diff --git a/tools/editor/main.cpp b/tools/editor/main.cpp
index 1d012b5e..b579a15b 100644
--- a/tools/editor/main.cpp
+++ b/tools/editor/main.cpp
@@ -620,6 +620,8 @@ static void printUsage(const char* argv0) {
     std::printf("                         Compare two WHM/WOT terrain pairs (chunks, height range, placements)\n");
     std::printf("  --diff-woc <a> <b> [--json]\n");
     std::printf("                         Compare two WOC collision meshes (triangles, walkable/steep counts, tile)\n");
+    std::printf("  --diff-jsondbc <a> <b> [--json]\n");
+    std::printf("                         Compare two JSON DBC sidecars (format/source/recordCount/fieldCount)\n");
     std::printf("  --pack-wcp <zone> [dst]   Pack a zone dir/name into a .wcp archive and exit\n");
     std::printf("  --unpack-wcp <wcp> [dst]  Extract a WCP archive (default dst=custom_zones/) and exit\n");
     std::printf("  --list-commands        Print every recognized --flag, one per line, and exit\n");
@@ -719,6 +721,11 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
                 "--diff-woc requires <a.woc> <b.woc>\n");
             return 1;
         }
+        if (std::strcmp(argv[i], "--diff-jsondbc") == 0 && i + 2 >= argc) {
+            std::fprintf(stderr,
+                "--diff-jsondbc requires <a.json> <b.json>\n");
+            return 1;
+        }
         if (std::strcmp(argv[i], "--diff-wcp") == 0 && i + 2 >= argc) {
             std::fprintf(stderr, "--diff-wcp requires two paths\n");
             return 1;
@@ -3453,6 +3460,83 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
                 return 0;
             }
             return 1;
+        } else if (std::strcmp(argv[i], "--diff-jsondbc") == 0 && i + 2 < argc) {
+            // JSON DBC structural diff. Catches schema regressions when
+            // a sidecar is regenerated by a different tool version (or
+            // a different DBC layout produces a different field count).
+            std::string aPath = argv[++i];
+            std::string bPath = argv[++i];
+            bool jsonOut = (i + 1 < argc &&
+                            std::strcmp(argv[i + 1], "--json") == 0);
+            if (jsonOut) i++;
+            auto loadDoc = [](const std::string& p, nlohmann::json& doc) {
+                std::ifstream in(p);
+                if (!in) return false;
+                try { in >> doc; } catch (...) { return false; }
+                return true;
+            };
+            nlohmann::json a, b;
+            if (!loadDoc(aPath, a)) {
+                std::fprintf(stderr, "diff-jsondbc: failed to read %s\n", aPath.c_str());
+                return 1;
+            }
+            if (!loadDoc(bPath, b)) {
+                std::fprintf(stderr, "diff-jsondbc: failed to read %s\n", bPath.c_str());
+                return 1;
+            }
+            // Pull comparable fields with safe defaults.
+            std::string aFmt = a.value("format", std::string{});
+            std::string bFmt = b.value("format", std::string{});
+            std::string aSrc = a.value("source", std::string{});
+            std::string bSrc = b.value("source", std::string{});
+            uint32_t aRC = a.value("recordCount", 0u);
+            uint32_t bRC = b.value("recordCount", 0u);
+            uint32_t aFC = a.value("fieldCount", 0u);
+            uint32_t bFC = b.value("fieldCount", 0u);
+            uint32_t aActual = (a.contains("records") && a["records"].is_array())
+                ? static_cast<uint32_t>(a["records"].size()) : 0u;
+            uint32_t bActual = (b.contains("records") && b["records"].is_array())
+                ? static_cast<uint32_t>(b["records"].size()) : 0u;
+            int diffs = 0;
+            if (aFmt != bFmt) diffs++;
+            if (aSrc != bSrc) diffs++;
+            if (aRC != bRC) diffs++;
+            if (aFC != bFC) diffs++;
+            if (aActual != bActual) diffs++;
+            if (jsonOut) {
+                nlohmann::json j;
+                j["a"] = aPath; j["b"] = bPath;
+                j["format"]      = {{"a", aFmt},     {"b", bFmt}};
+                j["source"]      = {{"a", aSrc},     {"b", bSrc}};
+                j["recordCount"] = {{"a", aRC},      {"b", bRC}};
+                j["fieldCount"]  = {{"a", aFC},      {"b", bFC}};
+                j["actualRecs"]  = {{"a", aActual},  {"b", bActual}};
+                j["totalDiffs"] = diffs;
+                j["identical"]  = (diffs == 0);
+                std::printf("%s\n", j.dump(2).c_str());
+                return diffs == 0 ? 0 : 1;
+            }
+            auto cmpStr = [](const char* lbl, const std::string& a, const std::string& b) {
+                std::printf("  %-12s: %-20s %-20s  %s\n", lbl,
+                            a.empty() ? "(unset)" : a.c_str(),
+                            b.empty() ? "(unset)" : b.c_str(),
+                            a == b ? "" : "DIFF");
+            };
+            auto cmpNum = [](const char* lbl, uint32_t a, uint32_t b) {
+                std::printf("  %-12s: %20u %20u  %s\n", lbl, a, b,
+                            a == b ? "" : "DIFF");
+            };
+            std::printf("Diff: %s vs %s\n", aPath.c_str(), bPath.c_str());
+            cmpStr("format",      aFmt, bFmt);
+            cmpStr("source",      aSrc, bSrc);
+            cmpNum("recordCount", aRC, bRC);
+            cmpNum("fieldCount",  aFC, bFC);
+            cmpNum("actualRecs",  aActual, bActual);
+            if (diffs == 0) {
+                std::printf("  IDENTICAL\n");
+                return 0;
+            }
+            return 1;
         } else if (std::strcmp(argv[i], "--list-wcp") == 0 && i + 1 < argc) {
             // Like --info-wcp but prints every file path. Useful for spotting
             // missing or unexpected entries before unpacking.