — no backend, no server, no logging on our end. Your code never touches our infrastructure.

How much does it cost per explanation?

A typical diff (100-300 lines) costs about $0.001-$0.003 with Claude Haiku, or $0.003-$0.01 with Claude Sonnet. You pay Anthropic directly at pay-per-token rates — no subscription, no markup.

Can I explain code changes without a git diff?

Yes. Paste any code — a plain function, a class, a config file. The tool works with raw code as well as git diff format. For raw code, the Plain English Summary and Onboarding Guide modes work best.