diff --git a/.build.yml b/.build.yml
index 218241f6679655510f933d59e7c7095c8ccfd7c8..195d6e0984fbc779eb61a2ed9c97843c3f05f904 100644
--- a/.build.yml
+++ b/.build.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# builds.sr.ht manifest for compare.sr.ht. One linear pipeline: install the
+# builds.sr.ht manifest for diff.sr.ht. One linear pipeline: install the
 # cache helper, assemble the shared SCSS, restore caches, package with abuild,
 # publish the apk, save the caches.
 #
diff --git a/APKBUILD b/APKBUILD
index a7023bab6cfeadcc8f9be80619807945a8f839ca..7a59df0b62ba87e8d0e49a7f23fd84966a8a70fa 100644
--- a/APKBUILD
+++ b/APKBUILD
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ # the checkout.
 #
 # A local `abuild` has no PKGVER and builds 0.0.0, which is what a package built
 # by hand honestly is.
-pkgname=compare.sr.ht
+pkgname=diff.sr.ht
 pkgver="${PKGVER:-0.0.0}"
 pkgrel=0
 pkgdesc="Stateless diff/compare viewer for a sourcehut instance"
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6e1f9cb77e68aee91e42d607a58252dd48b3a528..a02d750410bc6a1177a61f24839bf6847f2b4d59 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-# compare.sr.ht — build scaffolding (git.sr.ht / sourcehut-dolt style).
+# diff.sr.ht — build scaffolding (git.sr.ht / sourcehut-dolt style).
 #
 # Go binary + Go-template SSR live under cmd/ and web/. The CSS is built from
 # the shared sourcehut scss partials with sassc; the frontend diff bundle is
 # built once with esbuild and vendored into web/static/. Node is a build-time
 # dependency only.
 
-SERVICE=compare.sr.ht
+SERVICE=diff.sr.ht
 BIN=comparesrht
 
 PREFIX?=/usr/local
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0ba57ceaa8ac98081998326151b7cc11c654cc73..b2f3899055e6adc87a1ef8e6c542171cb185274b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,27 @@
-# compare.sr.ht
+# diff.sr.ht
 
 A git compare/diff viewer for a self-hosted [SourceHut] instance. It compares
 two refs (branches, tags, or commits) of any git.sr.ht repository — `base...head`
 or `base..head` — and renders the diff with [`@pierre/diffs`] (Shiki-based
 syntax-highlighted diffs) and a [`@pierre/trees`] file tree, plus a
-single-commit view. Runs at `https://compare.srht.bigb.es`.
+single-commit view. Runs at `https://diff.srht.bigb.es`.
 
 [SourceHut]: https://sourcehut.org
 [`@pierre/diffs`]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@pierre/diffs
 [`@pierre/trees`]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@pierre/trees
 
+> **The service is `diff.sr.ht`; the repository is still `sr-ht-compare`.** The
+> service was called `compare.sr.ht` until it was renamed, and what the rename
+> moved is everything the instance sees: the `config.ini` section, the origin,
+> the apk package, the container. What it deliberately did not move is anything
+> with a cost and no benefit — the Go module path
+> (`sourcecraft.dev/bigbes/sr-ht-compare`), the repository name, the binary
+> (`comparesrht`) and the `/~owner/repo/compare/base...head` routes, which are
+> the URLs people have in their history.
+
 ## Architecture
 
-compare.sr.ht is a **stateless Go daemon**: it owns no database and no object
+diff.sr.ht is a **stateless Go daemon**: it owns no database and no object
 storage, so it needs neither Postgres nor Redis. It integrates into SourceHut
 purely through configuration — no upstream sources are modified (the
 [sourcehut-custom-service integration model]). Repository data is read directly
@@ -91,7 +100,7 @@ > stale asset.
 
 ## Configuration
 
-See `config.example.ini`. On a real instance, append the `[compare.sr.ht]`
+See `config.example.ini`. On a real instance, append the `[diff.sr.ht]`
 section to the shared `/etc/sr.ht/config.ini`; the service reads the instance's
 existing shared keys (`[sr.ht]`, `[webhooks]`, `[meta.sr.ht]`, `[git.sr.ht]`) in
 place. core-go's `LoadConfig()` searches, in order: `./config.ini`,
@@ -100,7 +109,7 @@
 At startup the daemon validates that all required keys are present — the
 `[sr.ht] network-key`, `[webhooks] private-key`, `[git.sr.ht] repos`, a
 git.sr.ht API origin candidate (`api-internal-origin` / `internal-origin` /
-`api-origin` / `origin`), `[meta.sr.ht] origin`, and `[compare.sr.ht] origin` —
+`api-origin` / `origin`), `[meta.sr.ht] origin`, and `[diff.sr.ht] origin` —
 and exits with a single clear message listing anything missing.
 
 ## Development
@@ -120,7 +129,7 @@
    [webhooks]
    private-key=<base64 of 32 random bytes>
 
-   [compare.sr.ht]
+   [diff.sr.ht]
    origin=http://localhost:5090
 
    [meta.sr.ht]
@@ -216,47 +225,47 @@ `me.repositories`).
 
 ## Deployment
 
-compare.sr.ht deploys like any other SourceHut web service. On the instance:
+diff.sr.ht deploys like any other SourceHut web service. On the instance:
 
 1. **Install** the binary and static assets:
 
    ```sh
    make install PREFIX=/usr/local
    # → /usr/local/bin/comparesrht
-   # → /usr/share/sourcehut/compare.sr.ht/static/{bundle.<hash>.js,main.min.<hash>.css}
+   # → /usr/share/sourcehut/diff.sr.ht/static/{bundle.<hash>.js,main.min.<hash>.css}
    ```
 
-2. **Config.** Append the `[compare.sr.ht]` section (`origin=` and
-   `static-dir=`) to the shared `/etc/sr.ht/config.ini`. To make compare.sr.ht
+2. **Config.** Append the `[diff.sr.ht]` section (`origin=` and
+   `static-dir=`) to the shared `/etc/sr.ht/config.ini`. To make diff.sr.ht
    appear in the shared nav/service-switcher of the *other* services, that same
-   `[compare.sr.ht] origin=` line must be visible to their configs too (on a
+   `[diff.sr.ht] origin=` line must be visible to their configs too (on a
    single shared `config.ini` this is automatic) — then **restart those
    services** (git.sr.ht, meta.sr.ht, …) so they pick up the new switcher entry.
 
-3. **DNS.** Point `compare.srht.bigb.es` at the instance. It must be a subdomain
+3. **DNS.** Point `diff.srht.bigb.es` at the instance. It must be a subdomain
    of the shared cookie domain (`*.srht.bigb.es`) so the unified-login cookie is
    sent to us.
 
 4. **internal-ipnet.** This host must fall inside the git.sr.ht API's
    `[sr.ht] internal-ipnet` CIDR, or the internal-auth GraphQL calls
-   (including anonymous `AUTH_ANON_INTERNAL`) are rejected. If compare.sr.ht
+   (including anonymous `AUTH_ANON_INTERNAL`) are rejected. If diff.sr.ht
    runs on the same box as git.sr.ht, the default loopback/private ranges
    already cover it.
 
-5. **nginx.** Install `contrib/compare.sr.ht.conf` alongside the other
+5. **nginx.** Install `contrib/diff.sr.ht.conf` alongside the other
    `*.sr.ht.conf` files (adjust `server_name`), provide the TLS cert include it
-   references (`compare-ssl.conf`), and reload nginx. It is a plain
+   references (`diff-ssl.conf`), and reload nginx. It is a plain
    `proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5090`; static assets are served by the app from
    its embedded FS with immutable cache headers.
 
-6. **systemd.** Install `contrib/compare-srht.service`, then
-   `systemctl enable --now compare-srht`. The unit runs as **`User=git`** so it
+6. **systemd.** Install `contrib/diff-srht.service`, then
+   `systemctl enable --now diff-srht`. The unit runs as **`User=git`** so it
    has read access to the bare repositories under `/var/lib/git`
    (`ReadOnlyPaths=/var/lib/git`, `ProtectSystem=strict` — the service only ever
    reads). It stops with `KillSignal=SIGINT` because core-go's `server.Run`
    performs its warm shutdown on SIGINT, not the systemd default SIGTERM.
 
-7. **Verify.** `GET https://compare.srht.bigb.es/healthz` → `ok`. Logged in,
+7. **Verify.** `GET https://diff.srht.bigb.es/healthz` → `ok`. Logged in,
    the landing page lists your repos and a PUBLIC repo's `main...branch` compare
    renders with syntax highlighting, the tree sidebar, and the split/unified
    toggle; a PRIVATE repo is a 404 to anonymous viewers and 200 to its owner.
diff --git a/authz/authz.go b/authz/authz.go
index 260719728f5e168c792103f3cda7d09d0d287ebd..dbc56e4caef532ae73740ee616b1ae73902145a3 100644
--- a/authz/authz.go
+++ b/authz/authz.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 	"sourcecraft.dev/bigbes/sr-ht-compare/core"
 )
 
-// RepoInfo is the subset of git.sr.ht repository metadata compare.sr.ht needs
+// RepoInfo is the subset of git.sr.ht repository metadata diff.sr.ht needs
 // to render a page. It carries no ownership or ACL data: the mere fact that the
 // authorizer returned a RepoInfo means the viewer is allowed to see the repo.
 type RepoInfo struct {
diff --git a/authz/authz_test.go b/authz/authz_test.go
index 86e28dbd8d72dfa5767a512f4452910dd1e7402c..3929e5b811235f1e9eeb071f20488a7c17d34a63 100644
--- a/authz/authz_test.go
+++ b/authz/authz_test.go
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@ // ctxFor returns a context carrying config that points git.sr.ht's API origin at
 // url — the ephemeral httptest server of the calling test — over the synthetic
 // instance whose keyset TestMain installed.
 func ctxFor(url string) context.Context {
-	conf := ecoretest.Config("compare.sr.ht",
+	conf := ecoretest.Config("diff.sr.ht",
 		ecoretest.Set("git.sr.ht", "api-origin", url),
 	)
-	return config.Context(context.Background(), conf, "compare.sr.ht")
+	return config.Context(context.Background(), conf, "diff.sr.ht")
 }
 
 func TestRepo_Found(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/authz/doc.go b/authz/doc.go
index c5fe930416ad6d2321ec0b5adfb1e580aced0f26..33a992074eb935db987c7a7e7682807ae6a9d465 100644
--- a/authz/doc.go
+++ b/authz/doc.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Package authz answers one question for compare.sr.ht: what may a given viewer
+// Package authz answers one question for diff.sr.ht: what may a given viewer
 // see. Who the viewer is, is not this package's question any more — the
 // unified-login cookie is decoded by sr-ht-ecore/login, which every custom
 // service on the instance shares, and a handler reads the answer with
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ // and did not validate the name it found, which is the whole reason that decode
 // is one package now.
 //
 // Authorization is delegated entirely to git.sr.ht over its internal GraphQL
-// API: compare.sr.ht owns no user or repository data of its own, so there is no
+// API: diff.sr.ht owns no user or repository data of its own, so there is no
 // database. GQLAuthorizer issues each query as the viewing user via
 // core-go's client.Do (Authorization: Internal <fernet(...)>), letting
 // git.sr.ht's own loader apply visibility rules — an anonymous or unauthorized
diff --git a/cmd/comparesrht/main.go b/cmd/comparesrht/main.go
index 7238dea5a2f99afd620578625b31ad6e31f82a77..3c843a49e3b5c6e4109e20b3aacc3fab8b5f9c57 100644
--- a/cmd/comparesrht/main.go
+++ b/cmd/comparesrht/main.go
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-// Command comparesrht is the compare.sr.ht daemon: a stateless HTTP service
+// Command comparesrht is the diff.sr.ht daemon: a stateless HTTP service
 // that renders git ref-to-ref diffs and single-commit views for a self-hosted
 // SourceHut instance.
 //
 // It reuses core-go's server.New assembly so it shares the standard SourceHut
 // daemon lifecycle (crypto initialization, -b/-m/-p flags, warm shutdown on
 // SIGINT) with the rest of the fleet, but it deliberately does NOT call
-// WithDefaultMiddleware: compare.sr.ht owns no Postgres or Redis and must serve
+// WithDefaultMiddleware: diff.sr.ht owns no Postgres or Redis and must serve
 // anonymous viewers, so it installs its own lightweight middleware group on the
 // anonymous router instead (see the web package documentation for the exact
 // chain).
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ 	"sourcecraft.dev/bigbes/sr-ht-compare/web"
 )
 
 const (
-	service     = "compare.sr.ht"
+	service     = "diff.sr.ht"
 	defaultBind = "127.0.0.1:5090"
 
 	// authzTTL is how long the GraphQL authorizer memoizes positive and
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ // -d is read straight out of the argument vector — core-go's server.New owns
 // the real flag parse and does not run until after config validation, and a
 // daemon that only became verbose once it had finished starting would be silent
 // for exactly the part of its life an operator passes -d to watch. The two
-// knobs that work here are -d and $LOG_LEVEL; a [compare.sr.ht] log-level key
+// knobs that work here are -d and $LOG_LEVEL; a [diff.sr.ht] log-level key
 // would be read too late to matter and is not supported.
 func initLogging() {
 	opts := logging.Defaults(nil, "")
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ 		app.Register(r)
 	})
 
 	reposRoot, _ := conf.Get("git.sr.ht", "repos")
-	slog.Info("compare.sr.ht starting",
+	slog.Info("diff.sr.ht starting",
 		"bind", resolveBind(os.Args[1:]),
 		"repos", reposRoot,
 		"git.sr.ht-api", apiOrigin,
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ 	// stop this unit with KillSignal=SIGINT (see contrib/compare-srht.service).
 	srv.Run()
 }
 
-// validateConfig verifies every configuration key compare.sr.ht needs before it
+// validateConfig verifies every configuration key diff.sr.ht needs before it
 // can serve or authorize a request. It reports all missing keys at once, in a
 // single record followed by a single exit, so operators fix the config in one
 // pass instead of discovering each gap on a separate restart. It returns the
diff --git a/cmd/comparesrht/main_test.go b/cmd/comparesrht/main_test.go
index 3859c68db52ac72b0001ffd25baac0e1c8defbfb..8bdb261ff488951d00e11ac6951be164c72ff680 100644
--- a/cmd/comparesrht/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/comparesrht/main_test.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 [webhooks]
 private-key=%s
 
-[compare.sr.ht]
+[diff.sr.ht]
 origin=%s
 
 [meta.sr.ht]
diff --git a/config.example.ini b/config.example.ini
index a4f8cd55ddb3360ae246fe3383169d7421252f60..d00b4e519db1be3fe7c30106782411cd7be2aa0c 100644
--- a/config.example.ini
+++ b/config.example.ini
@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
-# Example configuration for compare.sr.ht.
+# Example configuration for diff.sr.ht.
 #
-# compare.sr.ht is a stateless service: it owns no database and no object
-# storage. Apart from its own [compare.sr.ht] section it only *reads* keys that
+# diff.sr.ht is a stateless service: it owns no database and no object
+# storage. Apart from its own [diff.sr.ht] section it only *reads* keys that
 # already exist in the shared sourcehut config.ini of the instance. On a
-# deployed instance you normally append the [compare.sr.ht] section below to the
+# deployed instance you normally append the [diff.sr.ht] section below to the
 # instance's existing /etc/sr.ht/config.ini rather than shipping a standalone
 # file. core-go's LoadConfig() searches: ./config.ini, ../config.ini,
 # /etc/sr.ht/config.ini, /etc/sr.ht/*.ini.
 
-[compare.sr.ht]
+[diff.sr.ht]
 #
 # Public origin of this service. Used to build self URLs and the logout
 # return_to. Cookie auth requires this to be a subdomain of the shared cookie
 # domain (*.srht.bigb.es).
-origin=https://compare.srht.bigb.es
+origin=https://diff.srht.bigb.es
 #
 # Directory the built static assets (bundle.<hash>.js, main.min.<hash>.css,
 # logo.svg) are installed to; globbed at startup to resolve the hashed filenames.
-static-dir=/usr/share/sourcehut/compare.sr.ht/static
+static-dir=/usr/share/sourcehut/diff.sr.ht/static
 #
 # Address the HTTP server binds to. Optional; defaults to 127.0.0.1:5090.
 #bind-address=127.0.0.1:5090
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ # unified-login cookie (sr.ht.unified-login.v1) to learn the viewer's username
 # and (b) mint the Internal auth token for git.sr.ht GraphQL. REQUIRED by
 # crypto.InitCrypto.
 network-key=
-# site-name: shown as the nav brand ("<site-name> compare").
+# site-name: shown as the nav brand ("<site-name> diff").
 site-name=sourcehut
 # environment: "production" hides the dev banner; anything else shows it.
 environment=production
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ # must fall inside it for anonymous/internal GraphQL calls to be accepted.
 internal-ipnet=10.0.0.0/8,127.0.0.0/8
 
 [webhooks]
-# private-key: base64 Ed25519 seed. compare.sr.ht emits no webhooks, but
+# private-key: base64 Ed25519 seed. diff.sr.ht emits no webhooks, but
 # crypto.InitCrypto fatally requires this key to be present.
 private-key=
 
@@ -59,6 +59,6 @@ # api-origin: base for the internal GraphQL endpoint (<api-origin>/query).
 # GetAPI falls back through api-internal-origin/internal-origin/api-origin/
 # origin; at least one must be set or startup fails.
 api-origin=https://git.srht.bigb.es
-# repos: on-disk root of bare repositories. compare.sr.ht reads
+# repos: on-disk root of bare repositories. diff.sr.ht reads
 # {repos}/~{owner}/{name} directly (read-only) after authorization passes.
 repos=/var/lib/git
diff --git a/contrib/compare-srht.service b/contrib/diff-srht.service
rename from contrib/compare-srht.service
rename to contrib/diff-srht.service
index c72ec379602055a8d5eeeedee88baa58ced0cd75..9291a27a6467d2feeecf8fb27af17fb696cc5d9b 100644
--- a/contrib/compare-srht.service
+++ b/contrib/diff-srht.service
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 [Unit]
-Description=compare.sr.ht git diff/compare viewer
+Description=diff.sr.ht git diff/compare viewer
 After=network.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
 # Runs as the git user so it has read access to the bare repositories under
-# /var/lib/git. compare.sr.ht is stateless — no database or Redis dependency.
+# /var/lib/git. diff.sr.ht is stateless — no database or Redis dependency.
 User=git
 Restart=always
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/comparesrht -b 127.0.0.1:5090
diff --git a/contrib/compare.sr.ht.conf b/contrib/diff.sr.ht.conf
rename from contrib/compare.sr.ht.conf
rename to contrib/diff.sr.ht.conf
index 41ed0f77a21eec1c3e35baeaa61e68f56222ffd1..5776a809e51a4db392b9897d64df58a53f87c115 100644
--- a/contrib/compare.sr.ht.conf
+++ b/contrib/diff.sr.ht.conf
@@ -1,22 +1,22 @@
-# nginx server block for compare.sr.ht (sr.ht-nginx style).
+# nginx server block for diff.sr.ht (sr.ht-nginx style).
 #
 # Drop into the sr.ht-nginx config alongside the other *.sr.ht.conf files and
-# adjust server_name to the instance domain (e.g. compare.srht.bigb.es).
-# compare.sr.ht serves its own static assets from the embedded FS with
+# adjust server_name to the instance domain (e.g. diff.srht.bigb.es).
+# diff.sr.ht serves its own static assets from the embedded FS with
 # immutable cache headers, so everything is proxied to the app; there is no
 # GraphQL /query endpoint of its own.
 
 server {
 	include sourcehut.conf;
 	include port80.conf;
-	server_name compare.sr.ht;
+	server_name diff.sr.ht;
 }
 
 server {
 	include sourcehut.conf;
 	include port443.conf;
-	include compare-ssl.conf;
-	server_name compare.sr.ht;
+	include diff-ssl.conf;
+	server_name diff.sr.ht;
 
 	location / {
 		proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5090;
diff --git a/contrib/dev-stub/main.go b/contrib/dev-stub/main.go
index 09c5ce28a819ceefae7f4b97a98964fae6077d06..59cbb187caea292e2e00faf5015e699a99257389 100644
--- a/contrib/dev-stub/main.go
+++ b/contrib/dev-stub/main.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // Command dev-stub is a throwaway fake git.sr.ht GraphQL API for local
-// development of compare.sr.ht. It answers the two queries compare.sr.ht's
+// development of diff.sr.ht. It answers the two queries diff.sr.ht's
 // authorizer issues (a single `user{repository}` lookup and the `me`
 // repository list) with fixed PUBLIC data, so you can drive the UI without a
 // real SourceHut instance or its internal-auth machinery.
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ // Usage:
 //
 //	go run ./contrib/dev-stub -addr 127.0.0.1:5101
 //
-// Then point compare.sr.ht's config at it and start the daemon:
+// Then point diff.sr.ht's config at it and start the daemon:
 //
 //	[git.sr.ht]
 //	api-origin=http://127.0.0.1:5101   # dev-stub serves POST /query here
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 )
 
-// repoNode is the repository shape compare.sr.ht's authorizer decodes for both
+// repoNode is the repository shape diff.sr.ht's authorizer decodes for both
 // the single-repo lookup and the me.repositories list.
 type repoNode struct {
 	ID          int    `json:"id"`
diff --git a/core/errors.go b/core/errors.go
index 9998ace7db0deacace98dc7fff9b6347619585d6..4ebfbe210fea561e46d5f33565a61c2eef6f6f08 100644
--- a/core/errors.go
+++ b/core/errors.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Package core holds the pure domain logic of compare.sr.ht: input
+// Package core holds the pure domain logic of diff.sr.ht: input
 // validation (owner/repo/ref names), the compare-spec grammar, and the
 // sentinel errors shared across the service. It has no external dependencies
 // and never touches the network or the filesystem, so it is cheap to test.
diff --git a/docs/ci.md b/docs/ci.md
index 661fcf99717799c151266400a6d449c6547a98ea..fd98898c6cc90e3bafe2d9bdac44e43d97252c08 100644
--- a/docs/ci.md
+++ b/docs/ci.md
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@
 `make install-files` still runs
 `install -Dm644 -t $(DESTDIR)$(STATICDIR) web/static/*`, which stages
 `bundle.<hash>.js` and `main.min.<hash>.css` into
-`/usr/share/sourcehut/compare.sr.ht/static`. The binary already **embeds** both
+`/usr/share/sourcehut/diff.sr.ht/static`. The binary already **embeds** both
 (`//go:embed static` in `web/templates.go:25`) and serves them from there, so
 those copies are dead weight in the apk and a second, divergable source of truth
 for the same bytes. The bench sibling installs no static assets at all for this
diff --git a/docs/inline-comments.md b/docs/inline-comments.md
index e9a9df2baa85cf186aa683f9997cba6942d05386..c363a2476dba656c4b5f85d4628aad413b8de8a3 100644
--- a/docs/inline-comments.md
+++ b/docs/inline-comments.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 ## 1. Motivation
 
 The reference diff viewers (GitHub, the `diffshub` design we mirror) let a viewer
-attach a comment to a specific line of a diff and reply in a thread. compare.sr.ht
+attach a comment to a specific line of a diff and reply in a thread. diff.sr.ht
 renders commit and compare (`base...head`) diffs but has no way to discuss them
 in place. SourceHut's native review flow is patch-over-mailing-list
 (`lists.sr.ht`); inline comments are a **net-new capability** for the instance,
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ compare pages.
 
 ## 2. Key constraint: the service is stateless *by choice*
 
-compare.sr.ht owns no persistence today. `cmd/comparesrht/main.go` spells it out:
+diff.sr.ht owns no persistence today. `cmd/comparesrht/main.go` spells it out:
 
-> it deliberately does NOT call `WithDefaultMiddleware`: compare.sr.ht owns no
+> it deliberately does NOT call `WithDefaultMiddleware`: diff.sr.ht owns no
 > Postgres or Redis and must serve anonymous viewers
 
 Crucially this is a **choice, not a missing capability**. The shared
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@   (`Middleware`, `DBForContext`, `ForContext`), transaction helpers
   (`WithTx`, `WithReadOnlyTx`), and a squirrel-based query builder with a
   `Model`/`Scan` layer (`sq.go`, `ql.go`).
 - `sr-ht-core/server` `WithDefaultMiddleware()` opens the pool from a
-  `[compare.sr.ht]::connection-string` key via `sql.Open("postgres", …)`.
+  `[diff.sr.ht]::connection-string` key via `sql.Open("postgres", …)`.
 
 So the storage foundation is sitting unused. Adding comments means **turning that
 path back on** for the comment routes while keeping anonymous, DB-free browsing
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ Adding a DB makes the service no longer stateless. Downstream updates required:
 
 - `README.md` and the `server.go` package doc ("owns no state of its own").
 - The `main.go` "no database" comment and middleware group.
-- `contrib/compare-srht.service` — add a Postgres ordering dependency.
+- `contrib/diff-srht.service` — add a Postgres ordering dependency.
 - Ops: the service now has backup/restore concerns and a schema to migrate.
 
 ## 3. Anchoring model (the crux)
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@
 New key:
 
 ```ini
-[compare.sr.ht]
+[diff.sr.ht]
 connection-string=postgres://compare:secret@localhost/compare?sslmode=disable
 ```
 
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ browsing intact — the middleware only injects the pool; only comment handlers
 touch it):
 
 ```go
-db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connString)   // from [compare.sr.ht] connection-string
+db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connString)   // from [diff.sr.ht] connection-string
 // …
 r.Use(database.Middleware(db))                 // added alongside config + authz middleware
 ```
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index a05a08c41aa5db7b823e2e5ce762fcc226905ec3..cca37fb9dddc072eae835df7e6187c8c37fe1a05 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ {
   "name": "compare-frontend",
   "version": "0.0.0",
   "private": true,
-  "description": "Build-time diff/tree bundle for compare.sr.ht (vendored into web/static/bundle.js).",
+  "description": "Build-time diff/tree bundle for diff.sr.ht (vendored into web/static/bundle.js).",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "build": "esbuild src/app.ts --bundle --minify --format=esm --outfile=../web/static/bundle.js"
diff --git a/frontend/src/app.ts b/frontend/src/app.ts
index 93b232123fc9776e0121b7c9d9ec4e19d8746286..e434e50e88579e98a7a9ba2b3cf41afe646e1893 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * compare.sr.ht frontend bundle.
+ * diff.sr.ht frontend bundle.
  *
  * Consumes the SSR DOM contract:
  *   <script id="compare-data" type="application/json">{...}</script>
diff --git a/gitx/gitx.go b/gitx/gitx.go
index 0b8eb28a8b057652d7ef1c1d26eadf7b6008ed0a..6142bc0dbd7e2666fee62a1ee781f0deff761a60 100644
--- a/gitx/gitx.go
+++ b/gitx/gitx.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Package gitx is the git access layer of compare.sr.ht. It opens bare
+// Package gitx is the git access layer of diff.sr.ht. It opens bare
 // repositories on disk with go-git and answers ref, log, and diff queries
 // entirely in-process (no git binary is executed at runtime). Every operation
 // is bounded by a context timeout, generated patch text is capped in size (so
diff --git a/scss/main.scss b/scss/main.scss
index ab6ffc7a449adc4cf7db5ae10efb7bf5322113b3..7f754c8cb2d260bf1ec5c0b2ae8e7c90c2c7b2eb 100644
--- a/scss/main.scss
+++ b/scss/main.scss
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// compare.sr.ht stylesheet.
+// diff.sr.ht stylesheet.
 //
 // Mirrors the SourceHut service pattern (see paste.sr.ht/scss/main.scss): pull
 // in the shared `base` partial (Bootstrap 4 + the SourceHut chrome: contrast,
diff --git a/web/router.go b/web/router.go
index 2d7a9f59a719c8160ecbf3992e5b13f41e94c951..5c1f54586d83a8bab2d35ea0177adebc054ab771 100644
--- a/web/router.go
+++ b/web/router.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ 	"sourcecraft.dev/bigbes/sr-ht-ecore/csrf"
 	"sourcecraft.dev/bigbes/sr-ht-ecore/middleware"
 )
 
-// Register mounts every compare.sr.ht route onto r, inside a group carrying the
+// Register mounts every diff.sr.ht route onto r, inside a group carrying the
 // three middlewares that need this Server. The chain documented on the package
 // (config + authz at a minimum) is still the caller's, and stays outside this
 // group.
diff --git a/web/server.go b/web/server.go
index 35e55947c4ec9defffd59f3d6ce70ca0cfcfe4ed..9372d1f15ac7fbd81bd9c859b2e1ad578ab3d617 100644
--- a/web/server.go
+++ b/web/server.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Package web is the HTTP layer of compare.sr.ht. It renders the repository
+// Package web is the HTTP layer of diff.sr.ht. It renders the repository
 // landing, compare (base...head) and single-commit pages server-side, and
 // embeds a compact JSON payload plus the vendored esbuild bundle so the browser
 // renders the diff with @pierre/diffs and @pierre/trees.
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ //	chi middleware.RequestID
 //	chi middleware.RealIP
 //	chimw.RequestLogger(...)     // the request line, as a slog record
 //	chi middleware.Recoverer
-//	config.Middleware(conf, "compare.sr.ht")   // required: authz + gitx read it
+//	config.Middleware(conf, "diff.sr.ht")   // required: authz + gitx read it
 //	login.Optional()             // required: never 401s; sets the viewer
 //
 // login.Optional and not login.Required: every page here is either public or a
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ // is what the switcher's "which entry is me" test compares against, so it must
 // be spelled the same here, in the config file and in the middleware the cmd
 // layer installs — a service that spelled it two ways would appear in the
 // instance's navigation and fail to recognise itself in it.
-const configSection = "compare.sr.ht"
+const configSection = "diff.sr.ht"
 
 // bundleAsset is the key compare's layout reads its front-end bundle's href
 // under, in chrome.Service.Assets. It is spelled once here and once in the
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ 	static http.Handler
 }
 
 // New assembles a Server from the shared SourceHut config. It reads
-// [git.sr.ht] repos, [meta.sr.ht] origin and [compare.sr.ht] origin (all
+// [git.sr.ht] repos, [meta.sr.ht] origin and [diff.sr.ht] origin (all
 // required), hands the whole file to chrome.NewService — the switcher is a
 // question about every [*.sr.ht] section the instance defines, not about our own
 // keys — resolves the hashed stylesheet and bundle through ecore's assets, and
diff --git a/web/web_test.go b/web/web_test.go
index 24e6442bc79be620c7e013d83627a4abd04c2275..a3b3561d55fc260981860a44a4f12aae89be6c87 100644
--- a/web/web_test.go
+++ b/web/web_test.go
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ 	srv, err := New(conf, az)
 	require.NoError(t, err, "New")
 
 	r := chi.NewRouter()
-	r.Use(config.Middleware(conf, "compare.sr.ht"))
+	r.Use(config.Middleware(conf, "diff.sr.ht"))
 	r.Use(login.Optional())
 	srv.Register(r)
 	return r
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ 	root, _ := gitFixture(t)
 	h := testServer(t, root, demoAuthorizer())
 
 	anon := get(t, h, "/", "").Body.String()
-	assert.Contains(t, anon, `<span class="text-danger">compare</span>`,
+	assert.Contains(t, anon, `<span class="text-danger">diff</span>`,
 		"the brand's service label is missing")
 	assert.Contains(t, anon, "Log in", "an anonymous viewer must be offered the login")
 	// The environment is "development" in the test config, so the banner shows.