1CVS(1) General Commands Manual CVS(1)
2
6 cvs - Concurrent Versions System
7
9 cvs [ cvs_options ]
10 cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]
11
13 This manpage is a summary of some of the features of cvs. It is auto-
14 generated from an appendix of the CVS manual. For more in-depth docu‐
15 mentation, please consult the Cederqvist manual (via the info CVS com‐
16 mand or otherwise, as described in the SEE ALSO section of this man‐
17 page). Cross-references in this man page refer to nodes in the same.
18
20 Guide to CVS commands
21 This appendix describes the overall structure of cvs commands, and
22 describes some commands in detail (others are described elsewhere; for
23 a quick reference to cvs commands, see node `Invoking CVS' in the CVS
24 manual).
25
28 Overall structure of CVS commands
29 The overall format of all cvs commands is:
30 cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]
33 cvs
40 The name of the cvs program.
42 cvs_options
46 Some options that affect all sub-commands of cvs. These are
48 described below.
49 cvs_command
53 One of several different sub-commands. Some of the commands have
55 aliases that can be used instead; those aliases are noted in the ref‐
56 erence manual for that command. There are only two situations where
57 you may omit cvs_command: cvs -H elicits a list of available com‐
58 mands, and cvs -v displays version information on cvs itself.
59 command_options
63 Options that are specific for the command.
65 command_args
69 Arguments to the commands.
71 There is unfortunately some confusion between cvs_options and com‐
73 mand_options. When given as a cvs_option, some options only affect
74 some of the commands. When given as a command_option it may have a
75 different meaning, and be accepted by more commands. In other words,
76 do not take the above categorization too seriously. Look at the doc‐
77 umentation instead.
78
81 CVS's exit status
82 cvs can indicate to the calling environment whether it succeeded or
83 failed by setting its exit status. The exact way of testing the exit
84 status will vary from one operating system to another. For example in
85 a unix shell script the $? variable will be 0 if the last command
86 returned a successful exit status, or greater than 0 if the exit status
87 indicated failure.
88 If cvs is successful, it returns a successful status; if there is an
90 error, it prints an error message and returns a failure status. The
91 one exception to this is the cvs diff command. It will return a suc‐
92 cessful status if it found no differences, or a failure status if there
93 were differences or if there was an error. Because this behavior pro‐
94 vides no good way to detect errors, in the future it is possible that
95 cvs diff will be changed to behave like the other cvs commands.
96
99 Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file
100 There are some command_options that are used so often that you might
101 have set up an alias or some other means to make sure you always spec‐
102 ify that option. One example (the one that drove the implementation of
103 the .cvsrc support, actually) is that many people find the default out‐
104 put of the diff command to be very hard to read, and that either con‐
105 text diffs or unidiffs are much easier to understand.
106 The ~/.cvsrc file is a way that you can add default options to cvs_com‐
108 mands within cvs, instead of relying on aliases or other shell scripts.
109 The format of the ~/.cvsrc file is simple. The file is searched for a
111 line that begins with the same name as the cvs_command being executed.
112 If a match is found, then the remainder of the line is split up (at
113 whitespace characters) into separate options and added to the command
114 arguments before any options from the command line.
115 If a command has two names (e.g., checkout and co), the official name,
117 not necessarily the one used on the command line, will be used to match
118 against the file. So if this is the contents of the user's ~/.cvsrc
119 file:
120 log -N
123 diff -uN
124 rdiff -u
125 update -Pd
126 checkout -P
127 release -d
128 the command cvs checkout foo would have the -P option added to the
133 arguments, as well as cvs co foo.
134 With the example file above, the output from cvs diff foobar will be in
136 unidiff format. cvs diff -c foobar will provide context diffs, as
137 usual. Getting "old" format diffs would be slightly more complicated,
138 because diff doesn't have an option to specify use of the "old" format,
139 so you would need cvs -f diff foobar.
140 In place of the command name you can use cvs to specify global options
142 (see node `Global options' in the CVS manual). For example the follow‐
143 ing line in .cvsrc
144 cvs -z6
147 causes cvs to use compression level 6.
152
155 The available cvs_options (that are given to the left of cvs_command)
156 are:
157 --allow-root=rootdir
161 Specify legal cvsroot directory. See see node `Password authentica‐
163 tion server' in the CVS manual.
164 -a
168 Authenticate all communication between the client and the server.
170 Only has an effect on the cvs client. As of this writing, this is
171 only implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI
172 authenticated' in the CVS manual). Authentication prevents certain
173 sorts of attacks involving hijacking the active tcp connection.
174 Enabling authentication does not enable encryption.
175 -b bindir
179 In cvs 1.9.18 and older, this specified that rcs programs are in the
181 bindir directory. Current versions of cvs do not run rcs programs;
182 for compatibility this option is accepted, but it does nothing.
183 -T tempdir
187 Use tempdir as the directory where temporary files are located.
189 Overrides the setting of the $TMPDIR environment variable and any
190 precompiled directory. This parameter should be specified as an
191 absolute pathname. (When running client/server, -T affects only the
192 local process; specifying -T for the client has no effect on the
193 server and vice versa.)
194 -d cvs_root_directory
198 Use cvs_root_directory as the root directory pathname of the reposi‐
200 tory. Overrides the setting of the $CVSROOT environment variable.
201 see node `Repository' in the CVS manual.
202 -e editor
206 Use editor to enter revision log information. Overrides the setting
208 of the $CVSEDITOR and $EDITOR environment variables. For more infor‐
209 mation, see see node `Committing your changes' in the CVS manual.
210 -f
214 Do not read the ~/.cvsrc file. This option is most often used
216 because of the non-orthogonality of the cvs option set. For example,
217 the cvs log option -N (turn off display of tag names) does not have a
218 corresponding option to turn the display on. So if you have -N in
219 the ~/.cvsrc entry for log, you may need to use -f to show the tag
220 names.
221 -H
225 --help
230 Display usage information about the specified cvs_command (but do not
232 actually execute the command). If you don't specify a command name,
233 cvs -H displays overall help for cvs, including a list of other help
234 options.
235 -n
239 Do not change any files. Attempt to execute the cvs_command, but
241 only to issue reports; do not remove, update, or merge any existing
242 files, or create any new files.
243 Note that cvs will not necessarily produce exactly the same output as
245 without -n. In some cases the output will be the same, but in other
246 cases cvs will skip some of the processing that would have been
247 required to produce the exact same output.
248 -Q
252 Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only generate
254 output for serious problems.
255 -q
259 Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages, such
261 as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are suppressed.
262 -r
266 Make new working files read-only. Same effect as if the $CVSREAD
268 environment variable is set (see node `Environment variables' in the
269 CVS manual). The default is to make working files writable, unless
270 watches are on (see node `Watches' in the CVS manual).
271 -s variable=value
275 Set a user variable (see node `Variables' in the CVS manual).
277 -t
281 Trace program execution; display messages showing the steps of cvs
283 activity. Particularly useful with -n to explore the potential
284 impact of an unfamiliar command.
285 -v
289 --version
294 Display version and copyright information for cvs.
296 -w
300 Make new working files read-write. Overrides the setting of the
302 $CVSREAD environment variable. Files are created read-write by
303 default, unless $CVSREAD is set or -r is given.
304 -x
308 Encrypt all communication between the client and the server. Only
310 has an effect on the cvs client. As of this writing, this is only
311 implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI authen‐
312 ticated' in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection (see node `Ker‐
313 beros authenticated' in the CVS manual). Enabling encryption implies
314 that message traffic is also authenticated. Encryption support is
315 not available by default; it must be enabled using a special config‐
316 ure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.
317 -z gzip-level
321 Set the compression level. Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low com‐
323 pression) to 9 (low speed, high compression), or 0 to disable com‐
324 pression (the default). Only has an effect on the cvs client.
325
329 Common command options
330 This section describes the command_options that are available across
331 several cvs commands. These options are always given to the right of
332 cvs_command. Not all commands support all of these options; each option
333 is only supported for commands where it makes sense. However, when a
334 command has one of these options you can almost always count on the
335 same behavior of the option as in other commands. (Other command
336 options, which are listed with the individual commands, may have dif‐
337 ferent behavior from one cvs command to the other).
338 The history command is an exception; it supports many options that con‐
340 flict even with these standard options.
341 -D date_spec
345 Use the most recent revision no later than date_spec. date_spec is a
347 single argument, a date description specifying a date in the past.
348 The specification is sticky when you use it to make a private copy of
350 a source file; that is, when you get a working file using -D, cvs
351 records the date you specified, so that further updates in the same
352 directory will use the same date (for more information on sticky
353 tags/dates, see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual).
354 -D is available with the annotate, checkout, diff, export, history,
356 rdiff, rtag, and update commands. (The history command uses this
357 option in a slightly different way; see node `history options' in the
358 CVS manual).
359 A wide variety of date formats are supported by cvs. The most stan‐
361 dard ones are ISO8601 (from the International Standards Organization)
362 and the Internet e-mail standard (specified in RFC822 as amended by
363 RFC1123).
364 ISO8601 dates have many variants but a few examples are:
366 1972-09-24
369 1972-09-24 20:05
370 There are a lot more ISO8601 date formats, and cvs accepts many of
375 them, but you probably don't want to hear the whole long story :-).
376 In addition to the dates allowed in Internet e-mail itself, cvs also
378 allows some of the fields to be omitted. For example:
379 24 Sep 1972 20:05
382 24 Sep
383 The date is interpreted as being in the local timezone, unless a spe‐
388 cific timezone is specified.
389 These two date formats are preferred. However, cvs currently accepts
391 a wide variety of other date formats. They are intentionally not
392 documented here in any detail, and future versions of cvs might not
393 accept all of them.
394 One such format is month/day/year. This may confuse people who are
396 accustomed to having the month and day in the other order; 1/4/96 is
397 January 4, not April 1.
398 Remember to quote the argument to the -D flag so that your shell
400 doesn't interpret spaces as argument separators. A command using the
401 -D flag can look like this:
402 $ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo
405 -f
412 When you specify a particular date or tag to cvs commands, they nor‐
414 mally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not exist
415 prior to the date) that you specified. Use the -f option if you want
416 files retrieved even when there is no match for the tag or date.
417 (The most recent revision of the file will be used).
418 Note that even with -f, a tag that you specify must exist (that is,
420 in some file, not necessary in every file). This is so that cvs will
421 continue to give an error if you mistype a tag name.
422 -f is available with these commands: annotate, checkout, export,
424 rdiff, rtag, and update.
425 WARNING: The commit and remove commands also have a -f option, but
427 it has a different behavior for those commands. See see node `commit
428 options' in the CVS manual, and see node `Removing files' in the CVS
429 manual.
430 -k kflag
434 Alter the default processing of keywords. see node `Keyword substi‐
436 tution' in the CVS manual, for the meaning of kflag. Your kflag
437 specification is sticky when you use it to create a private copy of a
438 source file; that is, when you use this option with the checkout or
439 update commands, cvs associates your selected kflag with the file,
440 and continues to use it with future update commands on the same file
441 until you specify otherwise.
442 The -k option is available with the add, checkout, diff, rdiff,
444 import and update commands.
445 -l
449 Local; run only in current working directory, rather than recursing
451 through subdirectories.
452 Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
454 diff, edit, editors, export, log, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag,
455 unedit, update, watch, and watchers.
456 -m message
460 Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.
462 Available with the following commands: add, commit and import.
464 -n
468 Do not run any tag program. (A program can be specified to run in
470 the modules database (see node `modules' in the CVS manual); this
471 option bypasses it).
472 This is not the same as the cvs -n program option, which you can
474 specify to the left of a cvs command!
475 Available with the checkout, export, and rtag commands.
477 -P
481 Prune empty directories. See see node `Removing directories' in the
483 CVS manual.
484 -p
488 Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output,
490 rather than writing them in the current directory. Available with
491 the checkout and update commands.
492 -R
496 Process directories recursively. This is on by default.
498 Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
500 diff, edit, editors, export, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag,
501 unedit, update, watch, and watchers.
502 -r tag
506 Use the revision specified by the tag argument instead of the default
508 head revision. As well as arbitrary tags defined with the tag or
509 rtag command, two special tags are always available: HEAD refers to
510 the most recent version available in the repository, and BASE refers
511 to the revision you last checked out into the current working direc‐
512 tory.
513 The tag specification is sticky when you use this with checkout or
515 update to make your own copy of a file: cvs remembers the tag and
516 continues to use it on future update commands, until you specify oth‐
517 erwise (for more information on sticky tags/dates, see node `Sticky
518 tags' in the CVS manual).
519 The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as described in see
521 node `Tags' in the CVS manual, or the name of a branch, as described
522 in see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual. When a com‐
523 mand expects a specific revision, the name of a branch is interpreted
524 as the most recent revision on that branch.
525 Specifying the -q global option along with the -r command option is
527 often useful, to suppress the warning messages when the rcs file does
528 not contain the specified tag.
529 This is not the same as the overall cvs -r option, which you can
531 specify to the left of a cvs command!
532 -r is available with the annotate, checkout, commit, diff, history,
534 export, rdiff, rtag, and update commands.
535 -W
539 Specify file names that should be filtered. You can use this option
541 repeatedly. The spec can be a file name pattern of the same type
542 that you can specify in the .cvswrappers file. Available with the
543 following commands: import, and update.
544
548 Administration
549 · Requires: repository, working directory.
550 · Changes: repository.
552 · Synonym: rcs
554 This is the cvs interface to assorted administrative facilities.
556 Some of them have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist for his‐
557 torical purposes. Some of the questionable options are likely to
558 disappear in the future. This command does work recursively, so
559 extreme care should be used.
560 On unix, if there is a group named cvsadmin, only members of that
562 group can run cvs admin (except for the cvs admin -k command, which
563 can be run by anybody). This group should exist on the server, or
564 any system running the non-client/server cvs. To disallow cvs admin
565 for all users, create a group with no users in it. On NT, the cvsad‐
566 min feature does not exist and all users can run cvs admin.
567
570 Some of these options have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist
571 for historical purposes. Some even make it impossible to use cvs until
572 you undo the effect!
573 -Aoldfile
577 Might not work together with cvs. Append the access list of oldfile
579 to the access list of the rcs file.
580 -alogins
584 Might not work together with cvs. Append the login names appearing
586 in the comma-separated list logins to the access list of the rcs
587 file.
588 -b[rev]
592 Set the default branch to rev. In cvs, you normally do not manipu‐
594 late default branches; sticky tags (see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS
595 manual) are a better way to decide which branch you want to work on.
596 There is one reason to run cvs admin -b: to revert to the vendor's
597 version when using vendor branches (see node `Reverting local
598 changes' in the CVS manual). There can be no space between -b and
599 its argument.
600 -cstring
604 Sets the comment leader to string. The comment leader is not used by
606 current versions of cvs or rcs 5.7. Therefore, you can almost surely
607 not worry about it. see node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS man‐
608 ual.
609 -e[logins]
613 Might not work together with cvs. Erase the login names appearing in
615 the comma-separated list logins from the access list of the RCS file.
616 If logins is omitted, erase the entire access list. There can be no
617 space between -e and its argument.
618 -I
622 Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.
624 This option does not work with the client/server cvs and is likely to
625 disappear in a future release of cvs.
626 -i
630 Useless with cvs. This creates and initializes a new rcs file, with‐
632 out depositing a revision. With cvs, add files with the cvs add com‐
633 mand (see node `Adding files' in the CVS manual).
634 -ksubst
638 Set the default keyword substitution to subst. see node `Keyword
640 substitution' in the CVS manual. Giving an explicit -k option to cvs
641 update, cvs export, or cvs checkout overrides this default.
642 -l[rev]
646 Lock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, lock the
648 latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, lock the latest
649 revision on the default branch. There can be no space between -l and
650 its argument.
651 This can be used in conjunction with the rcslock.pl script in the
653 contrib directory of the cvs source distribution to provide reserved
654 checkouts (where only one user can be editing a given file at a
655 time). See the comments in that file for details (and see the README
656 file in that directory for disclaimers about the unsupported nature
657 of contrib). According to comments in that file, locking must set to
658 strict (which is the default).
659 -L
663 Set locking to strict. Strict locking means that the owner of an RCS
665 file is not exempt from locking for checkin. For use with cvs,
666 strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
667 above.
668 -mrev:msg
672 Replace the log message of revision rev with msg.
674 -Nname[:[rev]]
678 Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name. For
680 use with magic branches, see see node `Magic branch numbers' in the
681 CVS manual.
682 -nname[:[rev]]
686 Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev. It
688 is normally better to use cvs tag or cvs rtag instead. Delete the
689 symbolic name if both : and rev are omitted; otherwise, print an
690 error message if name is already associated with another number. If
691 rev is symbolic, it is expanded before association. A rev consisting
692 of a branch number followed by a . stands for the current latest
693 revision in the branch. A : with an empty rev stands for the current
694 latest revision on the default branch, normally the trunk. For exam‐
695 ple, cvs admin -nname: associates name with the current latest revi‐
696 sion of all the RCS files; this contrasts with cvs admin -nname:$
697 which associates name with the revision numbers extracted from key‐
698 word strings in the corresponding working files.
699 -orange
703 Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range.
705 Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless you know exactly
707 what you are doing (for example see the warnings below about how the
708 rev1:rev2 syntax is confusing).
709 If you are short on disc this option might help you. But think twice
711 before using it—there is no way short of restoring the latest backup
712 to undo this command! If you delete different revisions than you
713 planned, either due to carelessness or (heaven forbid) a cvs bug,
714 there is no opportunity to correct the error before the revisions are
715 deleted. It probably would be a good idea to experiment on a copy of
716 the repository first.
717 Specify range in one of the following ways:
719 rev1::rev2
722 Collapse all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that cvs only
724 stores the differences associated with going from rev1 to rev2, not
725 intermediate steps. For example, after -o 1.3::1.5 one can
726 retrieve revision 1.3, revision 1.5, or the differences to get from
727 1.3 to 1.5, but not the revision 1.4, or the differences between
728 1.3 and 1.4. Other examples: -o 1.3::1.4 and -o 1.3::1.3 have no
729 effect, because there are no intermediate revisions to remove.
730 ::rev
733 Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch containing
735 rev and rev itself. The branchpoint and rev are left intact. For
736 example, -o ::1.3.2.6 deletes revision 1.3.2.1, revision 1.3.2.5,
737 and everything in between, but leaves 1.3 and 1.3.2.6 intact.
738 rev::
741 Collapse revisions between rev and the end of the branch containing
743 rev. Revision rev is left intact but the head revision is deleted.
744 rev
747 Delete the revision rev. For example, -o 1.3 is equivalent to -o
749 1.2::1.4.
750 rev1:rev2
753 Delete the revisions from rev1 to rev2, inclusive, on the same
755 branch. One will not be able to retrieve rev1 or rev2 or any of
756 the revisions in between. For example, the command cvs admin
757 -oR_1_01:R_1_02 . is rarely useful. It means to delete revisions
758 up to, and including, the tag R_1_02. But beware! If there are
759 files that have not changed between R_1_02 and R_1_03 the file will
760 have the same numerical revision number assigned to the tags R_1_02
761 and R_1_03. So not only will it be impossible to retrieve R_1_02;
762 R_1_03 will also have to be restored from the tapes! In most cases
763 you want to specify rev1::rev2 instead.
764 :rev
767 Delete revisions from the beginning of the branch containing rev up
769 to and including rev.
770 rev:
773 Delete revisions from revision rev, including rev itself, to the
775 end of the branch containing rev.
776 None of the revisions to be deleted may have branches or locks.
778 If any of the revisions to be deleted have symbolic names, and one
780 specifies one of the :: syntaxes, then cvs will give an error and
781 not delete any revisions. If you really want to delete both the
782 symbolic names and the revisions, first delete the symbolic names
783 with cvs tag -d, then run cvs admin -o. If one specifies the
784 non-:: syntaxes, then cvs will delete the revisions but leave the
785 symbolic names pointing to nonexistent revisions. This behavior is
786 preserved for compatibility with previous versions of cvs, but
787 because it isn't very useful, in the future it may change to be
788 like the :: case.
789 Due to the way cvs handles branches rev cannot be specified symbol‐
791 ically if it is a branch. see node `Magic branch numbers' in the
792 CVS manual, for an explanation.
793 Make sure that no-one has checked out a copy of the revision you
795 outdate. Strange things will happen if he starts to edit it and
796 tries to check it back in. For this reason, this option is not a
797 good way to take back a bogus commit; commit a new revision undoing
798 the bogus change instead (see node `Merging two revisions' in the
799 CVS manual).
800 -q
804 Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
806 -sstate[:rev]
810 Useful with cvs. Set the state attribute of the revision rev to
812 state. If rev is a branch number, assume the latest revision on that
813 branch. If rev is omitted, assume the latest revision on the default
814 branch. Any identifier is acceptable for state. A useful set of
815 states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and Rel (for
816 released). By default, the state of a new revision is set to Exp
817 when it is created. The state is visible in the output from cvs log
818 (see node `log' in the CVS manual), and in the $Log$ and $State$ key‐
819 words (see node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual). Note that
820 cvs uses the dead state for its own purposes (see node `Attic' in the
821 CVS manual); to take a file to or from the dead state use commands
822 like cvs remove and cvs add (see node `Adding and removing' in the
823 CVS manual), not cvs admin -s.
824 -t[file]
828 Useful with cvs. Write descriptive text from the contents of the
830 named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing text. The file
831 pathname may not begin with -. The descriptive text can be seen in
832 the output from cvs log (see node `log' in the CVS manual). There
833 can be no space between -t and its argument.
834 If file is omitted, obtain the text from standard input, terminated
836 by end-of-file or by a line containing . by itself. Prompt for the
837 text if interaction is possible; see -I.
838 -t-string
842 Similar to -tfile. Write descriptive text from the string into the
844 rcs file, deleting the existing text. There can be no space between
845 -t and its argument.
846 -U
850 Set locking to non-strict. Non-strict locking means that the owner
852 of a file need not lock a revision for checkin. For use with cvs,
853 strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
854 above.
855 -u[rev]
859 See the option -l above, for a discussion of using this option with
861 cvs. Unlock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given,
862 unlock the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, remove
863 the latest lock held by the caller. Normally, only the locker of a
864 revision may unlock it; somebody else unlocking a revision breaks the
865 lock. This causes the original locker to be sent a commit notifica‐
866 tion (see node `Getting Notified' in the CVS manual). There can be
867 no space between -u and its argument.
868 -Vn
872 In previous versions of cvs, this option meant to write an rcs file
874 which would be acceptable to rcs version n, but it is now obsolete
875 and specifying it will produce an error.
876 -xsuffixes
880 In previous versions of cvs, this was documented as a way of specify‐
882 ing the names of the rcs files. However, cvs has always required
883 that the rcs files used by cvs end in ,v, so this option has never
884 done anything useful.
885
889 What revision modified each line of a file?
890 · Synopsis: annotate [options] files...
891 · Requires: repository.
893 · Changes: nothing.
895 For each file in files, print the head revision of the trunk,
897 together with information on the last modification for each line.
898
901 These standard options are supported by annotate (see node `Common
902 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
903 -l
907 Local directory only, no recursion.
909 -R
913 Process directories recursively.
915 -f
919 Use head revision if tag/date not found.
921 -F
925 Annotate binary files.
927 -r revision
931 Annotate file as of specified revision/tag.
933 -D date
937 Annotate file as of specified date.
939
942 For example:
943 $ cvs annotate ssfile
946 Annotations for ssfile
947 ***************
948 1.1 (mary 27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1
949 1.2 (joe 28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2
950 The file ssfile currently contains two lines. The ssfile line 1 line
955 was checked in by mary on March 27. Then, on March 28, joe added a
956 line ssfile line 2, without modifying the ssfile line 1 line. This
957 report doesn't tell you anything about lines which have been deleted or
958 replaced; you need to use cvs diff for that (see node `diff' in the CVS
959 manual).
960 The options to cvs annotate are listed in see node `Invoking CVS' in
962 the CVS manual, and can be used to select the files and revisions to
963 annotate. The options are described in more detail there and in see
964 node `Common options' in the CVS manual.
965
968 Check out sources for editing
969 · Synopsis: checkout [options] modules...
970 · Requires: repository.
972 · Changes: working directory.
974 · Synonyms: co, get
976 Create or update a working directory containing copies of the source
978 files specified by modules. You must execute checkout before using
979 most of the other cvs commands, since most of them operate on your
980 working directory.
981 The modules are either symbolic names for some collection of source
983 directories and files, or paths to directories or files in the repos‐
984 itory. The symbolic names are defined in the modules file. see node
985 `modules' in the CVS manual.
986 Depending on the modules you specify, checkout may recursively create
988 directories and populate them with the appropriate source files. You
989 can then edit these source files at any time (regardless of whether
990 other software developers are editing their own copies of the
991 sources); update them to include new changes applied by others to the
992 source repository; or commit your work as a permanent change to the
993 source repository.
994 Note that checkout is used to create directories. The top-level
996 directory created is always added to the directory where checkout is
997 invoked, and usually has the same name as the specified module. In
998 the case of a module alias, the created sub-directory may have a dif‐
999 ferent name, but you can be sure that it will be a sub-directory, and
1000 that checkout will show the relative path leading to each file as it
1001 is extracted into your private work area (unless you specify the -Q
1002 global option).
1003 The files created by checkout are created read-write, unless the -r
1005 option to cvs (see node `Global options' in the CVS manual) is speci‐
1006 fied, the CVSREAD environment variable is specified (see node `Envi‐
1007 ronment variables' in the CVS manual), or a watch is in effect for
1008 that file (see node `Watches' in the CVS manual).
1009 Note that running checkout on a directory that was already built by a
1011 prior checkout is also permitted. This is similar to specifying the
1012 -d option to the update command in the sense that new directories
1013 that have been created in the repository will appear in your work
1014 area. However, checkout takes a module name whereas update takes a
1015 directory name. Also to use checkout this way it must be run from
1016 the top level directory (where you originally ran checkout from), so
1017 before you run checkout to update an existing directory, don't forget
1018 to change your directory to the top level directory.
1019 For the output produced by the checkout command see see node `update
1021 output' in the CVS manual.
1022
1025 These standard options are supported by checkout (see node `Common
1026 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
1027 -D date
1031 Use the most recent revision no later than date. This option is
1033 sticky, and implies -P. See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS man‐
1034 ual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
1035 -f
1039 Only useful with the -D date or -r tag flags. If no matching revi‐
1041 sion is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring
1042 the file).
1043 -k kflag
1047 Process keywords according to kflag. See see node `Keyword substitu‐
1049 tion' in the CVS manual. This option is sticky; future updates of
1050 this file in this working directory will use the same kflag. The
1051 status command can be viewed to see the sticky options. See see node
1052 `Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information on the status
1053 command.
1054 -l
1058 Local; run only in current working directory.
1060 -n
1064 Do not run any checkout program (as specified with the -o option in
1066 the modules file; see node `modules' in the CVS manual).
1067 -P
1071 Prune empty directories. See see node `Moving directories' in the
1073 CVS manual.
1074 -p
1078 Pipe files to the standard output.
1080 -R
1084 Checkout directories recursively. This option is on by default.
1086 -r tag
1090 Use revision tag. This option is sticky, and implies -P. See see
1092 node `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
1093 tags/dates.
1094 In addition to those, you can use these special command options with
1096 checkout:
1097 -A
1101 Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options. Does not reset sticky
1103 -k options on modified files. See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS
1104 manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
1105 -c
1109 Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output, instead of cre‐
1111 ating or modifying any files or directories in your working direc‐
1112 tory.
1113 -d dir
1117 Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of using
1119 the module name. In general, using this flag is equivalent to using
1120 mkdir dir; cd dir followed by the checkout command without the -d
1121 flag.
1122 There is an important exception, however. It is very convenient when
1124 checking out a single item to have the output appear in a directory
1125 that doesn't contain empty intermediate directories. In this case
1126 only, cvs tries to ``shorten'' pathnames to avoid those empty direc‐
1127 tories.
1128 For example, given a module foo that contains the file bar.c, the
1130 command cvs co -d dir foo will create directory dir and place bar.c
1131 inside. Similarly, given a module bar which has subdirectory baz
1132 wherein there is a file quux.c, the command cvs co -d dir bar/baz
1133 will create directory dir and place quux.c inside.
1134 Using the -N flag will defeat this behavior. Given the same module
1136 definitions above, cvs co -N -d dir foo will create directories
1137 dir/foo and place bar.c inside, while cvs co -N -d dir bar/baz will
1138 create directories dir/bar/baz and place quux.c inside.
1139 -j tag
1143 With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
1145 the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
1146 option, into the working directory.
1147 With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
1149 revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
1150 The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
1151 the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
1152 -j option.
1153 In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date specifica‐
1155 tion which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen revision to
1156 one within a specific date. An optional date is specified by adding
1157 a colon (:) to the tag: -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.
1158 see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.
1160 -N
1164 Only useful together with -d dir. With this option, cvs will not
1166 ``shorten'' module paths in your working directory when you check out
1167 a single module. See the -d flag for examples and a discussion.
1168 -s
1172 Like -c, but include the status of all modules, and sort it by the
1174 status string. see node `modules' in the CVS manual, for info about
1175 the -s option that is used inside the modules file to set the module
1176 status.
1177
1180 Get a copy of the module tc:
1181 $ cvs checkout tc
1184 Get a copy of the module tc as it looked one day ago:
1189 $ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc
1192
1198 Check files into the repository
1199 · Synopsis: commit [-lRf] [-m 'log_message' | -F file] [-r revision]
1200 [files...]
1201 · Requires: working directory, repository.
1203 · Changes: repository.
1205 · Synonym: ci
1207 Use commit when you want to incorporate changes from your working
1209 source files into the source repository.
1210 If you don't specify particular files to commit, all of the files in
1212 your working current directory are examined. commit is careful to
1213 change in the repository only those files that you have really
1214 changed. By default (or if you explicitly specify the -R option),
1215 files in subdirectories are also examined and committed if they have
1216 changed; you can use the -l option to limit commit to the current
1217 directory only.
1218 commit verifies that the selected files are up to date with the cur‐
1220 rent revisions in the source repository; it will notify you, and exit
1221 without committing, if any of the specified files must be made cur‐
1222 rent first with update (see node `update' in the CVS manual). commit
1223 does not call the update command for you, but rather leaves that for
1224 you to do when the time is right.
1225 When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to enter a log
1227 message that will be written to one or more logging programs (see
1228 node `modules' in the CVS manual, and see node `loginfo' in the CVS
1229 manual) and placed in the rcs file inside the repository. This log
1230 message can be retrieved with the log command; see see node `log' in
1231 the CVS manual. You can specify the log message on the command line
1232 with the -m message option, and thus avoid the editor invocation, or
1233 use the -F file option to specify that the argument file contains the
1234 log message.
1235
1238 These standard options are supported by commit (see node `Common
1239 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
1240 -l
1244 Local; run only in current working directory.
1246 -R
1250 Commit directories recursively. This is on by default.
1252 -r revision
1256 Commit to revision. revision must be either a branch, or a revision
1258 on the main trunk that is higher than any existing revision number
1259 (see node `Assigning revisions' in the CVS manual). You cannot com‐
1260 mit to a specific revision on a branch.
1261 commit also supports these options:
1263 -F file
1267 Read the log message from file, instead of invoking an editor.
1269 -f
1273 Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as
1275 defined in see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.
1276 Force cvs to commit a new revision even if you haven't made any
1278 changes to the file. If the current revision of file is 1.7, then
1279 the following two commands are equivalent:
1280 $ cvs commit -f file
1283 $ cvs commit -r 1.8 file
1284 The -f option disables recursion (i.e., it implies -l). To force cvs
1289 to commit a new revision for all files in all subdirectories, you
1290 must use -f -R.
1291 -m message
1295 Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.
1297
1300 Committing to a branch
1301 You can commit to a branch revision (one that has an even number of
1302 dots) with the -r option. To create a branch revision, use the -b
1303 option of the rtag or tag commands (see node `Branching and merging' in
1304 the CVS manual). Then, either checkout or update can be used to base
1305 your sources on the newly created branch. From that point on, all com‐
1306 mit changes made within these working sources will be automatically
1307 added to a branch revision, thereby not disturbing main-line develop‐
1308 ment in any way. For example, if you had to create a patch to the 1.2
1309 version of the product, even though the 2.0 version is already under
1310 development, you might do:
1311 $ cvs rtag -b -r FCS1_2 FCS1_2_Patch product_module
1314 $ cvs checkout -r FCS1_2_Patch product_module
1315 $ cd product_module
1316 [[ hack away ]]
1317 $ cvs commit
1318 This works automatically since the -r option is sticky.
1323 Creating the branch after editing
1326 Say you have been working on some extremely experimental software,
1327 based on whatever revision you happened to checkout last week. If oth‐
1328 ers in your group would like to work on this software with you, but
1329 without disturbing main-line development, you could commit your change
1330 to a new branch. Others can then checkout your experimental stuff and
1331 utilize the full benefit of cvs conflict resolution. The scenario
1332 might look like:
1333 [[ hacked sources are present ]]
1336 $ cvs tag -b EXPR1
1337 $ cvs update -r EXPR1
1338 $ cvs commit
1339 The update command will make the -r EXPR1 option sticky on all files.
1344 Note that your changes to the files will never be removed by the update
1345 command. The commit will automatically commit to the correct branch,
1346 because the -r is sticky. You could also do like this:
1347 [[ hacked sources are present ]]
1350 $ cvs tag -b EXPR1
1351 $ cvs commit -r EXPR1
1352 but then, only those files that were changed by you will have the -r
1357 EXPR1 sticky flag. If you hack away, and commit without specifying the
1358 -r EXPR1 flag, some files may accidentally end up on the main trunk.
1359 To work with you on the experimental change, others would simply do
1361 $ cvs checkout -r EXPR1 whatever_module
1364
1370 Show differences between revisions
1371 · Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options] [[-r rev1 | -D
1372 date1] [-r rev2 | -D date2]] [files...]
1373 · Requires: working directory, repository.
1375 · Changes: nothing.
1377 The diff command is used to compare different revisions of files.
1379 The default action is to compare your working files with the revi‐
1380 sions they were based on, and report any differences that are found.
1381 If any file names are given, only those files are compared. If any
1383 directories are given, all files under them will be compared.
1384 The exit status for diff is different than for other cvs commands;
1386 for details see node `Exit status' in the CVS manual.
1387
1390 These standard options are supported by diff (see node `Common options'
1391 in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
1392 -D date
1396 Use the most recent revision no later than date. See -r for how this
1398 affects the comparison.
1399 -k kflag
1403 Process keywords according to kflag. See see node `Keyword substitu‐
1405 tion' in the CVS manual.
1406 -l
1410 Local; run only in current working directory.
1412 -R
1416 Examine directories recursively. This option is on by default.
1418 -r tag
1422 Compare with revision tag. Zero, one or two -r options can be
1424 present. With no -r option, the working file will be compared with
1425 the revision it was based on. With one -r, that revision will be
1426 compared to your current working file. With two -r options those two
1427 revisions will be compared (and your working file will not affect the
1428 outcome in any way).
1429 One or both -r options can be replaced by a -D date option, described
1431 above.
1432 The following options specify the format of the output. They have
1434 the same meaning as in GNU diff. Most options have two equivalent
1435 names, one of which is a single letter preceded by -, and the other
1436 of which is a long name preceded by --.
1437 -lines
1441 Show lines (an integer) lines of context. This option does not spec‐
1443 ify an output format by itself; it has no effect unless it is com‐
1444 bined with -c or -u. This option is obsolete. For proper operation,
1445 patch typically needs at least two lines of context.
1446 -a
1450 Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
1452 do not seem to be text.
1453 -b
1457 Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
1459 or more white space characters to be equivalent.
1460 -B
1464 Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
1466 --binary
1470 Read and write data in binary mode.
1472 --brief
1476 Report only whether the files differ, not the details of the differ‐
1478 ences.
1479 -c
1483 Use the context output format.
1485 -C lines
1489 --context[=lines]
1494 Use the context output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
1496 context, or three if lines is not given. For proper operation, patch
1497 typically needs at least two lines of context.
1498 --changed-group-format=format
1502 Use format to output a line group containing differing lines from
1504 both files in if-then-else format. see node `Line group formats' in
1505 the CVS manual.
1506 -d
1510 Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This
1512 makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).
1513 -e
1517 --ed
1522 Make output that is a valid ed script.
1524 --expand-tabs
1528 Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
1530 tabs in the input files.
1531 -f
1535 Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
1537 the order they appear in the file.
1538 -F regexp
1542 In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
1544 some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.
1545 --forward-ed
1549 Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
1551 the order they appear in the file.
1552 -H
1556 Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
1558 scattered small changes.
1559 --horizon-lines=lines
1563 Do not discard the last lines lines of the common prefix and the
1565 first lines lines of the common suffix.
1566 -i
1570 Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case letters equiv‐
1572 alent.
1573 -I regexp
1577 Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.
1579 --ifdef=name
1583 Make merged if-then-else output using name.
1585 --ignore-all-space
1589 Ignore white space when comparing lines.
1591 --ignore-blank-lines
1595 Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
1597 --ignore-case
1601 Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the
1603 same.
1604 --ignore-matching-lines=regexp
1608 Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.
1610 --ignore-space-change
1614 Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
1616 or more white space characters to be equivalent.
1617 --initial-tab
1621 Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
1623 or context format. This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
1624 look normal.
1625 -L label
1629 Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
1631 format headers.
1632 --label=label
1636 Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
1638 format headers.
1639 --left-column
1643 Print only the left column of two common lines in side by side for‐
1645 mat.
1646 --line-format=format
1650 Use format to output all input lines in if-then-else format. see
1652 node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.
1653 --minimal
1657 Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes. This
1659 makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).
1660 -n
1664 Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
1666 the number of lines affected.
1667 -N
1671 --new-file
1676 In directory comparison, if a file is found in only one directory,
1678 treat it as present but empty in the other directory.
1679 --new-group-format=format
1683 Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the second file
1685 in if-then-else format. see node `Line group formats' in the CVS
1686 manual.
1687 --new-line-format=format
1691 Use format to output a line taken from just the second file in if-
1693 then-else format. see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.
1694 --old-group-format=format
1698 Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the first file
1700 in if-then-else format. see node `Line group formats' in the CVS
1701 manual.
1702 --old-line-format=format
1706 Use format to output a line taken from just the first file in if-
1708 then-else format. see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.
1709 -p
1713 Show which C function each change is in.
1715 --rcs
1719 Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
1721 the number of lines affected.
1722 --report-identical-files
1726 -s
1731 Report when two files are the same.
1733 --show-c-function
1737 Show which C function each change is in.
1739 --show-function-line=regexp
1743 In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
1745 some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.
1746 --side-by-side
1750 Use the side by side output format.
1752 --speed-large-files
1756 Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
1758 scattered small changes.
1759 --suppress-common-lines
1763 Do not print common lines in side by side format.
1765 -t
1769 Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
1771 tabs in the input files.
1772 -T
1776 Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
1778 or context format. This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
1779 look normal.
1780 --text
1784 Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
1786 do not appear to be text.
1787 -u
1791 Use the unified output format.
1793 --unchanged-group-format=format
1797 Use format to output a group of common lines taken from both files in
1799 if-then-else format. see node `Line group formats' in the CVS man‐
1800 ual.
1801 --unchanged-line-format=format
1805 Use format to output a line common to both files in if-then-else for‐
1807 mat. see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.
1808 -U lines
1812 --unified[=lines]
1817 Use the unified output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
1819 context, or three if lines is not given. For proper operation, patch
1820 typically needs at least two lines of context.
1821 -w
1825 Ignore white space when comparing lines.
1827 -W columns
1831 --width=columns
1836 Use an output width of columns in side by side format.
1838 -y
1842 Use the side by side output format.
1844
1847 Line group formats let you specify formats suitable for many applica‐
1848 tions that allow if-then-else input, including programming languages
1849 and text formatting languages. A line group format specifies the out‐
1850 put format for a contiguous group of similar lines.
1851 For example, the following command compares the TeX file myfile with
1853 the original version from the repository, and outputs a merged file in
1854 which old regions are surrounded by \begin{em}-\end{em} lines, and new
1855 regions are surrounded by \begin{bf}-\end{bf} lines.
1856 cvs diff \
1859 --old-group-format='\begin{em}
1861 %<\end{em}
1862 ' \
1863 --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
1865 %>\end{bf}
1866 ' \
1867 myfile
1869 The following command is equivalent to the above example, but it is a
1874 little more verbose, because it spells out the default line group for‐
1875 mats.
1876 cvs diff \
1879 --old-group-format='\begin{em}
1881 %<\end{em}
1882 ' \
1883 --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
1885 %>\end{bf}
1886 ' \
1887 --unchanged-group-format='%=' \
1889 --changed-group-format='\begin{em}
1891 %<\end{em}
1892 \begin{bf}
1893 %>\end{bf}
1894 ' \
1895 myfile
1897 Here is a more advanced example, which outputs a diff listing with
1902 headers containing line numbers in a ``plain English'' style.
1903 cvs diff \
1906 --unchanged-group-format='' \
1908 --old-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) deleted at %df:
1910 %<' \
1911 --new-group-format='-------- %dN line%(N=1?:s) added after %de:
1913 %>' \
1914 --changed-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) changed at %df:
1916 %<-------- to:
1917 %>' \
1918 myfile
1920 To specify a line group format, use one of the options listed below.
1925 You can specify up to four line group formats, one for each kind of
1926 line group. You should quote format, because it typically contains
1927 shell metacharacters.
1928 --old-group-format=format
1932 These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the first
1934 file. The default old group format is the same as the changed group
1935 format if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
1936 line group as-is.
1937 --new-group-format=format
1941 These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the second
1943 file. The default new group format is same as the changed group for‐
1944 mat if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
1945 line group as-is.
1946 --changed-group-format=format
1950 These line groups are hunks containing lines from both files. The
1952 default changed group format is the concatenation of the old and new
1953 group formats.
1954 --unchanged-group-format=format
1958 These line groups contain lines common to both files. The default
1960 unchanged group format is a format that outputs the line group as-is.
1961 In a line group format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
1963 conversion specifications start with % and have one of the following
1964 forms.
1965 %<
1969 stands for the lines from the first file, including the trailing new‐
1971 line. Each line is formatted according to the old line format (see
1972 node `Line formats' in the CVS manual).
1973 %>
1977 stands for the lines from the second file, including the trailing
1979 newline. Each line is formatted according to the new line format.
1980 %=
1984 stands for the lines common to both files, including the trailing
1986 newline. Each line is formatted according to the unchanged line for‐
1987 mat.
1988 %%
1992 stands for %.
1994 %c'C'
1998 where C is a single character, stands for C. C may not be a back‐
2000 slash or an apostrophe. For example, %c':' stands for a colon, even
2001 inside the then-part of an if-then-else format, which a colon would
2002 normally terminate.
2003 %c'\O'
2007 where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the char‐
2009 acter with octal code O. For example, %c'\0' stands for a null char‐
2010 acter.
2011 Fn
2015 where F is a printf conversion specification and n is one of the fol‐
2017 lowing letters, stands for n's value formatted with F.
2018 e
2021 The line number of the line just before the group in the old file.
2023 f
2026 The line number of the first line in the group in the old file;
2028 equals e + 1.
2029 l
2032 The line number of the last line in the group in the old file.
2034 m
2037 The line number of the line just after the group in the old file;
2039 equals l + 1.
2040 n
2043 The number of lines in the group in the old file; equals l - f + 1.
2045 E, F, L, M, N
2048 Likewise, for lines in the new file.
2050 The printf conversion specification can be %d, %o, %x, or %X, spec‐
2053 ifying decimal, octal, lower case hexadecimal, or upper case hexa‐
2054 decimal output respectively. After the % the following options can
2055 appear in sequence: a - specifying left-justification; an integer
2056 specifying the minimum field width; and a period followed by an
2057 optional integer specifying the minimum number of digits. For
2058 example, %5dN prints the number of new lines in the group in a
2059 field of width 5 characters, using the printf format "%5d".
2060 (A=B?T:E)
2064 If A equals B then T else E. A and B are each either a decimal con‐
2066 stant or a single letter interpreted as above. This format spec is
2067 equivalent to T if A's value equals B's; otherwise it is equivalent
2068 to E.
2069 For example, %(N=0?no:%dN) line%(N=1?:s) is equivalent to no lines if
2071 N (the number of lines in the group in the new file) is 0, to 1 line
2072 if N is 1, and to %dN lines otherwise.
2073
2076 Line formats control how each line taken from an input file is output
2077 as part of a line group in if-then-else format.
2078 For example, the following command outputs text with a one-column
2080 change indicator to the left of the text. The first column of output
2081 is - for deleted lines, | for added lines, and a space for unchanged
2082 lines. The formats contain newline characters where newlines are
2083 desired on output.
2084 cvs diff \
2087 --old-line-format='-%l
2089 ' \
2090 --new-line-format='|%l
2092 ' \
2093 --unchanged-line-format=' %l
2095 ' \
2096 myfile
2098 To specify a line format, use one of the following options. You should
2103 quote format, since it often contains shell metacharacters.
2104 --old-line-format=format
2108 formats lines just from the first file.
2110 --new-line-format=format
2114 formats lines just from the second file.
2116 --unchanged-line-format=format
2120 formats lines common to both files.
2122 --line-format=format
2126 formats all lines; in effect, it sets all three above options simul‐
2128 taneously.
2129 In a line format, ordinary characters represent themselves; conver‐
2131 sion specifications start with % and have one of the following forms.
2132 %l
2136 stands for the contents of the line, not counting its trailing new‐
2138 line (if any). This format ignores whether the line is incomplete.
2139 %L
2143 stands for the contents of the line, including its trailing newline
2145 (if any). If a line is incomplete, this format preserves its incom‐
2146 pleteness.
2147 %%
2151 stands for %.
2153 %c'C'
2157 where C is a single character, stands for C. C may not be a back‐
2159 slash or an apostrophe. For example, %c':' stands for a colon.
2160 %c'\O'
2164 where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the char‐
2166 acter with octal code O. For example, %c'\0' stands for a null char‐
2167 acter.
2168 Fn
2172 where F is a printf conversion specification, stands for the line
2174 number formatted with F. For example, %.5dn prints the line number
2175 using the printf format "%.5d". see node `Line group formats' in the
2176 CVS manual, for more about printf conversion specifications.
2177 The default line format is %l followed by a newline character.
2180 If the input contains tab characters and it is important that they
2182 line up on output, you should ensure that %l or %L in a line format
2183 is just after a tab stop (e.g. by preceding %l or %L with a tab char‐
2184 acter), or you should use the -t or --expand-tabs option.
2185 Taken together, the line and line group formats let you specify many
2187 different formats. For example, the following command uses a format
2188 similar to diff's normal format. You can tailor this command to get
2189 fine control over diff's output.
2190 cvs diff \
2193 --old-line-format='< %l
2195 ' \
2196 --new-line-format='> %l
2198 ' \
2199 --old-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)d%dE
2201 %<' \
2202 --new-group-format='%dea%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
2204 %>' \
2205 --changed-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)c%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
2207 %<—
2208 %>' \
2209 --unchanged-group-format='' \
2211 myfile
2213
2219 The following line produces a Unidiff (-u flag) between revision 1.14
2220 and 1.19 of backend.c. Due to the -kk flag no keywords are substi‐
2221 tuted, so differences that only depend on keyword substitution are
2222 ignored.
2223 $ cvs diff -kk -u -r 1.14 -r 1.19 backend.c
2226 Suppose the experimental branch EXPR1 was based on a set of files
2231 tagged RELEASE_1_0. To see what has happened on that branch, the fol‐
2232 lowing can be used:
2233 $ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1
2236 A command like this can be used to produce a context diff between two
2241 releases:
2242 $ cvs diff -c -r RELEASE_1_0 -r RELEASE_1_1 > diffs
2245 If you are maintaining ChangeLogs, a command like the following just
2250 before you commit your changes may help you write the ChangeLog entry.
2251 All local modifications that have not yet been committed will be
2252 printed.
2253 $ cvs diff -u | less
2256
2262 Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout
2263 · Synopsis: export [-flNnR] [-r rev|-D date] [-k subst] [-d dir] mod‐
2264 ule...
2265 · Requires: repository.
2267 · Changes: current directory.
2269 This command is a variant of checkout; use it when you want a copy of
2271 the source for module without the cvs administrative directories.
2272 For example, you might use export to prepare source for shipment off-
2273 site. This command requires that you specify a date or tag (with -D
2274 or -r), so that you can count on reproducing the source you ship to
2275 others (and thus it always prunes empty directories).
2276 One often would like to use -kv with cvs export. This causes any
2278 keywords to be expanded such that an import done at some other site
2279 will not lose the keyword revision information. But be aware that
2280 doesn't handle an export containing binary files correctly. Also be
2281 aware that after having used -kv, one can no longer use the ident
2282 command (which is part of the rcs suite—see ident(1)) which looks for
2283 keyword strings. If you want to be able to use ident you must not
2284 use -kv.
2285
2288 These standard options are supported by export (see node `Common
2289 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
2290 -D date
2294 Use the most recent revision no later than date.
2296 -f
2300 If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
2302 (instead of ignoring the file).
2303 -l
2307 Local; run only in current working directory.
2309 -n
2313 Do not run any checkout program.
2315 -R
2319 Export directories recursively. This is on by default.
2321 -r tag
2325 Use revision tag.
2327 In addition, these options (that are common to checkout and export)
2329 are also supported:
2330 -d dir
2334 Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of using
2336 the module name. see node `checkout options' in the CVS manual, for
2337 complete details on how cvs handles this flag.
2338 -k subst
2342 Set keyword expansion mode (see node `Substitution modes' in the CVS
2344 manual).
2345 -N
2349 Only useful together with -d dir. see node `checkout options' in the
2351 CVS manual, for complete details on how cvs handles this flag.
2352
2355 Show status of files and users
2356 · Synopsis: history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]
2357 · Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history
2359 · Changes: nothing.
2361 cvs can keep a history file that tracks each use of the checkout,
2363 commit, rtag, update, and release commands. You can use history to
2364 display this information in various formats.
2365 Logging must be enabled by creating the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/his‐
2367 tory.
2368 history uses -f, -l, -n, and -p in ways that conflict with the normal
2370 use inside cvs (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).
2371
2374 Several options (shown above as -report) control what kind of report
2375 is generated:
2376 -c
2380 Report on each time commit was used (i.e., each time the repository
2382 was modified).
2383 -e
2387 Everything (all record types). Equivalent to specifying -x with all
2389 record types. Of course, -e will also include record types which are
2390 added in a future version of cvs; if you are writing a script which
2391 can only handle certain record types, you'll want to specify -x.
2392 -m module
2396 Report on a particular module. (You can meaningfully use -m more
2398 than once on the command line.)
2399 -o
2403 Report on checked-out modules. This is the default report type.
2405 -T
2409 Report on all tags.
2411 -x type
2415 Extract a particular set of record types type from the cvs history.
2417 The types are indicated by single letters, which you may specify in
2418 combination.
2419 Certain commands have a single record type:
2421 F
2424 release
2426 O
2428 checkout
2430 E
2432 export
2434 T
2436 rtag
2438 One of five record types may result from an update:
2440 C
2443 A merge was necessary but collisions were detected (requiring man‐
2445 ual merging).
2446 G
2448 A merge was necessary and it succeeded.
2450 U
2452 A working file was copied from the repository.
2454 P
2456 A working file was patched to match the repository.
2458 W
2460 The working copy of a file was deleted during update (because it
2462 was gone from the repository).
2463 One of three record types results from commit:
2465 A
2468 A file was added for the first time.
2470 M
2472 A file was modified.
2474 R
2476 A file was removed.
2478 The options shown as -flags constrain or expand the report without
2480 requiring option arguments:
2481 -a
2485 Show data for all users (the default is to show data only for the
2487 user executing history).
2488 -l
2492 Show last modification only.
2494 -w
2498 Show only the records for modifications done from the same working
2500 directory where history is executing.
2501 The options shown as -options args constrain the report based on an
2503 argument:
2504 -b str
2508 Show data back to a record containing the string str in either
2510 the module name, the file name, or the repository path.
2511 -D date
2515 Show data since date. This is slightly different from the normal use
2517 of -D date, which selects the newest revision older than date.
2518 -f file
2522 Show data for a particular file (you can specify several -f options
2524 on the same command line). This is equivalent to specifying the file
2525 on the command line.
2526 -n module
2530 Show data for a particular module (you can specify several -n options
2532 on the same command line).
2533 -p repository
2537 Show data for a particular source repository (you can specify sev‐
2539 eral -p options on the same command line).
2540 -r rev
2544 Show records referring to revisions since the revision or tag named
2546 rev appears in individual rcs files. Each rcs file is searched for
2547 the revision or tag.
2548 -t tag
2552 Show records since tag tag was last added to the history file. This
2554 differs from the -r flag above in that it reads only the history
2555 file, not the rcs files, and is much faster.
2556 -u name
2560 Show records for user name.
2562 -z timezone
2566 Show times in the selected records using the specified time zone
2568 instead of UTC.
2569
2572 Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches
2573 · Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag...
2574 · Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.
2576 · Changes: repository.
2578 Use import to incorporate an entire source distribution from an out‐
2580 side source (e.g., a source vendor) into your source repository
2581 directory. You can use this command both for initial creation of a
2582 repository, and for wholesale updates to the module from the outside
2583 source. see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, for a discus‐
2584 sion on this subject.
2585 The repository argument gives a directory name (or a path to a direc‐
2587 tory) under the cvs root directory for repositories; if the directory
2588 did not exist, import creates it.
2589 When you use import for updates to source that has been modified in
2591 your source repository (since a prior import), it will notify you of
2592 any files that conflict in the two branches of development; use
2593 checkout -j to reconcile the differences, as import instructs you to
2594 do.
2595 If cvs decides a file should be ignored (see node `cvsignore' in the
2597 CVS manual), it does not import it and prints I followed by the
2598 filename (see node `import output' in the CVS manual, for a complete
2599 description of the output).
2600 If the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvswrappers exists, any file whose names
2602 match the specifications in that file will be treated as packages and
2603 the appropriate filtering will be performed on the file/directory
2604 before being imported. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.
2605 The outside source is saved in a first-level branch, by default
2607 1.1.1. Updates are leaves of this branch; for example, files from
2608 the first imported collection of source will be revision 1.1.1.1,
2609 then files from the first imported update will be revision 1.1.1.2,
2610 and so on.
2611 At least three arguments are required. repository is needed to iden‐
2613 tify the collection of source. vendortag is a tag for the entire
2614 branch (e.g., for 1.1.1). You must also specify at least one
2615 releasetag to uniquely identify the files at the leaves created each
2616 time you execute import. The releasetag should be new, not previ‐
2617 ously existing in the repository file, and uniquely identify the
2618 imported release,
2619 Note that import does not change the directory in which you invoke
2621 it. In particular, it does not set up that directory as a cvs work‐
2622 ing directory; if you want to work with the sources import them first
2623 and then check them out into a different directory (see node `Getting
2624 the source' in the CVS manual).
2625
2628 This standard option is supported by import (see node `Common options'
2629 in the CVS manual, for a complete description):
2630 -m message
2634 Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.
2636 There are the following additional special options.
2638 -b branch
2642 See see node `Multiple vendor branches' in the CVS manual.
2644 -k subst
2648 Indicate the keyword expansion mode desired. This setting will apply
2650 to all files created during the import, but not to any files that
2651 previously existed in the repository. See see node `Substitution
2652 modes' in the CVS manual, for a list of valid -k settings.
2653 -I name
2657 Specify file names that should be ignored during import. You can use
2659 this option repeatedly. To avoid ignoring any files at all (even
2660 those ignored by default), specify `-I !'.
2661 name can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
2663 in the .cvsignore file. see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual.
2664 -W spec
2668 Specify file names that should be filtered during import. You can
2670 use this option repeatedly.
2671 spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
2673 in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.
2674
2677 import keeps you informed of its progress by printing a line for each
2678 file, preceded by one character indicating the status of the file:
2679 U file
2683 The file already exists in the repository and has not been locally
2685 modified; a new revision has been created (if necessary).
2686 N file
2690 The file is a new file which has been added to the repository.
2692 C file
2696 The file already exists in the repository but has been locally modi‐
2698 fied; you will have to merge the changes.
2699 I file
2703 The file is being ignored (see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual).
2705 L file
2709 The file is a symbolic link; cvs import ignores symbolic links. Peo‐
2711 ple periodically suggest that this behavior should be changed, but if
2712 there is a consensus on what it should be changed to, it doesn't seem
2713 to be apparent. (Various options in the modules file can be used to
2714 recreate symbolic links on checkout, update, etc.; see node `modules'
2715 in the CVS manual.)
2716
2719 See see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, and see node `From
2720 files' in the CVS manual.
2721
2724 Print out log information for files
2725 · Synopsis: log [options] [files...]
2726 · Requires: repository, working directory.
2728 · Changes: nothing.
2730 Display log information for files. log used to call the rcs utility
2732 rlog. Although this is no longer true in the current sources, this
2733 history determines the format of the output and the options, which
2734 are not quite in the style of the other cvs commands.
2735 The output includes the location of the rcs file, the head revision
2737 (the latest revision on the trunk), all symbolic names (tags) and
2738 some other things. For each revision, the revision number, the
2739 author, the number of lines added/deleted and the log message are
2740 printed. All times are displayed in Coordinated Universal Time
2741 (UTC). (Other parts of cvs print times in the local timezone).
2742 log uses -R in a way that conflicts with the normal use inside cvs
2744 (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).
2745
2748 By default, log prints all information that is available. All other
2749 options restrict the output. Note that the revision selection options
2750 (-d, -r, -s, and -w) have no effect, other than possibly causing a
2751 search for files in Attic directories, when used in conjunction with
2752 the options that restrict the output to only log header fields (-b, -h,
2753 -R, and -t) unless the -S option is also specified.
2754 -b
2758 Print information about the revisions on the default branch, normally
2760 the highest branch on the trunk.
2761 -d dates
2765 Print information about revisions with a checkin date/time in the
2767 range given by the semicolon-separated list of dates. The date for‐
2768 mats accepted are those accepted by the -D option to many other cvs
2769 commands (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual). Dates can be
2770 combined into ranges as follows:
2771 d1<d2
2774 d2>d1
2778 Select the revisions that were deposited between d1 and d2.
2780 <d
2783 d>
2787 Select all revisions dated d or earlier.
2789 d<
2792 >d
2796 Select all revisions dated d or later.
2798 d
2801 Select the single, latest revision dated d or earlier.
2803 The > or < characters may be followed by = to indicate an inclusive
2805 range rather than an exclusive one.
2806 Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).
2808 -h
2812 Print only the name of the rcs file, name of the file in the working
2814 directory, head, default branch, access list, locks, symbolic names,
2815 and suffix.
2816 -l
2820 Local; run only in current working directory. (Default is to run
2822 recursively).
2823 -N
2827 Do not print the list of tags for this file. This option can be very
2829 useful when your site uses a lot of tags, so rather than "more"'ing
2830 over 3 pages of tag information, the log information is presented
2831 without tags at all.
2832 -R
2836 Print only the name of the rcs file.
2838 -rrevisions
2842 Print information about revisions given in the comma-separated list
2844 revisions of revisions and ranges. The following table explains the
2845 available range formats:
2846 rev1:rev2
2849 Revisions rev1 to rev2 (which must be on the same branch).
2851 rev1::rev2
2854 The same, but excluding rev1.
2856 :rev
2859 ::rev
2863 Revisions from the beginning of the branch up to and including rev.
2865 rev:
2868 Revisions starting with rev to the end of the branch containing
2870 rev.
2871 rev::
2874 Revisions starting just after rev to the end of the branch contain‐
2876 ing rev.
2877 branch
2880 An argument that is a branch means all revisions on that branch.
2882 branch1:branch2
2885 branch1::branch2
2889 A range of branches means all revisions on the branches in that
2891 range.
2892 branch.
2895 The latest revision in branch.
2897 A bare -r with no revisions means the latest revision on the
2899 default branch, normally the trunk. There can be no space between
2900 the -r option and its argument.
2901 -S
2905 Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.
2907 -s states
2911 Print information about revisions whose state attributes match one of
2913 the states given in the comma-separated list states. Individual
2914 states may be any text string, though cvs commonly only uses two
2915 states, Exp and dead. See see node `admin options' in the CVS manual
2916 for more information.
2917 -t
2921 Print the same as -h, plus the descriptive text.
2923 -wlogins
2927 Print information about revisions checked in by users with login
2929 names appearing in the comma-separated list logins. If logins is
2930 omitted, the user's login is assumed. There can be no space between
2931 the -w option and its argument.
2932 log prints the intersection of the revisions selected with the
2934 options -d, -s, and -w, intersected with the union of the revisions
2935 selected by -b and -r.
2936
2939 Contributed examples are gratefully accepted.
2940
2943 'patch' format diffs between releases
2944 · rdiff [-flags] [-V vn] [-r t|-D d [-r t2|-D d2]] modules...
2945 · Requires: repository.
2947 · Changes: nothing.
2949 · Synonym: patch
2951 Builds a Larry Wall format patch(1) file between two releases, that
2953 can be fed directly into the patch program to bring an old release
2954 up-to-date with the new release. (This is one of the few cvs com‐
2955 mands that operates directly from the repository, and doesn't require
2956 a prior checkout.) The diff output is sent to the standard output
2957 device.
2958 You can specify (using the standard -r and -D options) any combina‐
2960 tion of one or two revisions or dates. If only one revision or date
2961 is specified, the patch file reflects differences between that revi‐
2962 sion or date and the current head revisions in the rcs file.
2963 Note that if the software release affected is contained in more than
2965 one directory, then it may be necessary to specify the -p option to
2966 the patch command when patching the old sources, so that patch is
2967 able to find the files that are located in other directories.
2968
2971 These standard options are supported by rdiff (see node `Common
2972 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
2973 -D date
2977 Use the most recent revision no later than date.
2979 -f
2983 If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
2985 (instead of ignoring the file).
2986 -k kflag
2990 Process keywords according to kflag. See see node `Keyword substitu‐
2992 tion' in the CVS manual.
2993 -l
2997 Local; don't descend subdirectories.
2999 -R
3003 Examine directories recursively. This option is on by default.
3005 -r tag
3009 Use revision tag.
3011 In addition to the above, these options are available:
3013 -c
3017 Use the context diff format. This is the default format.
3019 -s
3023 Create a summary change report instead of a patch. The summary
3025 includes information about files that were changed or added between
3026 the releases. It is sent to the standard output device. This is
3027 useful for finding out, for example, which files have changed between
3028 two dates or revisions.
3029 -t
3033 A diff of the top two revisions is sent to the standard output
3035 device. This is most useful for seeing what the last change to a
3036 file was.
3037 -u
3041 Use the unidiff format for the context diffs. Remember that old ver‐
3043 sions of the patch program can't handle the unidiff format, so if you
3044 plan to post this patch to the net you should probably not use -u.
3045 -V vn
3049 Expand keywords according to the rules current in rcs version vn (the
3051 expansion format changed with rcs version 5). Note that this option
3052 is no longer accepted. cvs will always expand keywords the way that
3053 rcs version 5 does.
3054
3057 Suppose you receive mail from foo@example.net asking for an update from
3058 release 1.2 to 1.4 of the tc compiler. You have no such patches on
3059 hand, but with cvs that can easily be fixed with a command such as
3060 this:
3061 $ cvs rdiff -c -r FOO1_2 -r FOO1_4 tc | \
3064 $$ Mail -s 'The patches you asked for' foo@example.net
3065 Suppose you have made release 1.3, and forked a branch called R_1_3fix
3070 for bug fixes. R_1_3_1 corresponds to release 1.3.1, which was made
3071 some time ago. Now, you want to see how much development has been done
3072 on the branch. This command can be used:
3073 $ cvs patch -s -r R_1_3_1 -r R_1_3fix module-name
3076 cvs rdiff: Diffing module-name
3077 File ChangeLog,v changed from revision 1.52.2.5 to 1.52.2.6
3078 File foo.c,v changed from revision 1.52.2.3 to 1.52.2.4
3079 File bar.h,v changed from revision 1.29.2.1 to 1.2
3080
3086 Indicate that a Module is no longer in use
3087 · release [-d] directories...
3088 · Requires: Working directory.
3090 · Changes: Working directory, history log.
3092 This command is meant to safely cancel the effect of cvs checkout.
3094 Since cvs doesn't lock files, it isn't strictly necessary to use this
3095 command. You can always simply delete your working directory, if you
3096 like; but you risk losing changes you may have forgotten, and you
3097 leave no trace in the cvs history file (see node `history file' in
3098 the CVS manual) that you've abandoned your checkout.
3099 Use cvs release to avoid these problems. This command checks that no
3101 uncommitted changes are present; that you are executing it from imme‐
3102 diately above a cvs working directory; and that the repository
3103 recorded for your files is the same as the repository defined in the
3104 module database.
3105 If all these conditions are true, cvs release leaves a record of its
3107 execution (attesting to your intentionally abandoning your checkout)
3108 in the cvs history log.
3109
3112 The release command supports one command option:
3113 -d
3117 Delete your working copy of the file if the release succeeds. If
3119 this flag is not given your files will remain in your working direc‐
3120 tory.
3121 WARNING: The release command deletes all directories and files
3123 recursively. This has the very serious side-effect that any direc‐
3124 tory that you have created inside your checked-out sources, and not
3125 added to the repository (using the add command; see node `Adding
3126 files' in the CVS manual) will be silently deleted—even if it is non-
3127 empty!
3128
3131 Before release releases your sources it will print a one-line message
3132 for any file that is not up-to-date.
3133 U file
3137 P file
3142 There exists a newer revision of this file in the repository, and you
3144 have not modified your local copy of the file (U and P mean the same
3145 thing).
3146 A file
3150 The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, but has
3152 not yet been committed to the repository. If you delete your copy of
3153 the sources this file will be lost.
3154 R file
3158 The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, but
3160 has not yet been removed from the repository, since you have not yet
3161 committed the removal. see node `commit' in the CVS manual.
3162 M file
3166 The file is modified in your working directory. There might also be
3168 a newer revision inside the repository.
3169 ? file
3173 file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to any‐
3175 thing in the source repository, and is not in the list of files for
3176 cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see node
3177 `cvsignore' in the CVS manual). If you remove your working sources,
3178 this file will be lost.
3179
3182 Release the tc directory, and delete your local working copy of the
3183 files.
3184 $ cd .. # You must stand immediately above the
3187 # sources when you issue cvs release.
3189 $ cvs release -d tc
3190 You have [0] altered files in this repository.
3191 Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': y
3192 $
3193
3199 Bring work tree in sync with repository
3200 · update [-ACdflPpR] [-I name] [-j rev [-j rev]] [-k kflag] [-r tag|-D
3201 date] [-W spec] files...
3202 · Requires: repository, working directory.
3204 · Changes: working directory.
3206 After you've run checkout to create your private copy of source from
3208 the common repository, other developers will continue changing the
3209 central source. From time to time, when it is convenient in your
3210 development process, you can use the update command from within your
3211 working directory to reconcile your work with any revisions applied
3212 to the source repository since your last checkout or update.
3213
3216 These standard options are available with update (see node `Common
3217 options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):
3218 -D date
3222 Use the most recent revision no later than date. This option is
3224 sticky, and implies -P. See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS man‐
3225 ual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
3226 -f
3230 Only useful with the -D date or -r tag flags. If no matching revi‐
3232 sion is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring
3233 the file).
3234 -k kflag
3238 Process keywords according to kflag. See see node `Keyword substitu‐
3240 tion' in the CVS manual. This option is sticky; future updates of
3241 this file in this working directory will use the same kflag. The
3242 status command can be viewed to see the sticky options. See see node
3243 `Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information on the status
3244 command.
3245 -l
3249 Local; run only in current working directory. see node `Recursive
3251 behavior' in the CVS manual.
3252 -P
3256 Prune empty directories. See see node `Moving directories' in the
3258 CVS manual.
3259 -p
3263 Pipe files to the standard output.
3265 -R
3269 Update directories recursively (default). see node `Recursive behav‐
3271 ior' in the CVS manual.
3272 -r rev
3276 Retrieve revision/tag rev. This option is sticky, and implies -P.
3278 See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on
3279 sticky tags/dates.
3280 These special options are also available with update.
3282 -A
3286 Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options. Does not reset sticky
3288 -k options on modified files. See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS
3289 manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
3290 -C
3294 Overwrite locally modified files with clean copies from the reposi‐
3296 tory (the modified file is saved in .#file.revision, however).
3297 -d
3301 Create any directories that exist in the repository if they're miss‐
3303 ing from the working directory. Normally, update acts only on direc‐
3304 tories and files that were already enrolled in your working direc‐
3305 tory.
3306 This is useful for updating directories that were created in the
3308 repository since the initial checkout; but it has an unfortunate side
3309 effect. If you deliberately avoided certain directories in the
3310 repository when you created your working directory (either through
3311 use of a module name or by listing explicitly the files and directo‐
3312 ries you wanted on the command line), then updating with -d will cre‐
3313 ate those directories, which may not be what you want.
3314 -I name
3318 Ignore files whose names match name (in your working directory) dur‐
3320 ing the update. You can specify -I more than once on the command
3321 line to specify several files to ignore. Use -I ! to avoid ignoring
3322 any files at all. see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual, for other
3323 ways to make cvs ignore some files.
3324 -Wspec
3328 Specify file names that should be filtered during update. You can
3330 use this option repeatedly.
3331 spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
3333 in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.
3334 -jrevision
3338 With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
3340 the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
3341 option, into the working directory.
3342 With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
3344 revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
3345 The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
3346 the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
3347 -j option.
3348 Note that using a single -j tagname option rather than -j branchname
3350 to merge changes from a branch will often not remove files which were
3351 removed on the branch. see node `Merging adds and removals' in the
3352 CVS manual, for more.
3353 In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date specifica‐
3355 tion which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen revision to
3356 one within a specific date. An optional date is specified by adding
3357 a colon (:) to the tag: -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.
3358 see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.
3360
3364 update and checkout keep you informed of their progress by printing a
3365 line for each file, preceded by one character indicating the status of
3366 the file:
3367 U file
3371 The file was brought up to date with respect to the repository. This
3373 is done for any file that exists in the repository but not in your
3374 working directory, and for files that you haven't changed but are not
3375 the most recent versions available in the repository.
3376 P file
3380 Like U, but the cvs server sends a patch instead of an entire file.
3382 This accomplishes the same thing as U using less bandwidth.
3383 A file
3387 The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, and will
3389 be added to the source repository when you run commit on the file.
3390 This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.
3391 R file
3395 The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, and
3397 will be removed from the source repository when you run commit on the
3398 file. This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.
3399 M file
3403 The file is modified in your working directory.
3405 M can indicate one of two states for a file you're working on: either
3407 there were no modifications to the same file in the repository, so
3408 that your file remains as you last saw it; or there were modifica‐
3409 tions in the repository as well as in your copy, but they were merged
3410 successfully, without conflict, in your working directory.
3411 cvs will print some messages if it merges your work, and a backup
3413 copy of your working file (as it looked before you ran update) will
3414 be made. The exact name of that file is printed while update runs.
3415 C file
3419 A conflict was detected while trying to merge your changes to file
3421 with changes from the source repository. file (the copy in your
3422 working directory) is now the result of attempting to merge the two
3423 revisions; an unmodified copy of your file is also in your working
3424 directory, with the name .#file.revision where revision is the revi‐
3425 sion that your modified file started from. Resolve the conflict as
3426 described in see node `Conflicts example' in the CVS manual. (Note
3427 that some systems automatically purge files that begin with .# if
3428 they have not been accessed for a few days. If you intend to keep a
3429 copy of your original file, it is a very good idea to rename it.)
3430 Under vms, the file name starts with __ rather than .#.
3431 ? file
3435 file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to any‐
3437 thing in the source repository, and is not in the list of files for
3438 cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see node
3439 `cvsignore' in the CVS manual).
3440
3442 Dick Grune
3443 Original author of the cvs shell script version posted to
3444 comp.sources.unix in the volume6 release of December, 1986.
3445 Credited with much of the cvs conflict resolution algorithms.
3446 Brian Berliner
3448 Coder and designer of the cvs program itself in April, 1989,
3449 based on the original work done by Dick.
3450 Jeff Polk
3452 Helped Brian with the design of the cvs module and vendor branch
3453 support and author of the checkin(1) shell script (the ancestor
3454 of cvs import).
3455 Larry Jones, Derek R. Price, and Mark D. Baushke
3457 Have helped maintain cvs for many years.
3458 And many others too numerous to mention here.
3460
3462 The most comprehensive manual for CVS is Version Management with CVS by
3463 Per Cederqvist et al. Depending on your system, you may be able to get
3464 it with the info CVS command or it may be available as cvs.pdf (Porta‐
3465 ble Document Format), cvs.ps (PostScript), cvs.texinfo (Texinfo
3466 source), or cvs.html.
3467 For CVS updates, more information on documentation, software related to
3469 CVS, development of CVS, and more, see:
3470 http://cvs.nongnu.org
3472 ci(1), co(1), cvs(5), cvsbug(8), diff(1), grep(1), patch(1), rcs(1), rcsd‐
3474 iff(1), rcsmerge(1), rlog(1).
3475 CVS(1)