perf(gitdiff): optimize inline diff highlighting using cache (#38706)

This pull request optimizes code diff highlighting in the PR Files Changed view, which is a major CPU bottleneck and hot path in production. Previously, Gitea executed the expensive `DiffMatchPatch` algorithm twice for every matching deleted/added line pair (once for the deleted line, and once for the added line). We now run the diff algorithm once and cache the resulting `DiffInline` on the `DiffLine` struct itself, allowing the second line to render via a 0-cost cache lookup. --------- Co-authored-by: wxiaoguang <wxiaoguang@gmail.com> Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>
2026-07-31 20:58:59 +00:00 · 2026-07-30 22:13:36 +05:30
parent 11d0ed699b
commit d87d26d735
11 changed files with 186 additions and 157 deletions
--- a/modules/charset/escape_status.go
+++ b/modules/charset/escape_status.go
@@ -10,14 +10,8 @@ type EscapeStatus struct {
 	HasAmbiguous bool
 }

-// Or combines two EscapeStatus structs into one representing the conjunction of the two
-func (status *EscapeStatus) Or(other *EscapeStatus) *EscapeStatus {
-	st := status
-	if status == nil {
-		st = &EscapeStatus{}
-	}
+func (st *EscapeStatus) Combine(other *EscapeStatus) {
 	st.Escaped = st.Escaped || other.Escaped
 	st.HasAmbiguous = st.HasAmbiguous || other.HasAmbiguous
 	st.HasInvisible = st.HasInvisible || other.HasInvisible
-	return st
 }
--- a/modules/highlight/benchmark_test.go
+++ b/modules/highlight/benchmark_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package highlight
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2/lexers"
+)
+
+func BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerByFileName(b *testing.B) {
+	for b.Loop() {
+		// BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerByFileName-12    	18214717	        61.35 ns/op
+		DetectChromaLexerByFileName("a.sql", "")
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerWithAnalyze(b *testing.B) {
+	code := []byte(strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000))
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for b.Loop() {
+		// BenchmarkRenderCodeSlowGuess-12    	   87946	     13310 ns/op
+		detectChromaLexerWithAnalyze("a", "", code)
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkChromaAnalyze(b *testing.B) {
+	code := strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000)
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for b.Loop() {
+		// comparing to detectChromaLexerWithAnalyze (go-enry), "chroma/lexers.Analyse" is very slow
+		// BenchmarkChromaAnalyze-12    	     519	   2247104 ns/op
+		lexers.Analyse(code)
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkRenderCodeByLexer(b *testing.B) {
+	code := strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000)
+	lexer := DetectChromaLexerByFileName("a.sql", "")
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for b.Loop() {
+		// HINT: CODE-HIGHLIGHT-PERFORMANCE: Really slow ....... the regexp2 used by Chroma takes most of the time
+		// BenchmarkRenderCodeByLexer-12    	      22	  47159038 ns/op
+		RenderCodeByLexer(lexer, code)
+	}
+}
--- a/modules/highlight/lexerdetect_test.go
+++ b/modules/highlight/lexerdetect_test.go
@@ -4,53 +4,11 @@
 package highlight

 import (
-	"strings"
 	"testing"

-	"github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2/lexers"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )

-func BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerByFileName(b *testing.B) {
-	for b.Loop() {
-		// BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerByFileName-12    	18214717	        61.35 ns/op
-		DetectChromaLexerByFileName("a.sql", "")
-	}
-}
-
-func BenchmarkDetectChromaLexerWithAnalyze(b *testing.B) {
-	b.StopTimer()
-	code := []byte(strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000))
-	b.StartTimer()
-	for b.Loop() {
-		// BenchmarkRenderCodeSlowGuess-12    	   87946	     13310 ns/op
-		detectChromaLexerWithAnalyze("a", "", code)
-	}
-}
-
-func BenchmarkChromaAnalyze(b *testing.B) {
-	b.StopTimer()
-	code := strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000)
-	b.StartTimer()
-	for b.Loop() {
-		// comparing to detectChromaLexerWithAnalyze (go-enry), "chroma/lexers.Analyse" is very slow
-		// BenchmarkChromaAnalyze-12    	     519	   2247104 ns/op
-		lexers.Analyse(code)
-	}
-}
-
-func BenchmarkRenderCodeByLexer(b *testing.B) {
-	b.StopTimer()
-	code := strings.Repeat("SELECT * FROM table;\n", 1000)
-	lexer := DetectChromaLexerByFileName("a.sql", "")
-	b.StartTimer()
-	for b.Loop() {
-		// Really slow ....... the regexp2 used by Chroma takes most of the time
-		// BenchmarkRenderCodeByLexer-12    	      22	  47159038 ns/op
-		RenderCodeByLexer(lexer, code)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestDetectChromaLexer(t *testing.T) {
 	globalVars().highlightMapping[".my-html"] = "HTML"
 	t.Cleanup(func() { delete(globalVars().highlightMapping, ".my-html") })
--- a/routers/web/devtest/devtest.go
+++ b/routers/web/devtest/devtest.go
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ func prepareMockDataUnicodeEscape(ctx *context.Context) {
 	lineEscapeStatus := make([]*charset.EscapeStatus, len(highlightLines))
 	for i, hl := range highlightLines {
 		lineEscapeStatus[i], hl.FormattedContent = charset.EscapeControlHTML(hl.FormattedContent, ctx.Locale)
-		escapeStatus = escapeStatus.Or(lineEscapeStatus[i])
+		escapeStatus.Combine(lineEscapeStatus[i])
 	}
 	ctx.Data["HighlightLines"] = highlightLines
 	ctx.Data["EscapeStatus"] = escapeStatus
--- a/routers/web/repo/blame.go
+++ b/routers/web/repo/blame.go
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ func renderBlame(ctx *context.Context, blameParts []*git.BlamePart, commitNames
 			line = template.HTML(util.UnsafeBytesToString(unsafeLines[i]))
 		}
 		br.EscapeStatus, br.Code = charset.EscapeControlHTML(line, ctx.Locale)
-		escapeStatus = escapeStatus.Or(br.EscapeStatus)
+		escapeStatus.Combine(br.EscapeStatus)
 	}

 	ctx.Data["EscapeStatus"] = escapeStatus
--- a/routers/web/repo/view_file.go
+++ b/routers/web/repo/view_file.go
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ func handleFileViewRenderSource(ctx *context.Context, attrs *attribute.Attribute
 	statuses := make([]*charset.EscapeStatus, len(fileContent))
 	for i, line := range fileContent {
 		statuses[i], fileContent[i] = charset.EscapeControlHTML(line, ctx.Locale)
-		status = status.Or(statuses[i])
+		status.Combine(statuses[i])
 	}
 	ctx.Data["EscapeStatus"] = status
 	ctx.Data["FileContent"] = fileContent
--- a/services/gitdiff/gitdiff.go
+++ b/services/gitdiff/gitdiff.go
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ type DiffLine struct {
 	Content     string
 	Comments    issues_model.CommentList // related PR code comments
 	SectionInfo *DiffLineSectionInfo
+
+	cachedDiffInline *DiffInline
 }

 // DiffLineSectionInfo represents diff line section meta data
@@ -294,14 +296,6 @@ func newDiffLineSectionInfo(curFile *DiffFile, line string, lastLeftIdx, lastRig
 	}
 }

-// escape a line's content or return <br> needed for copy/paste purposes
-func getLineContent(content string, locale translation.Locale) DiffInline {
-	if len(content) > 0 {
-		return DiffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(template.HTML(html.EscapeString(content)), locale)
-	}
-	return DiffInline{EscapeStatus: &charset.EscapeStatus{}, Content: "<br>"}
-}
-
 // DiffSection represents a section of a DiffFile.
 type DiffSection struct {
 	language              *diffVarMutable[string]
@@ -332,8 +326,8 @@ type DiffInline struct {
 	Content      template.HTML
 }

-// DiffInlineWithUnicodeEscape makes a DiffInline with hidden Unicode characters escaped
-func DiffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(s template.HTML, locale translation.Locale) DiffInline {
+// diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape makes a DiffInline with hidden Unicode characters escaped
+func diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(s template.HTML, locale translation.Locale) DiffInline {
 	status, content := charset.EscapeControlHTML(s, locale)
 	return DiffInline{EscapeStatus: status, Content: content}
 }
@@ -356,6 +350,13 @@ func (diffSection *DiffSection) getLineContentForRender(lineIdx int, diffLine *D
 }

 func (diffSection *DiffSection) getDiffLineForRender(diffLineType DiffLineType, leftLine, rightLine *DiffLine, locale translation.Locale) DiffInline {
+	sideIdx := util.Iif(diffLineType == DiffLineDel, 0, 1) // del=left, add=right
+	lines := [2]*DiffLine{leftLine, rightLine}
+
+	if lines[sideIdx] != nil && lines[sideIdx].cachedDiffInline != nil {
+		return *lines[sideIdx].cachedDiffInline
+	}
+
 	var fileLanguage string
 	var highlightedLeftLines, highlightedRightLines map[int]template.HTML
 	// when a "diff section" is manually prepared by ExcerptBlob, it doesn't have "file" information
@@ -364,33 +365,36 @@ func (diffSection *DiffSection) getDiffLineForRender(diffLineType DiffLineType,
 		highlightedLeftLines, highlightedRightLines = diffSection.highlightedLeftLines.value, diffSection.highlightedRightLines.value
 	}

-	var lineHTML template.HTML
-	hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
 	if diffLineType == DiffLinePlain {
-		// left and right are the same, no need to do line-level diff
-		if leftLine != nil {
-			lineHTML = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(leftLine.LeftIdx, leftLine, fileLanguage, highlightedLeftLines)
-		} else if rightLine != nil {
-			lineHTML = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(rightLine.RightIdx, rightLine, fileLanguage, highlightedRightLines)
-		}
-	} else {
-		var diff1, diff2 template.HTML
-		if leftLine != nil {
-			diff1 = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(leftLine.LeftIdx, leftLine, fileLanguage, highlightedLeftLines)
-		}
-		if rightLine != nil {
-			diff2 = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(rightLine.RightIdx, rightLine, fileLanguage, highlightedRightLines)
-		}
-		if diff1 != "" && diff2 != "" {
-			// if only some parts of a line are changed, highlight these changed parts as "deleted/added".
-			lineHTML = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(diffLineType, diff1, diff2)
-		} else {
-			// if left is empty or right is empty (a line is fully deleted or added), then we do not need to diff anymore.
-			// the tmpl code already adds background colors for these cases.
-			lineHTML = util.Iif(diffLineType == DiffLineDel, diff1, diff2)
-		}
+		// left and right are the same, no need to do line-level diff, can just pick any side
+		// caller always uses the "right side" for this type
+		lineHTML := diffSection.getLineContentForRender(rightLine.RightIdx, rightLine, fileLanguage, highlightedRightLines)
+		return diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(lineHTML, locale)
 	}
-	return DiffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(lineHTML, locale)
+
+	var diffs [2]template.HTML
+	if leftLine != nil {
+		diffs[0] = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(leftLine.LeftIdx, leftLine, fileLanguage, highlightedLeftLines)
+	}
+	if rightLine != nil {
+		diffs[1] = diffSection.getLineContentForRender(rightLine.RightIdx, rightLine, fileLanguage, highlightedRightLines)
+	}
+
+	if leftLine != nil && rightLine != nil {
+		// if only some parts of a line are changed, highlight these changed parts as "deleted/added".
+		// "diff" the left&right sides together, then cache the diff result for another side,
+		// because when viewing the diff page, both "deleted" and "added" lines will to be rendered eventually,
+		// so here only diff them once, then next render can just use the cached result, no need to "diff" again.
+		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
+		lineHTMLDel, lineHTMLAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(diffs[0], diffs[1])
+		leftLine.cachedDiffInline = new(diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(lineHTMLDel, locale))
+		rightLine.cachedDiffInline = new(diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(lineHTMLAdd, locale))
+		return *lines[sideIdx].cachedDiffInline
+	}
+
+	// if left is empty or right is empty (a line is fully deleted or added), then we do not need to diff anymore.
+	// the tmpl code already adds background colors for these cases.
+	return diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(diffs[sideIdx], locale)
 }

 // GetComputedInlineDiffFor computes inline diff for the given line.
@@ -404,7 +408,8 @@ func (diffSection *DiffSection) GetComputedInlineDiffFor(diffLine *DiffLine, loc
 	// try to find equivalent diff line. ignore, otherwise
 	switch diffLine.Type {
 	case DiffLineSection:
-		return getLineContent(diffLine.Content, locale)
+		// section content is a diff hunk header, it isn't code diff, its trailing context might come from the file content, might not
+		return diffInlineWithUnicodeEscape(htmlutil.EscapeString(diffLine.Content), locale)
 	case DiffLineAdd:
 		compareDiffLine := diffSection.GetLine(diffLine.Match)
 		return diffSection.getDiffLineForRender(DiffLineAdd, compareDiffLine, diffLine, locale)
@@ -412,8 +417,8 @@ func (diffSection *DiffSection) GetComputedInlineDiffFor(diffLine *DiffLine, loc
 		compareDiffLine := diffSection.GetLine(diffLine.Match)
 		return diffSection.getDiffLineForRender(DiffLineDel, diffLine, compareDiffLine, locale)
 	default: // Plain
-		// TODO: there was an "if" check: `if diffLine.Content >strings.IndexByte(" +-", diffLine.Content[0]) > -1 { ... } else { ... }`
-		// no idea why it needs that check, it seems that the "if" should be always true, so try to simplify the code
+		// Here it always uses "right side" to render the plain content (unchanged lines)
+		// tmpl also uses "RightIdx" to check whether to add "lines-code-old" CSS class to a line
 		return diffSection.getDiffLineForRender(DiffLinePlain, nil, diffLine, locale)
 	}
 }
@@ -539,8 +544,7 @@ func (diffFile *DiffFile) addTailSection(detail DiffRenderDetail) {
 	lastSection := diffFile.Sections[len(diffFile.Sections)-1]
 	lastLine := lastSection.Lines[len(lastSection.Lines)-1]
 	tailDiffLine := &DiffLine{
-		Type:    DiffLineSection,
-		Content: " ",
+		Type: DiffLineSection,
 		SectionInfo: &DiffLineSectionInfo{
 			language:     &diffFile.language,
 			Path:         diffFile.Name,
--- a/services/gitdiff/gitdiff_test.go
+++ b/services/gitdiff/gitdiff_test.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"gitea.dev/modules/git/gitcmd"
 	"gitea.dev/modules/json"
 	"gitea.dev/modules/setting"
+	"gitea.dev/modules/translation"

 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -1109,6 +1110,15 @@ func TestDiffLine_GetExpandDirection(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }

+func TestDiffSection_GetComputedInlineDiffFor(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Section", func(t *testing.T) {
+		diffLine := &DiffLine{Type: DiffLineSection, Content: "@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@ func \u202ename() <b>"}
+		diffInline := (&DiffSection{}).GetComputedInlineDiffFor(diffLine, translation.MockLocale{})
+		assert.True(t, diffInline.EscapeStatus.Escaped)
+		assert.Equal(t, `@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@ func <span class="escaped-code-point" data-escaped="[U+202E]"><span class="char">`+"\u202e"+`</span></span>name() &lt;b&gt;`, string(diffInline.Content))
+	})
+}
+
 func TestHighlightCodeLines(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("CharsetDetecting", func(t *testing.T) {
 		diffFile := &DiffFile{
--- a/services/gitdiff/highlightdiff.go
+++ b/services/gitdiff/highlightdiff.go
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) diffEqualPartIsSpaceOnly(s string) bool {
 	return true
 }

-func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) diffLineWithHighlight(lineType DiffLineType, codeA, codeB template.HTML) template.HTML {
+func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB template.HTML) (del, add template.HTML) {
 	hcd.collectUsedRunes(codeA)
 	hcd.collectUsedRunes(codeB)

@@ -161,8 +161,6 @@ func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) diffLineWithHighlight(lineType DiffLineType, codeA
 	diffs := dmp.DiffMain(convertedCodeA, convertedCodeB, true)
 	diffs = dmp.DiffCleanupSemantic(diffs)

-	buf := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
-
 	if hcd.diffCodeClose == 0 {
 		// tests can pre-set the placeholders
 		hcd.diffCodeAddedOpen = hcd.registerTokenAsPlaceholder(`<span class="added-code">`)
@@ -183,32 +181,37 @@ func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) diffLineWithHighlight(lineType DiffLineType, codeA
 	// only add "added"/"removed" tags when needed:
 	// * non-space contents appear in the DiffEqual parts (not a full-line add/del)
 	// * placeholder map still works (not exhausted, can get the closing tag placeholder)
+	bufDel := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
+	bufAdd := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
 	addDiffTags := !equalPartSpaceOnly && hcd.diffCodeClose != 0
 	if addDiffTags {
 		for _, diff := range diffs {
-			switch {
-			case diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffEqual:
-				buf.WriteString(diff.Text)
-			case diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffInsert && lineType == DiffLineAdd:
-				buf.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeAddedOpen)
-				buf.WriteString(diff.Text)
-				buf.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeClose)
-			case diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffDelete && lineType == DiffLineDel:
-				buf.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeRemovedOpen)
-				buf.WriteString(diff.Text)
-				buf.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeClose)
+			switch diff.Type {
+			case diffmatchpatch.DiffEqual:
+				bufDel.WriteString(diff.Text)
+				bufAdd.WriteString(diff.Text)
+			case diffmatchpatch.DiffInsert:
+				bufAdd.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeAddedOpen)
+				bufAdd.WriteString(diff.Text)
+				bufAdd.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeClose)
+			case diffmatchpatch.DiffDelete:
+				bufDel.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeRemovedOpen)
+				bufDel.WriteString(diff.Text)
+				bufDel.WriteRune(hcd.diffCodeClose)
 			}
 		}
 	} else {
 		// the caller will still add added/removed backgrounds for the whole line
 		for _, diff := range diffs {
-			take := diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffEqual || (diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffInsert && lineType == DiffLineAdd) || (diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffDelete && lineType == DiffLineDel)
-			if take {
-				buf.WriteString(diff.Text)
+			if diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffEqual || diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffDelete {
+				bufDel.WriteString(diff.Text)
+			}
+			if diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffEqual || diff.Type == diffmatchpatch.DiffInsert {
+				bufAdd.WriteString(diff.Text)
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	return hcd.recoverOneDiff(buf.String())
+	return hcd.recoverOneDiff(util.UnsafeBytesToString(bufDel.Bytes())), hcd.recoverOneDiff(util.UnsafeBytesToString(bufAdd.Bytes()))
 }

 func (hcd *highlightCodeDiff) registerTokenAsPlaceholder(token string) rune {
--- a/services/gitdiff/highlightdiff_test.go
+++ b/services/gitdiff/highlightdiff_test.go
@@ -10,31 +10,20 @@ import (
 	"testing"

 	"gitea.dev/modules/highlight"
+	"gitea.dev/modules/translation"

+	"github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )

-func BenchmarkHighlightDiff(b *testing.B) {
-	for b.Loop() {
-		// still fast enough: BenchmarkHighlightDiff-12    	 1000000	      1027 ns/op
-		// TODO: the real bottleneck is that "diffLineWithHighlight" is called twice when rendering "added" and "removed" lines by the caller
-		// Ideally the caller should cache the diff result, and then use the diff result to render "added" and "removed" lines separately
-		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
-		codeA := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">foo</span> y`)
-		codeB := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">bar</span> y`)
-		hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, codeA, codeB)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestDiffWithHighlight(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("DiffLineAddDel", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run("WithDiffTags", func(t *testing.T) {
 			hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
 			codeA := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">foo</span> y`)
 			codeB := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">bar</span> y`)
-			outDel := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, codeA, codeB)
+			outDel, outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB)
 			assert.Equal(t, `x <span class="removed-code"><span class="k">foo</span></span> y`, string(outDel))
-			outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, codeA, codeB)
 			assert.Equal(t, `x <span class="added-code"><span class="k">bar</span></span> y`, string(outAdd))
 		})
 		t.Run("NoRedundantTags", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -43,9 +32,8 @@ func TestDiffWithHighlight(t *testing.T) {
 			hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
 			codeA := template.HTML("<span> </span> \t<span>foo</span> ")
 			codeB := template.HTML(" <span>bar</span> \n")
-			outDel := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, codeA, codeB)
+			outDel, outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB)
 			assert.Equal(t, string(codeA), string(outDel))
-			outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, codeA, codeB)
 			assert.Equal(t, string(codeB), string(outAdd))
 		})
 	})
@@ -54,16 +42,14 @@ func TestDiffWithHighlight(t *testing.T) {
 		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
 		codeA := template.HTML(` <span class="cm">this is a comment</span>`)
 		codeB := template.HTML(` <span class="cm">this is updated comment</span>`)
-		outDel := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, codeA, codeB)
+		outDel, outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB)
 		assert.Equal(t, ` <span class="cm">this is <span class="removed-code">a</span> comment</span>`, string(outDel))
-		outAdd := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, codeA, codeB)
 		assert.Equal(t, ` <span class="cm">this is <span class="added-code">updated</span> comment</span>`, string(outAdd))

 		codeA = `<span class="line"><span>line1</span></span>` + "\n" + `<span class="cl"><span>line2</span></span>`
 		codeB = `<span class="cl"><span>line1</span></span>` + "\n" + `<span class="line"><span>line!</span></span>`
-		outDel = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, codeA, codeB)
+		outDel, outAdd = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB)
 		assert.Equal(t, `<span>line1</span>`+"\n"+`<span class="removed-code"><span>line2</span></span>`, string(outDel))
-		outAdd = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, codeA, codeB)
 		assert.Equal(t, `<span>line1</span>`+"\n"+`<span><span class="added-code">line!</span></span>`, string(outAdd))
 	})

@@ -79,12 +65,12 @@ func TestDiffWithHighlight(t *testing.T) {
 		oldCode, _, _ := highlight.RenderCodeSlowGuess("a.go", "Go", `xxx || yyy`)
 		newCode, _, _ := highlight.RenderCodeSlowGuess("a.go", "Go", `bot&xxx || bot&yyy`)
 		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
-		out := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, oldCode, newCode)
+		_, add := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(oldCode, newCode)
 		assert.Equal(t, strings.ReplaceAll(`
 <span class="added-code"><span class="nx">bot</span></span><span class="o"><span class="added-code">&amp;</span></span>
 <span class="nx">xxx</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"> </span>
 <span class="added-code"><span class="nx">bot</span></span><span class="o"><span class="added-code">&amp;</span></span>
-<span class="nx">yyy</span>`, "\n", ""), string(out))
+<span class="nx">yyy</span>`, "\n", ""), string(add))
 	})

 	forceTokenAsPlaceholder := func(hcd *highlightCodeDiff, r rune, token string) rune {
@@ -127,14 +113,14 @@ func TestDiffWithHighlight(t *testing.T) {

 func TestDiffWithHighlightPlaceholder(t *testing.T) {
 	hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
-	output := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, "a='\U00100000'", "a='\U0010FFFD''")
+	output, _ := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight("a='\U00100000'", "a='\U0010FFFD''")
 	assert.Empty(t, hcd.placeholderTokenMap[0x00100000])
 	assert.Empty(t, hcd.placeholderTokenMap[0x0010FFFD])
 	expected := fmt.Sprintf(`a='<span class="removed-code">%s</span>'`, "\U00100000")
 	assert.Equal(t, expected, string(output))

 	hcd = newHighlightCodeDiff()
-	output = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, "a='\U00100000'", "a='\U0010FFFD'")
+	_, output = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight("a='\U00100000'", "a='\U0010FFFD'")
 	expected = fmt.Sprintf(`a='<span class="added-code">%s</span>'`, "\U0010FFFD")
 	assert.Equal(t, expected, string(output))
 }
@@ -143,32 +129,58 @@ func TestDiffWithHighlightPlaceholderExhausted(t *testing.T) {
 	hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
 	hcd.placeholderMaxCount = 0
 	placeHolderAmp := string(rune(0xFFFD))
-	output := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, `<span class="k">&lt;</span>`, `<span class="k">&gt;</span>`)
-	assert.Equal(t, placeHolderAmp+"lt;", string(output))
-	output = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, `<span class="k">&lt;</span>`, `<span class="k">&gt;</span>`)
-	assert.Equal(t, placeHolderAmp+"gt;", string(output))
+	del, add := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(`<span class="k">&lt;</span>`, `<span class="k">&gt;</span>`)
+	assert.Equal(t, placeHolderAmp+"lt;", string(del))
+	assert.Equal(t, placeHolderAmp+"gt;", string(add))

-	output = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineDel, `<span class="k">foo</span>`, `<span class="k">bar</span>`)
-	assert.Equal(t, "foo", string(output))
-	output = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(DiffLineAdd, `<span class="k">foo</span>`, `<span class="k">bar</span>`)
-	assert.Equal(t, "bar", string(output))
+	del, add = hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(`<span class="k">foo</span>`, `<span class="k">bar</span>`)
+	assert.Equal(t, "foo", string(del))
+	assert.Equal(t, "bar", string(add))
 }

 func TestDiffWithHighlightTagMatch(t *testing.T) {
-	f := func(t *testing.T, lineType DiffLineType) {
-		totalOverflow := 0
-		for i := 0; ; i++ {
-			hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
-			hcd.placeholderMaxCount = i
-			output := string(hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(lineType, `<span class="k">&lt;</span>`, `<span class="k">&gt;</span>`))
-			totalOverflow += hcd.placeholderOverflowCount
-			assert.Equal(t, strings.Count(output, "<span"), strings.Count(output, "</span"))
-			if hcd.placeholderOverflowCount == 0 {
-				break
-			}
+	totalOverflow := 0
+	for i := 0; ; i++ {
+		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
+		hcd.placeholderMaxCount = i
+		del, add := hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(`<span class="k">&lt;</span>`, `<span class="k">&gt;</span>`)
+		totalOverflow += hcd.placeholderOverflowCount
+		assert.Equal(t, strings.Count(string(del), "<span"), strings.Count(string(del), "</span"))
+		assert.Equal(t, strings.Count(string(add), "<span"), strings.Count(string(add), "</span"))
+		if hcd.placeholderOverflowCount == 0 {
+			break
 		}
-		assert.NotZero(t, totalOverflow)
 	}
-	t.Run("DiffLineAdd", func(t *testing.T) { f(t, DiffLineAdd) })
-	t.Run("DiffLineDel", func(t *testing.T) { f(t, DiffLineDel) })
+	assert.NotZero(t, totalOverflow)
+}
+
+func BenchmarkHighlightDiff(b *testing.B) {
+	// still fast enough: BenchmarkHighlightDiff-12    	 1000000	      1027 ns/op
+	// HINT: CODE-HIGHLIGHT-PERFORMANCE: the real bottleneck is in the Chroma highlighter.
+	for b.Loop() {
+		hcd := newHighlightCodeDiff()
+		codeA := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">foo</span> y`)
+		codeB := template.HTML(`x <span class="k">bar</span> y`)
+		hcd.diffLineWithHighlight(codeA, codeB)
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkGetDiffLineForRender(b *testing.B) {
+	diffSection := &DiffSection{
+		FileName:       "test.go",
+		highlightLexer: &diffVarMutable[chroma.Lexer]{},
+	}
+	leftLine := &DiffLine{LeftIdx: 1, Content: `-x <span class="k">foo</span> y`}
+	rightLine := &DiffLine{RightIdx: 1, Content: `+x <span class="k">bar</span> y`}
+	locale := translation.MockLocale{}
+
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	// HINT: CODE-HIGHLIGHT-PERFORMANCE: the real bottleneck is in the Chroma highlighter.
+	for b.Loop() {
+		// Clear cache only at the start of rendering the pair
+		leftLine.cachedDiffInline = nil
+		rightLine.cachedDiffInline = nil
+		_ = diffSection.getDiffLineForRender(DiffLineDel, leftLine, rightLine, locale)
+		_ = diffSection.getDiffLineForRender(DiffLineAdd, leftLine, rightLine, locale)
+	}
 }
--- a/services/markup/renderhelper_codepreview.go
+++ b/services/markup/renderhelper_codepreview.go
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func renderRepoFileCodePreview(ctx context.Context, opts markup.RenderCodePrevie
 	lineEscapeStatus := make([]*charset.EscapeStatus, len(highlightLines))
 	for i, hl := range highlightLines {
 		lineEscapeStatus[i], hl.FormattedContent = charset.EscapeControlHTML(hl.FormattedContent, webCtx.Base.Locale, charset.EscapeOptionsForView())
-		escapeStatus = escapeStatus.Or(lineEscapeStatus[i])
+		escapeStatus.Combine(lineEscapeStatus[i])
 	}

 	return webCtx.RenderToHTML("base/markup_codepreview", map[string]any{