CVS(1) CVS(1)
NAME
cvs - Concurrent Versions System
SYNOPSIS
cvs [ cvs_options ]
cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]
NOTE
This manpage is a summary of some of the features of cvs. It is
auto-generated from an appendix of the CVS manual. For more in-depth
documentation, please consult the Cederqvist manual (via the info CVS
command or otherwise, as described in the SEE ALSO section of this
manpage). Cross-references in this man page refer to nodes in the
same.
CVS commands
Guide to CVS commands
This appendix describes the overall structure of cvs commands, and
describes some commands in detail (others are described elsewhere; for
a quick reference to cvs commands, see node `Invoking CVS in the CVS
manual).
Structure
Overall structure of CVS commands
The overall format of all cvs commands is:
cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]
cvs
The name of the cvs program.
cvs_options
Some options that affect all sub-commands of cvs. These are
described below.
cvs_command
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One of several different sub-commands. Some of the commands have
aliases that can be used instead; those aliases are noted in the
reference manual for that command. There are only two situations
where you may omit cvs_command: cvs -H elicits a list of available
commands, and cvs -v displays version information on cvs itself.
command_options
Options that are specific for the command.
command_args
Arguments to the commands.
There is unfortunately some confusion between cvs_options and
command_options. When given as a cvs_option, some options only
affect some of the commands. When given as a command_option it may
have a different meaning, and be accepted by more commands. In
other words, do not take the above categorization too seriously.
Look at the documentation instead.
Exit status
CVSs exit status
cvs can indicate to the calling environment whether it succeeded or
failed by setting its exit status. The exact way of testing the exit
status will vary from one operating system to another. For example in
a unix shell script the $? variable will be 0 if the last command
returned a successful exit status, or greater than 0 if the exit
status indicated failure.
If cvs is successful, it returns a successful status; if there is an
error, it prints an error message and returns a failure status. The
one exception to this is the cvs diff command. It will return a
successful status if it found no differences, or a failure status if
there were differences or if there was an error. Because this
behavior provides no good way to detect errors, in the future it is
possible that cvs diff will be changed to behave like the other cvs
commands.
~/.cvsrc
Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file
There are some command_options that are used so often that you might
have set up an alias or some other means to make sure you always
specify that option. One example (the one that drove the
implementation of the default output of the diff command to be very
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hard to read, and that either context diffs or unidiffs are much
easier to understand.
The ~/.cvsrc file is a way that you can add default options to
cvs_commands within cvs, instead of relying on aliases or other shell
scripts.
The format of the ~/.cvsrc file is simple. The file is searched for a
line that begins with the same name as the cvs_command being executed.
If a match is found, then the remainder of the line is split up (at
whitespace characters) into separate options and added to the command
arguments before any options from the command line.
If a command has two names (e.g., checkout and co), the official name,
not necessarily the one used on the command line, will be used to
match against the file. So if this is the contents of the users
~/.cvsrc file:
log -N
diff -uN
rdiff -u
update -Pd
checkout -P
release -d
the command cvs checkout foo would have the -P option added to the
arguments, as well as cvs co foo.
With the example file above, the output from cvs diff foobar will be
in unidiff format. cvs diff -c foobar will provide context diffs, as
usual. Getting "old" format diffs would be slightly more complicated,
because diff doesnt have an option to specify use of the "old" format,
so you would need cvs -f diff foobar.
In place of the command name you can use cvs to specify global options
(see node `Global options in the CVS manual). For example the
following line in .cvsrc
cvs -z6
causes cvs to use compression level 6.
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Global options
The available cvs_options (that are given to the left of cvs_command)
are:
--allow-root=rootdir
Specify legal cvsroot directory. See `Password authentication
server in the CVS manual.
-a
Authenticate all communication between the client and the server.
Only has an effect on the cvs client. As of this writing, this is
only implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI
authenticated in the CVS manual). Authentication prevents certain
sorts of attacks involving hijacking the active tcp connection.
Enabling authentication does not enable encryption.
-b bindir
In cvs 1.9.18 and older, this specified that rcs programs are in the
bindir directory. Current versions of cvs do not run rcs programs;
for compatibility this option is accepted, but it does nothing.
-T tempdir
Use tempdir as the directory where temporary files are located.
Overrides the setting of the $TMPDIR environment variable and any
precompiled directory. This parameter should be specified as an
absolute pathname. (When running client/server, -T affects only the
local process; specifying -T for the client has no effect on the
server and vice versa.)
-d cvs_root_directory
Use cvs_root_directory as the root directory pathname of the
repository. Overrides the setting of the $CVSROOT environment
variable. See `Repository in the CVS manual.
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-e editor
Use editor to enter revision log information. Overrides the setting
of the $CVSEDITOR and $EDITOR environment variables. For more
information, see `Committing your changes in the CVS manual.
-f
Do not read the ~/.cvsrc file. This option is most often used
because of the non-orthogonality of the cvs option set. For
example, the cvs log option -N (turn off display of tag names) does
not have a corresponding option to turn the display on. So if you
have -N in the ~/.cvsrc entry for log, you may need to use -f to
show the tag names.
-H
--help
Display usage information about the specified cvs_command (but do
not actually execute the command). If you dont specify a command
name, cvs -H displays overall help for cvs, including a list of
other help options.
-n
Do not change any files. Attempt to execute the cvs_command, but
only to issue reports; do not remove, update, or merge any existing
files, or create any new files.
Note that cvs will not necessarily produce exactly the same output
as without -n. In some cases the output will be the same, but in
other cases cvs will skip some of the processing that would have
been required to produce the exact same output.
-Q
Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only generate
output for serious problems.
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-q
Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages, such
as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are suppressed.
-r
Make new working files read-only. Same effect as if the $CVSREAD
environment variable is set (see node `Environment variables in the
CVS manual). The default is to make working files writable, unless
watches are on (see node `Watches in the CVS manual).
-s variable=value
Set a user variable (see node `Variables in the CVS manual).
-t
Trace program execution; display messages showing the steps of cvs
activity. Particularly useful with -n to explore the potential
impact of an unfamiliar command.
-v
--version
Display version and copyright information for cvs.
-w
Make new working files read-write. Overrides the setting of the
$CVSREAD environment variable. Files are created read-write by
default, unless $CVSREAD is set or -r is given.
-x
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Encrypt all communication between the client and the server. Only
has an effect on the cvs client. As of this writing, this is only
implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI
authenticated in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection (see node
`Kerberos authenticated in the CVS manual). Enabling encryption
implies that message traffic is also authenticated. Encryption
support is not available by default; it must be enabled using a
special configure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.
-z gzip-level
Set the compression level. Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low
compression) to 9 (low speed, high compression), or 0 to disable
compression (the default). Only has an effect on the cvs client.
Common options
Common command options
This section describes the command_options that are available across
several cvs commands. These options are always given to the right of
cvs_command. Not all commands support all of these options; each
option is only supported for commands where it makes sense. However,
when a command has one of these options you can almost always count on
the same behavior of the option as in other commands. (Other command
options, which are listed with the individual commands, may have
different behavior from one cvs command to the other).
The history command is an exception; it supports many options that
conflict even with these standard options.
-D date_spec
Use the most recent revision no later than date_spec. date_spec is
a single argument, a date description specifying a date in the past.
The specification is sticky when you use it to make a private copy
of a source file; that is, when you get a working file using -D, cvs
records the date you specified, so that further updates in the same
directory will use the same date (for more information on sticky
tags/dates, see node `Sticky tags in the CVS manual).
-D is available with the annotate, checkout, diff, export, history,
rdiff, rtag, and update commands. (The history command uses this
option in a slightly different way; see node `history options in the
CVS manual).
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A wide variety of date formats are supported by cvs. The most
standard ones are ISO8601 (from the International Standards
Organization) and the Internet e-mail standard (specified in RFC822
as amended by RFC1123).
ISO8601 dates have many variants but a few examples are:
1972-09-24
1972-09-24 20:05
There are a lot more ISO8601 date formats, and cvs accepts many of
them, but you probably dont want to hear the whole long story :-).
In addition to the dates allowed in Internet e-mail itself, cvs also
allows some of the fields to be omitted. For example:
24 Sep 1972 20:05
24 Sep
The date is interpreted as being in the local timezone, unless a
specific timezone is specified.
These two date formats are preferred. However, cvs currently
accepts a wide variety of other date formats. They are
intentionally not documented here in any detail, and future versions
of cvs might not accept all of them.
One such format is month/day/year. This may confuse people who are
accustomed to having the month and day in the other order; 1/4/96 is
January 4, not April 1.
Remember to quote the argument to the -D flag so that your shell
doesnt interpret spaces as argument separators. A command using the
-D flag can look like this:
$ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo
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-f
When you specify a particular date or tag to cvs commands, they
normally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not exist
prior to the date) that you specified. Use the -f option if you
want files retrieved even when there is no match for the tag or
date. (The most recent revision of the file will be used).
Note that even with -f, a tag that you specify must exist (that is,
in some file, not necessary in every file). This is so that cvs
will continue to give an error if you mistype a tag name.
-f is available with these commands: annotate, checkout, export,
rdiff, rtag, and update.
WARNING: The commit and remove commands also have a -f option, but
it has a different behavior for those commands. See `commit options
in the CVS manual, and `Removing files in the CVS manual.
-k kflag
Alter the default processing of keywords. See `Keyword substitution
in the CVS manual, for the meaning of kflag. Your kflag
specification is sticky when you use it to create a private copy of
a source file; that is, when you use this option with the checkout
or update commands, cvs associates your selected kflag with the
file, and continues to use it with future update commands on the
same file until you specify otherwise.
The -k option is available with the add, checkout, diff, rdiff,
import and update commands.
-l
Local; run only in current working directory, rather than recursing
through subdirectories.
Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
diff, edit, editors, export, log, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag,
unedit, update, watch, and watchers.
-m message
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Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.
Available with the following commands: add, commit and import.
-n
Do not run any tag program. (A program can be specified to run in
the modules database (see node `modules in the CVS manual); this
option bypasses it).
This is not the same as the cvs -n program option, which you can
specify to the left of a cvs command!
Available with the checkout, export, and rtag commands.
-P
Prune empty directories. See `Removing directories in the CVS
manual.
-p
Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output,
rather than writing them in the current directory. Available with
the checkout and update commands.
-R
Process directories recursively. This is on by default.
Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
diff, edit, editors, export, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag,
unedit, update, watch, and watchers.
-r tag
Use the revision specified by the tag argument instead of the
default head revision. As well as arbitrary tags defined with the
tag or rtag command, two special tags are always available: HEAD
refers to the most recent version available in the repository, and
BASE refers to the revision you last checked out into the current
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working directory.
The tag specification is sticky when you use this with checkout or
update to make your own copy of a file: cvs remembers the tag and
continues to use it on future update commands, until you specify
otherwise (for more information on sticky tags/dates, see node
`Sticky tags in the CVS manual).
The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as described in
`Tags in the CVS manual, or the name of a branch, as described in
`Branching and merging in the CVS manual. When a command expects a
specific revision, the name of a branch is interpreted as the most
recent revision on that branch.
Specifying the -q global option along with the -r command option is
often useful, to suppress the warning messages when the rcs file
does not contain the specified tag.
This is not the same as the overall cvs -r option, which you can
specify to the left of a cvs command!
-r is available with the annotate, checkout, commit, diff, history,
export, rdiff, rtag, and update commands.
-W
Specify file names that should be filtered. You can use this option
repeatedly. The spec can be a file name pattern of the same type
that you can specify in the .cvswrappers file. Available with the
following commands: import, and update.
add
Add files and directories to the repository
+ Synopsis: add [-k rcs-kflag] [-m message] files...
+ Requires: repository, working directory.
+ Changes: repository, working directory.
The add command is used to present new files and directories for
addition into the cvs repository. When add is used on a directory,
a new directory is created in the repository immediately. When used
on a file, only the working directory is updated. Changes to the
repository are not made until the commit command is used on the
newly added file.
The add command also resurrects files that have been previously
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removed. This can be done before or after the commit command is
used to finalize the removal of files. Resurrected files are
restored into the working directory at the time the add command is
executed.
add options
These standard options are supported by add (see node `Common options
in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
-k kflag
Process keywords according to kflag. See `Keyword substitution in
the CVS manual. This option is sticky; future updates of this file
in this working directory will use the same kflag. The status
command can be viewed to see the sticky options. For more
information on the status command, see node `Invoking CVS in the CVS
manual.
-m message
Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.
add examples
Adding a directory
$ mkdir doc
$ cvs add doc
Directory /path/to/repository/doc added to the repository
Adding a file
$ >TODO
$ cvs add TODO
cvs add: scheduling file `TODO for addition
cvs add: use cvs commit to add this file permanently
Undoing a remove command
$ rm -f makefile
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$ cvs remove makefile
cvs remove: scheduling `makefile for removal
cvs remove: use cvs commit to remove this file permanently
$ cvs add makefile
U makefile
cvs add: makefile, version 1.2, resurrected
admin
Administration
+ Requires: repository, working directory.
+ Changes: repository.
+ Synonym: rcs
This is the cvs interface to assorted administrative facilities.
Some of them have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist for
historical purposes. Some of the questionable options are likely to
disappear in the future. This command does work recursively, so
extreme care should be used.
On unix, if there is a group named cvsadmin, only members of that
group can run cvs admin (except for the cvs admin -k command, which
can be run by anybody). This group should exist on the server, or
any system running the non-client/server cvs. To disallow cvs admin
for all users, create a group with no users in it. On NT, the
cvsadmin feature does not exist and all users can run cvs admin.
admin options
Some of these options have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist
for historical purposes. Some even make it impossible to use cvs
until you undo the effect!
-Aoldfile
Might not work together with cvs. Append the access list of oldfile
to the access list of the rcs file.
-alogins
Might not work together with cvs. Append the login names appearing
in the comma-separated list logins to the access list of the rcs
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file.
-b[rev]
Set the default branch to rev. In cvs, you normally do not
manipulate default branches; sticky tags (see node `Sticky tags in
the CVS manual) are a better way to decide which branch you want to
work on. There is one reason to run cvs admin -b: to revert to the
vendors version when using vendor branches (see node `Reverting
local changes in the CVS manual). There can be no space between -b
and its argument.
-cstring
Sets the comment leader to string. The comment leader is not used
by current versions of cvs or rcs 5.7. Therefore, you can almost
surely not worry about it. See `Keyword substitution in the CVS
manual.
-e[logins]
Might not work together with cvs. Erase the login names appearing
in the comma-separated list logins from the access list of the RCS
file. If logins is omitted, erase the entire access list. There
can be no space between -e and its argument.
-I
Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.
This option does not work with the client/server cvs and is likely
to disappear in a future release of cvs.
-i
Useless with cvs. This creates and initializes a new rcs file,
without depositing a revision. With cvs, add files with the cvs add
command (see node `Adding files in the CVS manual).
-ksubst
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Set the default keyword substitution to subst. See `Keyword
substitution in the CVS manual. Giving an explicit -k option to cvs
update, cvs export, or cvs checkout overrides this default.
-l[rev]
Lock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, lock the
latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, lock the latest
revision on the default branch. There can be no space between -l
and its argument.
This can be used in conjunction with the rcslock.pl script in the
contrib directory of the cvs source distribution to provide reserved
checkouts (where only one user can be editing a given file at a
time). See the comments in that file for details (and see the
README file in that directory for disclaimers about the unsupported
nature of contrib). According to comments in that file, locking
must set to strict (which is the default).
-L
Set locking to strict. Strict locking means that the owner of an
RCS file is not exempt from locking for checkin. For use with cvs,
strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
above.
-mrev:msg
Replace the log message of revision rev with msg.
-Nname[:[rev]]
Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name. For
use with magic branches, see `Magic branch numbers in the CVS
manual.
-nname[:[rev]]
Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev.
It is normally better to use cvs tag or cvs rtag instead. Delete
the symbolic name if both : and rev are omitted; otherwise, print an
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error message if name is already associated with another number. If
rev is symbolic, it is expanded before association. A rev
consisting of a branch number followed by a . stands for the current
latest revision in the branch. A : with an empty rev stands for the
current latest revision on the default branch, normally the trunk.
For example, cvs admin -nname: associates name with the current
latest revision of all the RCS files; this contrasts with cvs admin
-nname:$ which associates name with the revision numbers extracted
from keyword strings in the corresponding working files.
-orange
Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range.
Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless you know
exactly what you are doing (for example see the warnings below about
how the rev1:rev2 syntax is confusing).
If you are short on disc this option might help you. But think
twice before using it-there is no way short of restoring the latest
backup to undo this command! If you delete different revisions than
you planned, either due to carelessness or (heaven forbid) a cvs
bug, there is no opportunity to correct the error before the
revisions are deleted. It probably would be a good idea to
experiment on a copy of the repository first.
Specify range in one of the following ways:
rev1::rev2
Collapse all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that cvs only
stores the differences associated with going from rev1 to rev2,
not intermediate steps. For example, after -o 1.3::1.5 one can
retrieve revision 1.3, revision 1.5, or the differences to get
from 1.3 to 1.5, but not the revision 1.4, or the differences
between 1.3 and 1.4. Other examples: -o 1.3::1.4 and -o 1.3::1.3
have no effect, because there are no intermediate revisions to
remove.
::rev
Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch containing
rev and rev itself. The branchpoint and rev are left intact. For
example, -o ::1.3.2.6 deletes revision 1.3.2.1, revision 1.3.2.5,
and everything in between, but leaves 1.3 and 1.3.2.6 intact.
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rev::
Collapse revisions between rev and the end of the branch
containing rev. Revision rev is left intact but the head revision
is deleted.
rev
Delete the revision rev. For example, -o 1.3 is equivalent to -o
1.2::1.4.
rev1:rev2
Delete the revisions from rev1 to rev2, inclusive, on the same
branch. One will not be able to retrieve rev1 or rev2 or any of
the revisions in between. For example, the command cvs admin
-oR_1_01:R_1_02 . is rarely useful. It means to delete revisions
up to, and including, the tag R_1_02. But beware! If there are
files that have not changed between R_1_02 and R_1_03 the file
will have the same numerical revision number assigned to the tags
R_1_02 and R_1_03. So not only will it be impossible to retrieve
R_1_02; R_1_03 will also have to be restored from the tapes! In
most cases you want to specify rev1::rev2 instead.
:rev
Delete revisions from the beginning of the branch containing rev
up to and including rev.
rev:
Delete revisions from revision rev, including rev itself, to the
end of the branch containing rev.
None of the revisions to be deleted may have branches or locks.
If any of the revisions to be deleted have symbolic names, and one
specifies one of the :: syntaxes, then cvs will give an error and
not delete any revisions. If you really want to delete both the
symbolic names and the revisions, first delete the symbolic names
with cvs tag -d, then run cvs admin -o. If one specifies the
non-:: syntaxes, then cvs will delete the revisions but leave the
symbolic names pointing to nonexistent revisions. This behavior
is preserved for compatibility with previous versions of cvs, but
because it isnt very useful, in the future it may change to be
like the :: case.
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Due to the way cvs handles branches rev cannot be specified
symbolically if it is a branch. See `Magic branch numbers in the
CVS manual for an explanation.
Make sure that no-one has checked out a copy of the revision you
outdate. Strange things will happen if he starts to edit it and
tries to check it back in. For this reason, this option is not a
good way to take back a bogus commit; commit a new revision
undoing the bogus change instead (see node `Merging two revisions
in the CVS manual).
-q
Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
-sstate[:rev]
Useful with cvs. Set the state attribute of the revision rev to
state. If rev is a branch number, assume the latest revision on
that branch. If rev is omitted, assume the latest revision on the
default branch. Any identifier is acceptable for state. A useful
set of states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and Rel
(for released). By default, the state of a new revision is set to
Exp when it is created. The state is visible in the output from cvs
log (see node `log in the CVS manual), and in the $Log$ and $State$
keywords (see node `Keyword substitution in the CVS manual). Note
that cvs uses the dead state for its own purposes (see node `Attic
in the CVS manual); to take a file to or from the dead state use
commands like cvs remove and cvs add (see node `Adding and removing
in the CVS manual), not cvs admin -s.
-t[file]
Useful with cvs. Write descriptive text from the contents of the
named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing text. The file
pathname may not begin with -. The descriptive text can be seen in
the output from cvs log (see node `log in the CVS manual). There
can be no space between -t and its argument.
If file is omitted, obtain the text from standard input, terminated
by end-of-file or by a line containing . by itself. Prompt for the
text if interaction is possible; see -I.
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-t-string
Similar to -tfile. Write descriptive text from the string into the
rcs file, deleting the existing text. There can be no space between
-t and its argument.
-U
Set locking to non-strict. Non-strict locking means that the owner
of a file need not lock a revision for checkin. For use with cvs,
strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
above.
-u[rev]
See the option -l above, for a discussion of using this option with
cvs. Unlock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given,
unlock the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted,
remove the latest lock held by the caller. Normally, only the
locker of a revision may unlock it; somebody else unlocking a
revision breaks the lock. This causes the original locker to be
sent a commit notification (see node `Getting Notified in the CVS
manual). There can be no space between -u and its argument.
-Vn
In previous versions of cvs, this option meant to write an rcs file
which would be acceptable to rcs version n, but it is now obsolete
and specifying it will produce an error.
-xsuffixes
In previous versions of cvs, this was documented as a way of
specifying the names of the rcs files. However, cvs has always
required that the rcs files used by cvs end in ,v, so this option
has never done anything useful.
annotate
What revision modified each line of a file?
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+ Synopsis: annotate [options] files...
+ Requires: repository.
+ Synonym: blame
+ Changes: nothing.
For each file in files, print the head revision of the trunk,
together with information on the last modification for each line.
annotate options
These standard options are supported by annotate (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-l
Local directory only, no recursion.
-R
Process directories recursively.
-f
Use head revision if tag/date not found.
-F
Annotate binary files.
-r revision
Annotate file as of specified revision/tag.
-D date
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Annotate file as of specified date.
annotate example
For example:
$ cvs annotate ssfile
Annotations for ssfile
***************
1.1 (mary 27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1
1.2 (joe 28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2
The file ssfile currently contains two lines. The ssfile line 1 line
was checked in by mary on March 27. Then, on March 28, joe added a
line ssfile line 2, without modifying the ssfile line 1 line. This
report doesnt tell you anything about lines which have been deleted or
replaced; you need to use cvs diff for that (see node `diff in the CVS
manual).
The options to cvs annotate are listed in `Invoking CVS in the CVS
manual, and can be used to select the files and revisions to annotate.
The options are described in more detail there and in `Common options
in the CVS manual.
checkout
Check out sources for editing
+ Synopsis: checkout [options] modules...
+ Requires: repository.
+ Changes: working directory.
+ Synonyms: co, get
Create or update a working directory containing copies of the source
files specified by modules. You must execute checkout before using
most of the other cvs commands, since most of them operate on your
working directory.
The modules are either symbolic names for some collection of source
directories and files, or paths to directories or files in the
repository. The symbolic names are defined in the modules file.
See `modules in the CVS manual.
Depending on the modules you specify, checkout may recursively
create directories and populate them with the appropriate source
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files. You can then edit these source files at any time (regardless
of whether other software developers are editing their own copies of
the sources); update them to include new changes applied by others
to the source repository; or commit your work as a permanent change
to the source repository.
Note that checkout is used to create directories. The top-level
directory created is always added to the directory where checkout is
invoked, and usually has the same name as the specified module. In
the case of a module alias, the created sub-directory may have a
different name, but you can be sure that it will be a sub-directory,
and that checkout will show the relative path leading to each file
as it is extracted into your private work area (unless you specify
the -Q global option).
The files created by checkout are created read-write, unless the -r
option to cvs (see node `Global options in the CVS manual) is
specified, the CVSREAD environment variable is specified (see node
`Environment variables in the CVS manual), or a watch is in effect
for that file (see node `Watches in the CVS manual).
Note that running checkout on a directory that was already built by
a prior checkout is also permitted. This is similar to specifying
the -d option to the update command in the sense that new
directories that have been created in the repository will appear in
your work area. However, checkout takes a module name whereas
update takes a directory name. Also to use checkout this way it
must be run from the top level directory (where you originally ran
checkout from), so before you run checkout to update an existing
directory, dont forget to change your directory to the top level
directory.
For the output produced by the checkout command, see node `update
output in the CVS manual.
checkout options
These standard options are supported by checkout (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-D date
Use the most recent revision no later than date. This option is
sticky, and implies -P. See `Sticky tags in the CVS manual for more
information on sticky tags/dates.
-f
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Only useful with the -D date or -r tag flags. If no matching
revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of
ignoring the file).
-k kflag
Process keywords according to kflag. See `Keyword substitution in
the CVS manual. This option is sticky; future updates of this file
in this working directory will use the same kflag. The status
command can be viewed to see the sticky options. See `Invoking CVS
in the CVS manual for more information on the status command.
-l
Local; run only in current working directory.
-n
Do not run any checkout program (as specified with the -o option in
the modules file; see node `modules in the CVS manual).
-P
Prune empty directories. See `Moving directories in the CVS manual.
-p
Pipe files to the standard output.
-R
Checkout directories recursively. This option is on by default.
-r tag
Use revision tag. This option is sticky, and implies -P. See
`Sticky tags in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
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tags/dates.
In addition to those, you can use these special command options with
checkout:
-A
Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options. Does not reset sticky
-k options on modified files. See `Sticky tags in the CVS manual
for more information on sticky tags/dates.
-c
Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output, instead of
creating or modifying any files or directories in your working
directory.
-d dir
Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of
using the module name. In general, using this flag is equivalent to
using mkdir dir; cd dir followed by the checkout command without the
-d flag.
There is an important exception, however. It is very convenient
when checking out a single item to have the output appear in a
directory that doesnt contain empty intermediate directories. In
this case only, cvs tries to ``shorten pathnames to avoid those
empty directories.
For example, given a module foo that contains the file bar.c, the
command cvs co -d dir foo will create directory dir and place bar.c
inside. Similarly, given a module bar which has subdirectory baz
wherein there is a file quux.c, the command cvs co -d dir bar/baz
will create directory dir and place quux.c inside.
Using the -N flag will defeat this behavior. Given the same module
definitions above, cvs co -N -d dir foo will create directories
dir/foo and place bar.c inside, while cvs co -N -d dir bar/baz will
create directories dir/bar/baz and place quux.c inside.
-j tag
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With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
option, into the working directory.
With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
-j option.
In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date
specification which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen
revision to one within a specific date. An optional date is
specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag:
-jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.
See `Branching and merging in the CVS manual.
-N
Only useful together with -d dir. With this option, cvs will not
``shorten module paths in your working directory when you check out
a single module. See the -d flag for examples and a discussion.
-s
Like -c, but include the status of all modules, and sort it by the
status string. See `modules in the CVS manual, for info about the
-s option that is used inside the modules file to set the module
status.
checkout examples
Get a copy of the module tc:
$ cvs checkout tc
Get a copy of the module tc as it looked one day ago:
$ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc
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commit
Check files into the repository
+ Synopsis: commit [-lRf] [-m log_message | -F file] [-r revision]
[files...]
+ Requires: working directory, repository.
+ Changes: repository.
+ Synonym: ci
Use commit when you want to incorporate changes from your working
source files into the source repository.
If you dont specify particular files to commit, all of the files in
your working current directory are examined. commit is careful to
change in the repository only those files that you have really
changed. By default (or if you explicitly specify the -R option),
files in subdirectories are also examined and committed if they have
changed; you can use the -l option to limit commit to the current
directory only.
commit verifies that the selected files are up to date with the
current revisions in the source repository; it will notify you, and
exit without committing, if any of the specified files must be made
current first with update (see node `update in the CVS manual).
commit does not call the update command for you, but rather leaves
that for you to do when the time is right.
When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to enter a log
message that will be written to one or more logging programs (see
node `modules in the CVS manual, and see node `loginfo in the CVS
manual) and placed in the rcs file inside the repository. This log
message can be retrieved with the log command; see node `log in the
CVS manual. You can specify the log message on the command line
with the -m message option, and thus avoid the editor invocation, or
use the -F file option to specify that the argument file contains
the log message.
commit options
These standard options are supported by commit (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-l
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Local; run only in current working directory.
-R
Commit directories recursively. This is on by default.
-r revision
Commit to revision. revision must be either a branch, or a revision
on the main trunk that is higher than any existing revision number
(see node `Assigning revisions in the CVS manual). You cannot
commit to a specific revision on a branch.
commit also supports these options:
-F file
Read the log message from file, instead of invoking an editor.
-f
Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as
defined in `Common options in the CVS manual.
Force cvs to commit a new revision even if you havent made any
changes to the file. If the current revision of file is 1.7, then
the following two commands are equivalent:
$ cvs commit -f file
$ cvs commit -r 1.8 file
The -f option disables recursion (i.e., it implies -l). To force
cvs to commit a new revision for all files in all subdirectories,
you must use -f -R.
-m message
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Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.
commit examples
Committing to a branch
You can commit to a branch revision (one that has an even number of
dots) with the -r option. To create a branch revision, use the -b
option of the rtag or tag commands (see node `Branching and merging in
the CVS manual). Then, either checkout or update can be used to base
your sources on the newly created branch. From that point on, all
commit changes made within these working sources will be automatically
added to a branch revision, thereby not disturbing main-line
development in any way. For example, if you had to create a patch to
the 1.2 version of the product, even though the 2.0 version is already
under development, you might do:
$ cvs rtag -b -r FCS1_2 FCS1_2_Patch product_module
$ cvs checkout -r FCS1_2_Patch product_module
$ cd product_module
[[ hack away ]]
$ cvs commit
This works automatically since the -r option is sticky.
Creating the branch after editing
Say you have been working on some extremely experimental software,
based on whatever revision you happened to checkout last week. If
others in your group would like to work on this software with you, but
without disturbing main-line development, you could commit your change
to a new branch. Others can then checkout your experimental stuff and
utilize the full benefit of cvs conflict resolution. The scenario
might look like:
[[ hacked sources are present ]]
$ cvs tag -b EXPR1
$ cvs update -r EXPR1
$ cvs commit
The update command will make the -r EXPR1 option sticky on all files.
Note that your changes to the files will never be removed by the
update command. The commit will automatically commit to the correct
branch, because the -r is sticky. You could also do like this:
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[[ hacked sources are present ]]
$ cvs tag -b EXPR1
$ cvs commit -r EXPR1
but then, only those files that were changed by you will have the -r
EXPR1 sticky flag. If you hack away, and commit without specifying
the -r EXPR1 flag, some files may accidentally end up on the main
trunk.
To work with you on the experimental change, others would simply do
$ cvs checkout -r EXPR1 whatever_module
diff
Show differences between revisions
+ Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options] [[-r rev1 | -D
date1] [-r rev2 | -D date2]] [files...]
+ Requires: working directory, repository.
+ Changes: nothing.
The diff command is used to compare different revisions of files.
The default action is to compare your working files with the
revisions they were based on, and report any differences that are
found.
If any file names are given, only those files are compared. If any
directories are given, all files under them will be compared.
The exit status for diff is different than for other cvs commands;
for details see node `Exit status in the CVS manual.
diff options
These standard options are supported by diff (see node `Common options
in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-D date
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Use the most recent revision no later than date. See -r for how
this affects the comparison.
-k kflag
Process keywords according to kflag. See `Keyword substitution in
the CVS manual.
-l
Local; run only in current working directory.
-R
Examine directories recursively. This option is on by default.
-r tag
Compare with revision tag. Zero, one or two -r options can be
present. With no -r option, the working file will be compared with
the revision it was based on. With one -r, that revision will be
compared to your current working file. With two -r options those
two revisions will be compared (and your working file will not
affect the outcome in any way).
One or both -r options can be replaced by a -D date option,
described above.
The following options specify the format of the output. They have
the same meaning as in GNU diff. Most options have two equivalent
names, one of which is a single letter preceded by -, and the other
of which is a long name preceded by --.
-lines
Show lines (an integer) lines of context. This option does not
specify an output format by itself; it has no effect unless it is
combined with -c or -u. This option is obsolete. For proper
operation, patch typically needs at least two lines of context.
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-a
Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
do not seem to be text.
-b
Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
or more white space characters to be equivalent.
-B
Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
--binary
Read and write data in binary mode.
--brief
Report only whether the files differ, not the details of the
differences.
-c
Use the context output format.
-C lines
--context[=lines]
Use the context output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
context, or three if lines is not given. For proper operation,
patch typically needs at least two lines of context.
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--changed-group-format=format
Use format to output a line group containing differing lines from
both files in if-then-else format. See `Line group formats in the
CVS manual.
-d
Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This
makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).
-e
--ed
Make output that is a valid ed script.
--expand-tabs
Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
tabs in the input files.
-f
Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
the order they appear in the file.
-F regexp
In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.
--forward-ed
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Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
the order they appear in the file.
-H
Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
scattered small changes.
--horizon-lines=lines
Do not discard the last lines lines of the common prefix and the
first lines lines of the common suffix.
-i
Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case letters
equivalent.
-I regexp
Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.
--ifdef=name
Make merged if-then-else output using name.
--ignore-all-space
Ignore white space when comparing lines.
--ignore-blank-lines
Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
--ignore-case
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Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the
same.
--ignore-matching-lines=regexp
Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.
--ignore-space-change
Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
or more white space characters to be equivalent.
--initial-tab
Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
or context format. This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
look normal.
-L label
Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
format headers.
--label=label
Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
format headers.
--left-column
Print only the left column of two common lines in side by side
format.
--line-format=format
Use format to output all input lines in if-then-else format. See
`Line formats in the CVS manual.
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--minimal
Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This
makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).
-n
Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
the number of lines affected.
-N
--new-file
In directory comparison, if a file is found in only one directory,
treat it as present but empty in the other directory.
--new-group-format=format
Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the second
file in if-then-else format. See `Line group formats in the CVS
manual.
--new-line-format=format
Use format to output a line taken from just the second file in if-
then-else format. See `Line formats in the CVS manual.
--old-group-format=format
Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the first file
in if-then-else format. See `Line group formats in the CVS manual.
--old-line-format=format
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Use format to output a line taken from just the first file in if-
then-else format. See `Line formats in the CVS manual.
-p
Show which C function each change is in.
--rcs
Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
the number of lines affected.
--report-identical-files
-s
Report when two files are the same.
--show-c-function
Show which C function each change is in.
--show-function-line=regexp
In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.
--side-by-side
Use the side by side output format.
--speed-large-files
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Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
scattered small changes.
--suppress-common-lines
Do not print common lines in side by side format.
-t
Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
tabs in the input files.
-T
Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
or context format. This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
look normal.
--text
Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
do not appear to be text.
-u
Use the unified output format.
--unchanged-group-format=format
Use format to output a group of common lines taken from both files
in if-then-else format. see node `Line group formats in the CVS
manual.
--unchanged-line-format=format
Use format to output a line common to both files in if-then-else
format. see node `Line formats in the CVS manual.
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-U lines
--unified[=lines]
Use the unified output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
context, or three if lines is not given. For proper operation,
patch typically needs at least two lines of context.
-w
Ignore white space when comparing lines.
-W columns
--width=columns
Use an output width of columns in side by side format.
-y
Use the side by side output format.
Line group formats
Line group formats let you specify formats suitable for many
applications that allow if-then-else input, including programming
languages and text formatting languages. A line group format
specifies the output format for a contiguous group of similar lines.
For example, the following command compares the TeX file myfile with
the original version from the repository, and outputs a merged file in
which old regions are surrounded by \begin{em}-\end{em} lines, and new
regions are surrounded by \begin{bf}-\end{bf} lines.
cvs diff \
--old-group-format=\begin{em}
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%<\end{em}
\
--new-group-format=\begin{bf}
%>\end{bf}
\
myfile
The following command is equivalent to the above example, but it is a
little more verbose, because it spells out the default line group
formats.
cvs diff \
--old-group-format=\begin{em}
%<\end{em}
\
--new-group-format=\begin{bf}
%>\end{bf}
\
--unchanged-group-format=%= \
--changed-group-format=\begin{em}
%<\end{em}
\begin{bf}
%>\end{bf}
\
myfile
Here is a more advanced example, which outputs a diff listing with
headers containing line numbers in a ``plain English style.
cvs diff \
--unchanged-group-format= \
--old-group-format=-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) deleted at %df:
%< \
--new-group-format=-------- %dN line%(N=1?:s) added after %de:
%> \
--changed-group-format=-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) changed at %df:
%<-------- to:
%> \
myfile
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To specify a line group format, use one of the options listed below.
You can specify up to four line group formats, one for each kind of
line group. You should quote format, because it typically contains
shell metacharacters.
--old-group-format=format
These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the first
file. The default old group format is the same as the changed group
format if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
line group as-is.
--new-group-format=format
These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the second
file. The default new group format is same as the changed group
format if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
line group as-is.
--changed-group-format=format
These line groups are hunks containing lines from both files. The
default changed group format is the concatenation of the old and new
group formats.
--unchanged-group-format=format
These line groups contain lines common to both files. The default
unchanged group format is a format that outputs the line group as-
is.
In a line group format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
conversion specifications start with % and have one of the following
forms.
%<
stands for the lines from the first file, including the trailing
newline. Each line is formatted according to the old line format
(see node `Line formats in the CVS manual).
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%>
stands for the lines from the second file, including the trailing
newline. Each line is formatted according to the new line format.
%=
stands for the lines common to both files, including the trailing
newline. Each line is formatted according to the unchanged line
format.
%%
stands for %.
%cC
where C is a single character, stands for C. C may not be a
backslash or an apostrophe. For example, %c: stands for a colon,
even inside the then-part of an if-then-else format, which a colon
would normally terminate.
%c\O
where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the
character with octal code O. For example, %c\0 stands for a null
character.
Fn
where F is a printf conversion specification and n is one of the
following letters, stands for ns value formatted with F.
e
The line number of the line just before the group in the old file.
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f
The line number of the first line in the group in the old file;
equals e + 1.
l
The line number of the last line in the group in the old file.
m
The line number of the line just after the group in the old file;
equals l + 1.
n
The number of lines in the group in the old file; equals l - f +
1.
E, F, L, M, N
Likewise, for lines in the new file.
The printf conversion specification can be %d, %o, %x, or %X,
specifying decimal, octal, lower case hexadecimal, or upper case
hexadecimal output respectively. After the % the following
options can appear in sequence: a - specifying left-justification;
an integer specifying the minimum field width; and a period
followed by an optional integer specifying the minimum number of
digits. For example, %5dN prints the number of new lines in the
group in a field of width 5 characters, using the printf format
"%5d".
(A=B?T:E)
If A equals B then T else E. A and B are each either a decimal
constant or a single letter interpreted as above. This format spec
is equivalent to T if As value equals Bs; otherwise it is equivalent
to E.
For example, %(N=0?no:%dN) line%(N=1?:s) is equivalent to no lines
if N (the number of lines in the group in the new file) is 0, to 1
line if N is 1, and to %dN lines otherwise.
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Line formats
Line formats control how each line taken from an input file is output
as part of a line group in if-then-else format.
For example, the following command outputs text with a one-column
change indicator to the left of the text. The first column of output
is - for deleted lines, | for added lines, and a space for unchanged
lines. The formats contain newline characters where newlines are
desired on output.
cvs diff \
--old-line-format=-%l
\
--new-line-format=|%l
\
--unchanged-line-format= %l
\
myfile
To specify a line format, use one of the following options. You
should quote format, since it often contains shell metacharacters.
--old-line-format=format
formats lines just from the first file.
--new-line-format=format
formats lines just from the second file.
--unchanged-line-format=format
formats lines common to both files.
--line-format=format
formats all lines; in effect, it sets all three above options
simultaneously.
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In a line format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
conversion specifications start with % and have one of the following
forms.
%l
stands for the contents of the line, not counting its trailing
newline (if any). This format ignores whether the line is
incomplete.
%L
stands for the contents of the line, including its trailing newline
(if any). If a line is incomplete, this format preserves its
incompleteness.
%%
stands for %.
%cC
where C is a single character, stands for C. C may not be a
backslash or an apostrophe. For example, %c: stands for a colon.
%c\O
where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the
character with octal code O. For example, %c\0 stands for a null
character.
Fn
where F is a printf conversion specification, stands for the line
number formatted with F. For example, %.5dn prints the line number
using the printf format "%.5d". see node `Line group formats in the
CVS manual, for more about printf conversion specifications.
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The default line format is %l followed by a newline character.
If the input contains tab characters and it is important that they
line up on output, you should ensure that %l or %L in a line format
is just after a tab stop (e.g. by preceding %l or %L with a tab
character), or you should use the -t or --expand-tabs option.
Taken together, the line and line group formats let you specify many
different formats. For example, the following command uses a format
similar to diffs normal format. You can tailor this command to get
fine control over diffs output.
cvs diff \
--old-line-format=< %l
\
--new-line-format=> %l
\
--old-group-format=%df%(f=l?:,%dl)d%dE
%< \
--new-group-format=%dea%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
%> \
--changed-group-format=%df%(f=l?:,%dl)c%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
%<-
%> \
--unchanged-group-format= \
myfile
diff examples
The following line produces a Unidiff (-u flag) between revision 1.14
and 1.19 of backend.c. Due to the -kk flag no keywords are
substituted, so differences that only depend on keyword substitution
are ignored.
$ cvs diff -kk -u -r 1.14 -r 1.19 backend.c
Suppose the experimental branch EXPR1 was based on a set of files
tagged RELEASE_1_0. To see what has happened on that branch, the
following can be used:
$ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1
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A command like this can be used to produce a context diff between two
releases:
$ cvs diff -c -r RELEASE_1_0 -r RELEASE_1_1 > diffs
If you are maintaining ChangeLogs, a command like the following just
before you commit your changes may help you write the ChangeLog entry.
All local modifications that have not yet been committed will be
printed.
$ cvs diff -u | less
export
Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout
+ Synopsis: export [-flNnR] [-r rev|-D date] [-k subst] [-d dir]
module...
+ Requires: repository.
+ Changes: current directory.
This command is a variant of checkout; use it when you want a copy
of the source for module without the cvs administrative directories.
For example, you might use export to prepare source for shipment
off-site. This command requires that you specify a date or tag
(with -D or -r), so that you can count on reproducing the source you
ship to others (and thus it always prunes empty directories).
One often would like to use -kv with cvs export. This causes any
keywords to be expanded such that an import done at some other site
will not lose the keyword revision information. But be aware that
doesnt handle an export containing binary files correctly. Also be
aware that after having used -kv, one can no longer use the ident
command (which is part of the rcs suite-see ident(1)) which looks
for keyword strings. If you want to be able to use ident you must
not use -kv.
export options
These standard options are supported by export (see node `Common
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options in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
-D date
Use the most recent revision no later than date.
-f
If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
(instead of ignoring the file).
-l
Local; run only in current working directory.
-n
Do not run any checkout program.
-R
Export directories recursively. This is on by default.
-r tag
Use revision tag.
In addition, these options (that are common to checkout and export)
are also supported:
-d dir
Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of
using the module name. See `checkout options in the CVS manual for
complete details on how cvs handles this flag.
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-k subst
Set keyword expansion mode (see node `Substitution modes in the CVS
manual).
-N
Only useful together with -d dir. See `checkout options in the CVS
manual for complete details on how cvs handles this flag.
history
Show status of files and users
+ Synopsis: history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]
+ Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history
+ Changes: nothing.
cvs can keep a history file that tracks each use of the checkout,
commit, rtag, update, and release commands. You can use history to
display this information in various formats.
Logging must be enabled by creating the file
$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history.
history uses -f, -l, -n, and -p in ways that conflict with the
normal use inside cvs (see node `Common options in the CVS manual).
history options
Several options (shown above as -report) control what kind of report
is generated:
-c
Report on each time commit was used (i.e., each time the repository
was modified).
-e
Everything (all record types). Equivalent to specifying -x with all
record types. Of course, -e will also include record types which
are added in a future version of cvs; if you are writing a script
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which can only handle certain record types, youll want to specify
-x.
-m module
Report on a particular module. (You can meaningfully use -m more
than once on the command line.)
-o
Report on checked-out modules. This is the default report type.
-T
Report on all tags.
-x type
Extract a particular set of record types type from the cvs history.
The types are indicated by single letters, which you may specify in
combination.
Certain commands have a single record type:
F
release
O
checkout
E
export
T
rtag
One of five record types may result from an update:
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C
A merge was necessary but collisions were detected (requiring
manual merging).
G
A merge was necessary and it succeeded.
U
A working file was copied from the repository.
P
A working file was patched to match the repository.
W
The working copy of a file was deleted during update (because it
was gone from the repository).
One of three record types results from commit:
A
A file was added for the first time.
M
A file was modified.
R
A file was removed.
The options shown as -flags constrain or expand the report without
requiring option arguments:
-a
Show data for all users (the default is to show data only for the
user executing history).
-l
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Show last modification only.
-w
Show only the records for modifications done from the same working
directory where history is executing.
The options shown as -options args constrain the report based on an
argument:
-b str
Show data back to a record containing the string str in either
the module name, the file name, or the repository path.
-D date
Show data since date. This is slightly different from the normal
use of -D date, which selects the newest revision older than date.
-f file
Show data for a particular file (you can specify several -f options
on the same command line). This is equivalent to specifying the
file on the command line.
-n module
Show data for a particular module (you can specify several -n
options on the same command line).
-p repository
Show data for a particular source repository (you can specify
several -p options on the same command line).
-r rev
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Show records referring to revisions since the revision or tag named
rev appears in individual rcs files. Each rcs file is searched for
the revision or tag.
-t tag
Show records since tag tag was last added to the history file. This
differs from the -r flag above in that it reads only the history
file, not the rcs files, and is much faster.
-u name
Show records for user name.
-z timezone
Show times in the selected records using the specified time zone
instead of UTC.
import
Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches
+ Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag...
+ Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.
+ Changes: repository.
Use import to incorporate an entire source distribution from an
outside source (e.g., a source vendor) into your source repository
directory. You can use this command both for initial creation of a
repository, and for wholesale updates to the module from the outside
source. See `Tracking sources in the CVS manual for a discussion on
this subject.
The repository argument gives a directory name (or a path to a
directory) under the cvs root directory for repositories; if the
directory did not exist, import creates it.
When you use import for updates to source that has been modified in
your source repository (since a prior import), it will notify you of
any files that conflict in the two branches of development; use
checkout -j to reconcile the differences, as import instructs you to
do.
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If cvs decides a file should be ignored (see node `cvsignore in the
CVS manual), it does not import it and prints I followed by the
filename (see node `import output in the CVS manual for a complete
description of the output).
If the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvswrappers exists, any file whose
names match the specifications in that file will be treated as
packages and the appropriate filtering will be performed on the
file/directory before being imported. See `Wrappers in the CVS
manual.
The outside source is saved in a first-level branch, by default
1.1.1. Updates are leaves of this branch; for example, files from
the first imported collection of source will be revision 1.1.1.1,
then files from the first imported update will be revision 1.1.1.2,
and so on.
At least three arguments are required. repository is needed to
identify the collection of source. vendortag is a tag for the
entire branch (e.g., for 1.1.1). You must also specify at least one
releasetag to uniquely identify the files at the leaves created each
time you execute import. The releasetag should be new, not
previously existing in the repository file, and uniquely identify
the imported release,
Note that import does not change the directory in which you invoke
it. In particular, it does not set up that directory as a cvs
working directory; if you want to work with the sources import them
first and then check them out into a different directory (see node
`Getting the source in the CVS manual).
import options
This standard option is supported by import (see node `Common options
in the CVS manual for a complete description):
-m message
Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.
There are the following additional special options.
-b branch
See `Multiple vendor branches in the CVS manual.
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-d
Use each files modification time as the time of import rather than
the current time.
-k subst
Indicate the keyword expansion mode desired. This setting will
apply to all files created during the import, but not to any files
that previously existed in the repository. See `Substitution modes
in the CVS manual for a list of valid -k settings.
-I name
Specify file names that should be ignored during import. You can
use this option repeatedly. To avoid ignoring any files at all
(even those ignored by default), specify `-I !.
name can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can
specify in the .cvsignore file. See `cvsignore in the CVS manual.
-W spec
Specify file names that should be filtered during import. You can
use this option repeatedly.
spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can
specify in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers in the CVS
manual.
import output
import keeps you informed of its progress by printing a line for each
file, preceded by one character indicating the status of the file:
U file
The file already exists in the repository and has not been locally
modified; a new revision has been created (if necessary).
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N file
The file is a new file which has been added to the repository.
C file
The file already exists in the repository but has been locally
modified; you will have to merge the changes.
I file
The file is being ignored (see node `cvsignore in the CVS manual).
L file
The file is a symbolic link; cvs import ignores symbolic links.
People periodically suggest that this behavior should be changed,
but if there is a consensus on what it should be changed to, it
doesnt seem to be apparent. (Various options in the modules file
can be used to recreate symbolic links on checkout, update, etc.;
see node `modules in the CVS manual.)
import examples
See `Tracking sources in the CVS manual, and `From files in the CVS
manual.
log
Print out log information for files
+ Synopsis: log [options] [files...]
+ Requires: repository, working directory.
+ Changes: nothing.
Display log information for files. log used to call the rcs utility
rlog. Although this is no longer true in the current sources, this
history determines the format of the output and the options, which
are not quite in the style of the other cvs commands.
The output includes the location of the rcs file, the head revision
(the latest revision on the trunk), all symbolic names (tags) and
some other things. For each revision, the revision number, the
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author, the number of lines added/deleted and the log message are
printed. All times are displayed in Coordinated Universal Time
(UTC). (Other parts of cvs print times in the local timezone).
log uses -R in a way that conflicts with the normal use inside cvs
(see node `Common options in the CVS manual).
log options
By default, log prints all information that is available. All other
options restrict the output. Note that the revision selection options
(-b, -d, -r, -s, and -w) have no effect, other than possibly causing a
search for files in Attic directories, when used in conjunction with
the options that restrict the output to only log header fields (-h,
-R, and -t) unless the -S option is also specified.
-b
Print information about the revisions on the default branch,
normally the highest branch on the trunk.
-d dates
Print information about revisions with a checkin date/time in the
range given by the semicolon-separated list of dates. The date
formats accepted are those accepted by the -D option to many other
cvs commands (see node `Common options in the CVS manual). Dates
can be combined into ranges as follows:
d1<d2
d2>d1
Select the revisions that were deposited between d1 and d2.
<d
d>
Select all revisions dated d or earlier.
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d<
>d
Select all revisions dated d or later.
d
Select the single, latest revision dated d or earlier.
The > or < characters may be followed by = to indicate an
inclusive range rather than an exclusive one.
Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).
-h
Print only the name of the rcs file, name of the file in the working
directory, head, default branch, access list, locks, symbolic names,
and suffix.
-l
Local; run only in current working directory. (Default is to run
recursively).
-N
Do not print the list of tags for this file. This option can be
very useful when your site uses a lot of tags, so rather than
"more"ing over 3 pages of tag information, the log information is
presented without tags at all.
-n
Print the list of tags for this file. This option can be very useful
when your .cvsrc file has a log -N entry as a way to get a full list
of all of the tags.
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-R
Print only the name of the rcs file.
-rrevisions
Print information about revisions given in the comma-separated list
revisions of revisions and ranges. The following table explains the
available range formats:
rev1:rev2
Revisions rev1 to rev2 (which must be on the same branch).
rev1::rev2
The same, but excluding rev1.
:rev
::rev
Revisions from the beginning of the branch up to and including
rev.
rev:
Revisions starting with rev to the end of the branch containing
rev.
rev::
Revisions starting just after rev to the end of the branch
containing rev.
branch
An argument that is a branch means all revisions on that branch.
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branch1:branch2
branch1::branch2
A range of branches means all revisions on the branches in that
range.
branch.
The latest revision in branch.
A bare -r with no revisions means the latest revision on the
default branch, normally the trunk. There can be no space between
the -r option and its argument.
-S
Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.
-s states
Print information about revisions whose state attributes match one
of the states given in the comma-separated list states. Individual
states may be any text string, though cvs commonly only uses two
states, Exp and dead. See `admin options in the CVS manual for more
information.
-t
Print the same as -h, plus the descriptive text.
-wlogins
Print information about revisions checked in by users with login
names appearing in the comma-separated list logins. If logins is
omitted, the users login is assumed. There can be no space between
the -w option and its argument.
log prints the intersection of the revisions selected with the
options -d, -s, and -w, intersected with the union of the revisions
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selected by -b and -r.
log examples
Contributed examples are gratefully accepted.
rdiff
patch format diffs between releases
+ rdiff [-flags] [-V vn] [-r t|-D d [-r t2|-D d2]] modules...
+ Requires: repository.
+ Changes: nothing.
+ Synonym: patch
Builds a Larry Wall format patch(1) file between two releases, that
can be fed directly into the patch program to bring an old release
up-to-date with the new release. (This is one of the few cvs
commands that operates directly from the repository, and doesnt
require a prior checkout.) The diff output is sent to the standard
output device.
You can specify (using the standard -r and -D options) any
combination of one or two revisions or dates. If only one revision
or date is specified, the patch file reflects differences between
that revision or date and the current head revisions in the rcs
file.
Note that if the software release affected is contained in more than
one directory, then it may be necessary to specify the -p option to
the patch command when patching the old sources, so that patch is
able to find the files that are located in other directories.
rdiff options
These standard options are supported by rdiff (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-D date
Use the most recent revision no later than date.
-f
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If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
(instead of ignoring the file).
-k kflag
Process keywords according to kflag. See `Keyword substitution in
the CVS manual.
-l
Local; dont descend subdirectories.
-R
Examine directories recursively. This option is on by default.
-r tag
Use revision tag.
In addition to the above, these options are available:
-c
Use the context diff format. This is the default format.
-s
Create a summary change report instead of a patch. The summary
includes information about files that were changed or added between
the releases. It is sent to the standard output device. This is
useful for finding out, for example, which files have changed
between two dates or revisions.
-t
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A diff of the top two revisions is sent to the standard output
device. This is most useful for seeing what the last change to a
file was.
-u
Use the unidiff format for the context diffs. Remember that old
versions of the patch program cant handle the unidiff format, so if
you plan to post this patch to the net you should probably not use
-u.
-V vn
Expand keywords according to the rules current in rcs version vn
(the expansion format changed with rcs version 5). Note that this
option is no longer accepted. cvs will always expand keywords the
way that rcs version 5 does.
rdiff examples
Suppose you receive mail from foo@example.net asking for an update
from release 1.2 to 1.4 of the tc compiler. You have no such patches
on hand, but with cvs that can easily be fixed with a command such as
this:
$ cvs rdiff -c -r FOO1_2 -r FOO1_4 tc | \
> Mail -s The patches you asked for foo@example.net
Suppose you have made release 1.3, and forked a branch called R_1_3fix
for bug fixes. R_1_3_1 corresponds to release 1.3.1, which was made
some time ago. Now, you want to see how much development has been
done on the branch. This command can be used:
$ cvs patch -s -r R_1_3_1 -r R_1_3fix module-name
cvs rdiff: Diffing module-name
File ChangeLog,v changed from revision 1.52.2.5 to 1.52.2.6
File foo.c,v changed from revision 1.52.2.3 to 1.52.2.4
File bar.h,v changed from revision 1.29.2.1 to 1.2
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release
Indicate that a Module is no longer in use
+ release [-d] directories...
+ Requires: Working directory.
+ Changes: Working directory, history log.
This command is meant to safely cancel the effect of cvs checkout.
Since cvs doesnt lock files, it isnt strictly necessary to use this
command. You can always simply delete your working directory, if
you like; but you risk losing changes you may have forgotten, and
you leave no trace in the cvs history file (see node `history file
in the CVS manual) that youve abandoned your checkout.
Use cvs release to avoid these problems. This command checks that
no uncommitted changes are present; that you are executing it from
immediately above a cvs working directory; and that the repository
recorded for your files is the same as the repository defined in the
module database.
If all these conditions are true, cvs release leaves a record of its
execution (attesting to your intentionally abandoning your checkout)
in the cvs history log.
release options
The release command supports one command option:
-d
Delete your working copy of the file if the release succeeds. If
this flag is not given your files will remain in your working
directory.
WARNING: The release command deletes all directories and files
recursively. This has the very serious side-effect that any
directory created inside checked-out sources, and not added to the
repository (using the add command; see node `Adding files in the CVS
manual) will be silently deleted-even if it is non-empty!
release output
Before release releases your sources it will print a one-line message
for any file that is not up-to-date.
U file
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P file
There exists a newer revision of this file in the repository, and
you have not modified your local copy of the file (U and P mean the
same thing).
A file
The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, but has
not yet been committed to the repository. If you delete your copy
of the sources this file will be lost.
R file
The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, but
has not yet been removed from the repository, since you have not yet
committed the removal. See `commit in the CVS manual.
M file
The file is modified in your working directory. There might also be
a newer revision inside the repository.
? file
file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to
anything in the source repository, and is not in the list of files
for cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see
node `cvsignore in the CVS manual). If you remove your working
sources, this file will be lost.
release examples
Release the tc directory, and delete your local working copy of the
files.
$ cd .. # You must stand immediately above the
# sources when you issue cvs release.
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$ cvs release -d tc
You have [0] altered files in this repository.
Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc: y
$
remove
Remove files from active use
+ Synopsis: remove [-flR] [files...]
+ Requires: repository, working directory.
+ Changes: working directory.
The remove command is used to remove unwanted files from active use.
The user normally deletes the files from the working directory prior
to invocation of the remove command. Only the working directory is
updated. Changes to the repository are not made until the commit
command is run.
The remove command does not delete files from from the repository.
cvs keeps all historical data in the repository so that it is
possible to reconstruct previous states of the projects under
revision control.
To undo cvs remove or to resurrect files that were previously
removed, see node `add in the CVS manual.
remove options
These standard options are supported by remove (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-l
Local; run only in current working directory. See `Recursive
behavior in the CVS manual.
-R
Process directories recursively. See `Recursive behavior in the CVS
manual.
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In addition, these options are also supported:
-f
Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as
defined in `Common options in the CVS manual.
Delete files before removing them.
Entire directory hierarchies are easily removed using -f, but take
note that it is not as easy to resurrect directory hierarchies as it
is to remove them.
remove examples
Removing a file
$ cvs remove remove.me
cvs remove: file `remove.me still in working directory
cvs remove: 1 file exists; remove it first
$ rm -f remove.me
$ cvs remove remove.me
cvs remove: scheduling `remove.me for removal
cvs remove: use cvs commit to remove this file permanently
$ ls remove.it
remove.it
$ cvs remove -f remove.it
cvs remove: scheduling `remove.it for removal
cvs remove: use cvs commit to remove this file permanently
Removing entire directories
$ tree -d a
a
|-- CVS
`-- b
`-- CVS
3 directories
$ cvs remove -f a
cvs remove: Removing a
cvs remove: Removing a/b
cvs remove: scheduling `a/b/c for removal
cvs remove: use cvs commit to remove this file permanently
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update
Bring work tree in sync with repository
+ update [-ACdflPpR] [-I name] [-j rev [-j rev]] [-k kflag] [-r tag|-D
date] [-W spec] files...
+ Requires: repository, working directory.
+ Changes: working directory.
After youve run checkout to create your private copy of source from
the common repository, other developers will continue changing the
central source. From time to time, when it is convenient in your
development process, you can use the update command from within your
working directory to reconcile your work with any revisions applied
to the source repository since your last checkout or update.
update options
These standard options are available with update (see node `Common
options in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):
-D date
Use the most recent revision no later than date. This option is
sticky, and implies -P. See `Sticky tags in the CVS manual for more
information on sticky tags/dates.
-f
Only useful with the -D date or -r tag flags. If no matching
revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of
ignoring the file).
-k kflag
Process keywords according to kflag. See `Keyword substitution in
the CVS manual. This option is sticky; future updates of this file
in this working directory will use the same kflag. The status
command can be viewed to see the sticky options. See `Invoking CVS
in the CVS manual for more information on the status command.
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-l
Local; run only in current working directory. See `Recursive
behavior in the CVS manual.
-P
Prune empty directories. See `Moving directories in the CVS manual.
-p
Pipe files to the standard output.
-R
Update directories recursively (default). See `Recursive behavior
in the CVS manual.
-r rev
Retrieve revision/tag rev. This option is sticky, and implies -P.
See `Sticky tags in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
tags/dates.
These special options are also available with update.
-A
Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options. Does not reset sticky
-k options on modified files. See `Sticky tags in the CVS manual
for more information on sticky tags/dates.
-C
Overwrite locally modified files with clean copies from the
repository (the modified file is saved in
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-d
Create any directories that exist in the repository if theyre
missing from the working directory. Normally, update acts only on
directories and files that were already enrolled in your working
directory.
This is useful for updating directories that were created in the
repository since the initial checkout; but it has an unfortunate
side effect. If you deliberately avoided certain directories in the
repository when you created your working directory (either through
use of a module name or by listing explicitly the files and
directories you wanted on the command line), then updating with -d
will create those directories, which may not be what you want.
-I name
Ignore files whose names match name (in your working directory)
during the update. You can specify -I more than once on the command
line to specify several files to ignore. Use -I ! to avoid ignoring
any files at all. See `cvsignore in the CVS manual for other ways
to make cvs ignore some files.
-Wspec
Specify file names that should be filtered during update. You can
use this option repeatedly.
spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can
specify in the .cvswrappers file. See `Wrappers in the CVS manual.
-jrevision
With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
option, into the working directory.
With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
-j option.
Note that using a single -j tagname option rather than -j branchname
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to merge changes from a branch will often not remove files which
were removed on the branch. See `Merging adds and removals in the
CVS manual for more information.
In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date
specification which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen
revision to one within a specific date. An optional date is
specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag:
-jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.
See `Branching and merging in the CVS manual.
update output
update and checkout keep you informed of their progress by printing a
line for each file, preceded by one character indicating the status of
the file:
U file
The file was brought up to date with respect to the repository.
This is done for any file that exists in the repository but not in
your working directory, and for files that you havent changed but
are not the most recent versions available in the repository.
P file
Like U, but the cvs server sends a patch instead of an entire file.
This accomplishes the same thing as U using less bandwidth.
A file
The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, and
will be added to the source repository when you run commit on the
file. This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be
committed.
R file
The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, and
will be removed from the source repository when you run commit on
the file. This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be
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committed.
M file
The file is modified in your working directory.
M can indicate one of two states for a file youre working on: either
there were no modifications to the same file in the repository, so
that your file remains as you last saw it; or there were
modifications in the repository as well as in your copy, but they
were merged successfully, without conflict, in your working
directory.
cvs will print some messages if it merges your work, and a backup
copy of your working file (as it looked before you ran update) will
be made. The exact name of that file is printed while update runs.
C file
A conflict was detected while trying to merge your changes to file
with changes from the source repository. file (the copy in your
working directory) is now the result of attempting to merge the two
revisions; an unmodified copy of your file is also in your working
directory, with the name is the revision that your modified file
started from. Resolve the conflict as described in `Conflicts
example in the CVS manual. (Note that some systems automatically
purge files that begin with .# if they have not been accessed for a
few days. If you intend to keep a copy of your original file, it is
a very good idea to rename it.) Under vms, the file name starts
with __ rather than .#.
? file
file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to
anything in the source repository, and is not in the list of files
for cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see
node `cvsignore in the CVS manual).
AUTHORS
Dick Grune
Original author of the cvs shell script version posted to
comp.sources.unix in the volume6 release of December, 1986.
Credited with much of the cvs conflict resolution algorithms.
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Brian Berliner
Coder and designer of the cvs program itself in April, 1989,
based on the original work done by Dick.
Jeff Polk
Helped Brian with the design of the cvs module and vendor branch
support and author of the checkin(1) shell script (the ancestor
of cvs import).
Larry Jones, Derek R. Price, and Mark D. Baushke
Have helped maintain cvs for many years.
And many others too numerous to mention here.
SEE ALSO
The most comprehensive manual for CVS is Version Management with CVS
by Per Cederqvist et al. Depending on your system, you may be able to
get it with the info CVS command or it may be available as cvs.pdf
(Portable Document Format), cvs.ps (PostScript), cvs.texinfo (Texinfo
source), or cvs.html.
For CVS updates, more information on documentation, software related
to CVS, development of CVS, and more, see:
http://cvs.nongnu.org
ci(1), co(1), cvs(5), cvsbug(8), diff(1), grep(1), patch(1), rcs(1),
rcsdiff(1), rcsmerge(1), rlog(1).
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