diff -urd oldDir newDir > /tmp/the.patch head -n 1 /tmp/the.patch # directory should show as relative path, # e.g. oldDir/foo/bar/quux.pl cd oldDir/.. # move above the directory to patch # to ensure we are in the correct position mv newDir newDir.disabled # it must not interfere with the # following test application of the patch patch -p0 < /tmp/the.patch mv newDir.disabled newDir # restore