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CVS(1)                      General Commands Manual                     CVS(1)



NAME
       cvs - Concurrent Versions System

SYNOPSIS
       cvs [ cvs_options ]
              cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

NOTE
       This manpage is a summary of some of the features of cvs.  It is auto-
       generated from an appendix of the CVS manual.  For more in-depth
       documentation, please consult the Cederqvist manual (via the info CVS
       command or otherwise, as described in the SEE ALSO section of this
       manpage).  Cross-references in this man page refer to nodes in the
       same.

CVS commands
   Guide to CVS commands
       This appendix describes the overall structure of cvs commands, and
       describes some commands in detail (others are described elsewhere; for
       a quick reference to cvs commands, see node `Invoking CVS' in the CVS
       manual).


Structure
   Overall structure of CVS commands
       The overall format of all cvs commands is:



         cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]








       cvs


         The name of the cvs program.




       cvs_options


         Some options that affect all sub-commands of cvs.  These are
         described below.




       cvs_command


         One of several different sub-commands.  Some of the commands have
         aliases that can be used instead; those aliases are noted in the
         reference manual for that command.  There are only two situations
         where you may omit cvs_command: cvs -H elicits a list of available
         commands, and cvs -v displays version information on cvs itself.




       command_options


         Options that are specific for the command.




       command_args


         Arguments to the commands.

         There is unfortunately some confusion between cvs_options and
         command_options.  When given as a cvs_option, some options only
         affect some of the commands.  When given as a command_option it may
         have a different meaning, and be accepted by more commands.  In other
         words, do not take the above categorization too seriously.  Look at
         the documentation instead.


Exit status
   CVS's exit status
       cvs can indicate to the calling environment whether it succeeded or
       failed by setting its exit status.  The exact way of testing the exit
       status will vary from one operating system to another.  For example in
       a unix shell script the $? variable will be 0 if the last command
       returned a successful exit status, or greater than 0 if the exit status
       indicated failure.

       If cvs is successful, it returns a successful status; if there is an
       error, it prints an error message and returns a failure status.  The
       one exception to this is the cvs diff command.  It will return a
       successful status if it found no differences, or a failure status if
       there were differences or if there was an error.  Because this behavior
       provides no good way to detect errors, in the future it is possible
       that cvs diff will be changed to behave like the other cvs commands.


~/.cvsrc
   Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file
       There are some command_options that are used so often that you might
       have set up an alias or some other means to make sure you always
       specify that option.  One example (the one that drove the
       implementation of the .cvsrc support, actually) is that many people
       find the default output of the diff command to be very hard to read,
       and that either context diffs or unidiffs are much easier to
       understand.

       The ~/.cvsrc file is a way that you can add default options to
       cvs_commands within cvs, instead of relying on aliases or other shell
       scripts.

       The format of the ~/.cvsrc file is simple.  The file is searched for a
       line that begins with the same name as the cvs_command being executed.
       If a match is found, then the remainder of the line is split up (at
       whitespace characters) into separate options and added to the command
       arguments before any options from the command line.

       If a command has two names (e.g., checkout and co), the official name,
       not necessarily the one used on the command line, will be used to match
       against the file.  So if this is the contents of the user's ~/.cvsrc
       file:



         log -N

         diff -uN

         rdiff -u

         update -Pd

         checkout -P

         release -d





       the command cvs checkout foo would have the -P option added to the
       arguments, as well as cvs co foo.

       With the example file above, the output from cvs diff foobar will be in
       unidiff format.  cvs diff -c foobar will provide context diffs, as
       usual.  Getting "old" format diffs would be slightly more complicated,
       because diff doesn't have an option to specify use of the "old" format,
       so you would need cvs -f diff foobar.

       In place of the command name you can use cvs to specify global options
       (see node `Global options' in the CVS manual).  For example the
       following line in .cvsrc



         cvs -z6





       causes cvs to use compression level 6.


Global options
       The available cvs_options (that are given to the left of cvs_command)
       are:




       --allow-root=rootdir


         May be invoked multiple times to specify one legal cvsroot directory
         with each invocation.  Also causes CVS to preparse the configuration
         file for each specified root, which can be useful when configuring
         write proxies,  See see node `Password authentication server' in the
         CVS manual & see node `Write proxies' in the CVS manual.




       -a


         Authenticate all communication between the client and the server.
         Only has an effect on the cvs client.  As of this writing, this is
         only implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI
         authenticated' in the CVS manual).  Authentication prevents certain
         sorts of attacks involving hijacking the active tcp connection.
         Enabling authentication does not enable encryption.




       -b bindir


         In cvs 1.9.18 and older, this specified that rcs programs are in the
         bindir directory.  Current versions of cvs do not run rcs programs;
         for compatibility this option is accepted, but it does nothing.




       -T tempdir


         Use tempdir as the directory where temporary files are located.

         The cvs client and server store temporary files in a temporary
         directory.  The path to this temporary directory is set via, in order
         of precedence:


       ⊕   The argument to the global -T option.


       ⊕   The value set for TmpDir in the config file (server only - see node
           `config' in the CVS manual).


       ⊕   The contents of the $TMPDIR environment variable (%TMPDIR% on
           Windows - see node `Environment variables' in the CVS manual).


       ⊕   /tmp


           Temporary directories should always be specified as an absolute
           pathname.  When running a CVS client, -T affects only the local
           process; specifying -T for the client has no effect on the server
           and vice versa.




       -D cvs_directory


         Use cvs_directory as the location of the CVS internal files, instead
         of the default CVS.




       -d cvs_root_directory


         Use cvs_root_directory as the root directory pathname of the
         repository.  Overrides the setting of the $CVSROOT environment
         variable.  see node `Repository' in the CVS manual.




       -e editor


         Use editor to enter revision log information.  Overrides the setting
         of the $CVSEDITOR and $EDITOR environment variables.  For more
         information, see see node `Committing your changes' in the CVS
         manual.




       -f


         Do not read the ~/.cvsrc file.  This option is most often used
         because of the non-orthogonality of the cvs option set.  For example,
         the cvs log option -N (turn off display of tag names) does not have a
         corresponding option to turn the display on.  So if you have -N in
         the ~/.cvsrc entry for log, you may need to use -f to show the tag
         names.




       -H





       --help


         Display usage information about the specified cvs_command (but do not
         actually execute the command).  If you don't specify a command name,
         cvs -H displays overall help for cvs, including a list of other help
         options.




       -R


         Turns on read-only repository mode.  This allows one to check out
         from a read-only repository, such as within an anoncvs server, or
         from a cd-rom repository.

         Same effect as if the CVSREADONLYFS environment variable is set.
         Using -R can also considerably speed up checkouts over NFS.




       -n


         Do not change any files.  Attempt to execute the cvs_command, but
         only to issue reports; do not remove, update, or merge any existing
         files, or create any new files.

         Note that cvs will not necessarily produce exactly the same output as
         without -n.  In some cases the output will be the same, but in other
         cases cvs will skip some of the processing that would have been
         required to produce the exact same output.




       -Q


         Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only generate
         output for serious problems.




       -q


         Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages, such
         as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are suppressed.




       -r


         Make new working files read-only.  Same effect as if the $CVSREAD
         environment variable is set (see node `Environment variables' in the
         CVS manual).  The default is to make working files writable, unless
         watches are on (see node `Watches' in the CVS manual).




       -s variable=value


         Set a user variable (see node `Variables' in the CVS manual).




       -t


         Trace program execution; display messages showing the steps of cvs
         activity.  Particularly useful with -n to explore the potential
         impact of an unfamiliar command.




       -u


         Do not take internal locks (for transactional integrity) during read
         and write operations. (Note this is unrelated to releasing reserved
         checkouts, as accomplished with the cvs admin -u command, see node
         `admin options' in the CVS manual.)




       -v





       --version


         Display version and copyright information for cvs.




       -w


         Make new working files read-write.  Overrides the setting of the
         $CVSREAD environment variable.  Files are created read-write by
         default, unless $CVSREAD is set or -r is given.




       -x


         Encrypt all communication between the client and the server.  Only
         has an effect on the cvs client.  As of this writing, this is only
         implemented when using a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI
         authenticated' in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection (see node
         `Kerberos authenticated' in the CVS manual).  Enabling encryption
         implies that message traffic is also authenticated.  Encryption
         support is not available by default; it must be enabled using a
         special configure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.




       -z level


         Request compression level for network traffic.  cvs interprets level
         identically to the gzip program.  Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low
         compression) to 9 (low speed, high compression), or 0 to disable
         compression (the default).  Data sent to the server will be
         compressed at the requested level and the client will request the
         server use the same compression level for data returned.  The server
         will use the closest level allowed by the server administrator to
         compress returned data.  This option only has an effect when passed
         to the cvs client.


Common options
   Common command options
       This section describes the command_options that are available across
       several cvs commands.  These options are always given to the right of
       cvs_command. Not all commands support all of these options; each option
       is only supported for commands where it makes sense.  However, when a
       command has one of these options you can almost always count on the
       same behavior of the option as in other commands.  (Other command
       options, which are listed with the individual commands, may have
       different behavior from one cvs command to the other).

       Note: the history command is an exception; it supports many options
       that conflict even with these standard options.




       -D date_spec


         Use the most recent revision no later than date_spec.  date_spec is a
         single argument, a date description specifying a date in the past.

         The specification is sticky when you use it to make a private copy of
         a source file; that is, when you get a working file using -D, cvs
         records the date you specified, so that further updates in the same
         directory will use the same date (for more information on sticky
         tags/dates, see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual).

         -D is available with the annotate, checkout, diff, export, history,
         ls, rdiff, rls, rtag, tag, and update commands.  (The history command
         uses this option in a slightly different way; see node `history
         options' in the CVS manual).

         For a complete description of the date formats accepted by cvs, see
         node `Date input formats' in the CVS manual.

         Remember to quote the argument to the -D flag so that your shell
         doesn't interpret spaces as argument separators.  A command using the
         -D flag can look like this:



           $ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo







       -f


         When you specify a particular date or tag to cvs commands, they
         normally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not exist
         prior to the date) that you specified.  Use the -f option if you want
         files retrieved even when there is no match for the tag or date.
         (The most recent revision of the file will be used).

         Note that even with -f, a tag that you specify must exist (that is,
         in some file, not necessary in every file).  This is so that cvs will
         continue to give an error if you mistype a tag name.

         -f is available with these commands: annotate, checkout, export,
         rdiff, rtag, and update.

         WARNING:  The commit and remove commands also have a -f option, but
         it has a different behavior for those commands.  See see node `commit
         options' in the CVS manual, and see node `Removing files' in the CVS
         manual.




       -k kflag


         Override the default processing of RCS keywords other than -kb.  see
         node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual, for the meaning of
         kflag.  Used with the checkout and update commands, your kflag
         specification is sticky; that is, when you use this option with a
         checkout or update command, cvs associates your selected kflag with
         any files it operates on, and continues to use that kflag with future
         commands on the same files until you specify otherwise.

         The -k option is available with the add, checkout, diff, export,
         import, rdiff, and update commands.

         WARNING: Prior to CVS version 1.12.2, the -k flag overrode the -kb
         indication for a binary file.  This could sometimes corrupt binary
         files.  see node `Merging and keywords' in the CVS manual, for more.




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory, rather than recursing
         through subdirectories.

         Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
         diff, edit, editors, export, log, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag,
         unedit, update, watch, and watchers.




       -m message


         Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.

         Available with the following commands: add, commit and import.




       -n


         Do not run any tag program.  (A program can be specified to run in
         the modules database (see node `modules' in the CVS manual); this
         option bypasses it).

         Note: this is not the same as the cvs -n program option, which you
         can specify to the left of a cvs command!

         Available with the checkout, commit, export, and rtag commands.




       -P


         Prune empty directories.  See see node `Removing directories' in the
         CVS manual.




       -p


         Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output,
         rather than writing them in the current directory.  Available with
         the checkout and update commands.




       -R


         Process directories recursively.  This is the default for all cvs
         commands, with the exception of ls & rls.

         Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit,
         diff, edit, editors, export, ls, rdiff, remove, rls, rtag, status,
         tag, unedit, update, watch, and watchers.




       -r tag





       -r tag[:date]


         Use the revision specified by the tag argument (and the date argument
         for the commands which accept it) instead of the default head
         revision.  As well as arbitrary tags defined with the tag or rtag
         command, two special tags are always available: HEAD refers to the
         most recent version available in the repository, and BASE refers to
         the revision you last checked out into the current working directory.

         The tag specification is sticky when you use this with checkout or
         update to make your own copy of a file: cvs remembers the tag and
         continues to use it on future update commands, until you specify
         otherwise (for more information on sticky tags/dates, see node
         `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual).

         The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as described in see
         node `Tags' in the CVS manual, or the name of a branch, as described
         in see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.  When tag is
         the name of a branch, some commands accept the optional date argument
         to specify the revision as of the given date on the branch.  When a
         command expects a specific revision, the name of a branch is
         interpreted as the most recent revision on that branch.

         Specifying the -q global option along with the -r command option is
         often useful, to suppress the warning messages when the rcs file does
         not contain the specified tag.

         Note: this is not the same as the overall cvs -r option, which you
         can specify to the left of a cvs command!

         -r tag is available with the commit and history commands.

         -r tag[:date] is available with the annotate, checkout, diff, export,
         rdiff, rtag, and update commands.




       -W


         Specify file names that should be filtered.  You can use this option
         repeatedly.  The spec can be a file name pattern of the same type
         that you can specify in the .cvswrappers file.  Available with the
         following commands: import, and update.



add
   Add files and directories to the repository
       ⊕ Synopsis: add [-k rcs-kflag] [-m message] files...

       ⊕ Requires: repository, working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: repository, working directory.

         The add command is used to present new files and directories for
         addition into the cvs repository.  When add is used on a directory, a
         new directory is created in the repository immediately.  When used on
         a file, only the working directory is updated.  Changes to the
         repository are not made until the commit command is used on the newly
         added file.

         The add command also resurrects files that have been previously
         removed.  This can be done before or after the commit command is used
         to finalize the removal of files.  Resurrected files are restored
         into the working directory at the time the add command is executed.


add options
       These standard options are supported by add (see node `Common options'
       in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -k kflag


         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.  This option is sticky; future
         updates of this file in this working directory will use the same
         kflag.  The status command can be viewed to see the sticky options.
         For more information on the status command, see node `Invoking CVS'
         in the CVS manual.




       -m message


         Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.


add examples
   Adding a directory


         $ mkdir doc

         $ cvs add doc

         Directory /path/to/repository/doc added to the repository






   Adding a file



         $ >TODO

         $ cvs add TODO

         cvs add: scheduling file `TODO' for addition

         cvs add: use 'cvs commit' to add this file permanently






   Undoing a remove command


         $ rm -f makefile

         $ cvs remove makefile

         cvs remove: scheduling `makefile' for removal

         cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove this file permanently

         $ cvs add makefile

         U makefile

         cvs add: makefile, version 1.2, resurrected






admin
   Administration
       ⊕ Requires: repository, working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: repository.

       ⊕ Synonym: rcs

         This is the cvs interface to assorted administrative facilities.
         Some of them have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist for
         historical purposes.  Some of the questionable options are likely to
         disappear in the future.  This command does work recursively, so
         extreme care should be used.

         On unix, if there is a group named cvsadmin, only members of that
         group can run cvs admin commands, except for those specified using
         the UserAdminOptions configuration option in the CVSROOT/config file.
         Options specified using UserAdminOptions can be run by any user.  See
         see node `config' in the CVS manual for more on UserAdminOptions.

         The cvsadmin group should exist on the server, or any system running
         the non-client/server cvs.  To disallow cvs admin for all users,
         create a group with no users in it.  On NT, the cvsadmin feature does
         not exist and all users can run cvs admin.


admin options
       Some of these options have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist
       for historical purposes.  Some even make it impossible to use cvs until
       you undo the effect!




       -Aoldfile


         Might not work together with cvs.  Append the access list of oldfile
         to the access list of the rcs file.




       -alogins


         Might not work together with cvs.  Append the login names appearing
         in the comma-separated list logins to the access list of the rcs
         file.




       -b[rev]


         Set the default branch to rev.  In cvs, you normally do not
         manipulate default branches; sticky tags (see node `Sticky tags' in
         the CVS manual) are a better way to decide which branch you want to
         work on.  There is one reason to run cvs admin -b: to revert to the
         vendor's version when using vendor branches (see node `Reverting
         local changes' in the CVS manual).  There can be no space between -b
         and its argument.




       -cstring


         Sets the comment leader to string.  The comment leader is not used by
         current versions of cvs or rcs 5.7.  Therefore, you can almost surely
         not worry about it.  see node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS
         manual.




       -e[logins]


         Might not work together with cvs.  Erase the login names appearing in
         the comma-separated list logins from the access list of the RCS file.
         If logins is omitted, erase the entire access list.  There can be no
         space between -e and its argument.




       -I


         Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.
         This option does not work with the client/server cvs and is likely to
         disappear in a future release of cvs.




       -i


         Useless with cvs.  This creates and initializes a new rcs file,
         without depositing a revision.  With cvs, add files with the cvs add
         command (see node `Adding files' in the CVS manual).




       -ksubst


         Set the default keyword substitution to subst.  see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.  Giving an explicit -k option to cvs
         update, cvs export, or cvs checkout overrides this default.




       -l[rev]


         Lock the revision with number rev.  If a branch is given, lock the
         latest revision on that branch.  If rev is omitted, lock the latest
         revision on the default branch.  There can be no space between -l and
         its argument.

         This can be used in conjunction with the rcslock.pl script in the
         contrib directory of the cvs source distribution to provide reserved
         checkouts (where only one user can be editing a given file at a
         time).  See the comments in that file for details (and see the README
         file in that directory for disclaimers about the unsupported nature
         of contrib).  According to comments in that file, locking must be set
         to strict (which is the default).




       -L


         Set locking to strict.  Strict locking means that the owner of an RCS
         file is not exempt from locking for checkin.  For use with cvs,
         strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
         above.




       -mrev:msg


         Replace the log message of revision rev with msg.




       -Nname[:[rev]]


         Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name.  For
         use with magic branches, see see node `Magic branch numbers' in the
         CVS manual.




       -nname[:[rev]]


         Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev.  It
         is normally better to use cvs tag or cvs rtag instead.  Delete the
         symbolic name if both : and rev are omitted; otherwise, print an
         error message if name is already associated with another number.  If
         rev is symbolic, it is expanded before association.  A rev consisting
         of a branch number followed by a . stands for the current latest
         revision in the branch.  A : with an empty rev stands for the current
         latest revision on the default branch, normally the trunk.  For
         example, cvs admin -nname: associates name with the current latest
         revision of all the RCS files; this contrasts with cvs admin -nname:$
         which associates name with the revision numbers extracted from
         keyword strings in the corresponding working files.




       -orange


         Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range.

         Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless you know exactly
         what you are doing (for example see the warnings below about how the
         rev1:rev2 syntax is confusing).

         If you are short on disc this option might help you.  But think twice
         before using it--there is no way short of restoring the latest backup
         to undo this command!  If you delete different revisions than you
         planned, either due to carelessness or (heaven forbid) a cvs bug,
         there is no opportunity to correct the error before the revisions are
         deleted.  It probably would be a good idea to experiment on a copy of
         the repository first.

         Specify range in one of the following ways:



         rev1::rev2


           Collapse all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that cvs only
           stores the differences associated with going from rev1 to rev2, not
           intermediate steps.  For example, after -o 1.3::1.5 one can
           retrieve revision 1.3, revision 1.5, or the differences to get from
           1.3 to 1.5, but not the revision 1.4, or the differences between
           1.3 and 1.4.  Other examples: -o 1.3::1.4 and -o 1.3::1.3 have no
           effect, because there are no intermediate revisions to remove.



         ::rev


           Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch containing
           rev and rev itself.  The branchpoint and rev are left intact.  For
           example, -o ::1.3.2.6 deletes revision 1.3.2.1, revision 1.3.2.5,
           and everything in between, but leaves 1.3 and 1.3.2.6 intact.



         rev::


           Collapse revisions between rev and the end of the branch containing
           rev.  Revision rev is left intact but the head revision is deleted.



         rev


           Delete the revision rev.  For example, -o 1.3 is equivalent to -o
           1.2::1.4.



         rev1:rev2


           Delete the revisions from rev1 to rev2, inclusive, on the same
           branch.  One will not be able to retrieve rev1 or rev2 or any of
           the revisions in between.  For example, the command cvs admin
           -oR_1_01:R_1_02 . is rarely useful.  It means to delete revisions
           up to, and including, the tag R_1_02.  But beware!  If there are
           files that have not changed between R_1_02 and R_1_03 the file will
           have the same numerical revision number assigned to the tags R_1_02
           and R_1_03.  So not only will it be impossible to retrieve R_1_02;
           R_1_03 will also have to be restored from the tapes!  In most cases
           you want to specify rev1::rev2 instead.



         :rev


           Delete revisions from the beginning of the branch containing rev up
           to and including rev.



         rev:


           Delete revisions from revision rev, including rev itself, to the
           end of the branch containing rev.

           None of the revisions to be deleted may have branches or locks.

           If any of the revisions to be deleted have symbolic names, and one
           specifies one of the :: syntaxes, then cvs will give an error and
           not delete any revisions.  If you really want to delete both the
           symbolic names and the revisions, first delete the symbolic names
           with cvs tag -d, then run cvs admin -o.  If one specifies the
           non-:: syntaxes, then cvs will delete the revisions but leave the
           symbolic names pointing to nonexistent revisions.  This behavior is
           preserved for compatibility with previous versions of cvs, but
           because it isn't very useful, in the future it may change to be
           like the :: case.

           Due to the way cvs handles branches rev cannot be specified
           symbolically if it is a branch.  see node `Magic branch numbers' in
           the CVS manual, for an explanation.

           Make sure that no-one has checked out a copy of the revision you
           outdate.  Strange things will happen if he starts to edit it and
           tries to check it back in.  For this reason, this option is not a
           good way to take back a bogus commit; commit a new revision undoing
           the bogus change instead (see node `Merging two revisions' in the
           CVS manual).




       -q


         Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.




       -sstate[:rev]


         Useful with cvs.  Set the state attribute of the revision rev to
         state.  If rev is a branch number, assume the latest revision on that
         branch.  If rev is omitted, assume the latest revision on the default
         branch.  Any identifier is acceptable for state.  A useful set of
         states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and Rel (for
         released).  By default, the state of a new revision is set to Exp
         when it is created.  The state is visible in the output from cvs log
         (see node `log & rlog' in the CVS manual), and in the $Log$ and
         $State$ keywords (see node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual).
         Note that cvs uses the dead state for its own purposes (see node
         `Attic' in the CVS manual); to take a file to or from the dead state
         use commands like cvs remove and cvs add (see node `Adding and
         removing' in the CVS manual), not cvs admin -s.




       -t[file]


         Useful with cvs.  Write descriptive text from the contents of the
         named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing text.  The file
         pathname may not begin with -.  The descriptive text can be seen in
         the output from cvs log (see node `log & rlog' in the CVS manual).
         There can be no space between -t and its argument.

         If file is omitted, obtain the text from standard input, terminated
         by end-of-file or by a line containing . by itself.  Prompt for the
         text if interaction is possible; see -I.




       -t-string


         Similar to -tfile. Write descriptive text from the string into the
         rcs file, deleting the existing text.  There can be no space between
         -t and its argument.




       -U


         Set locking to non-strict.  Non-strict locking means that the owner
         of a file need not lock a revision for checkin.  For use with cvs,
         strict locking must be set; see the discussion under the -l option
         above.




       -u[rev]


         See the option -l above, for a discussion of using this option with
         cvs.  Unlock the revision with number rev.  If a branch is given,
         unlock the latest revision on that branch.  If rev is omitted, remove
         the latest lock held by the caller.  Normally, only the locker of a
         revision may unlock it; somebody else unlocking a revision breaks the
         lock.  This causes the original locker to be sent a commit
         notification (see node `Getting Notified' in the CVS manual).  There
         can be no space between -u and its argument.




       -Vn


         In previous versions of cvs, this option meant to write an rcs file
         which would be acceptable to rcs version n, but it is now obsolete
         and specifying it will produce an error.




       -xsuffixes


         In previous versions of cvs, this was documented as a way of
         specifying the names of the rcs files.  However, cvs has always
         required that the rcs files used by cvs end in ,v, so this option has
         never done anything useful.



annotate & rannotate
   What revision modified each line of a file?
       ⊕ Synopsis: annotate [options] files...

       ⊕ Requires: repository.

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

         For each file in files, print the head revision of the trunk,
         together with information on the last modification for each line.


annotate options
       These standard options are supported by annotate (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -l


         Local directory only, no recursion.




       -R


         Process directories recursively.




       -f


         Use head revision if tag/date not found.




       -F


         Annotate binary files.




       -r tag[:date]


         Annotate file as of specified revision/tag or, when date is specified
         and tag is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it
         existed on date.  See see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.




       -D date


         Annotate file as of specified date.


annotate example
       For example:



         $ cvs annotate ssfile

         Annotations for ssfile

         ***************

         1.1          (mary     27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1

         1.2          (joe      28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2





       The file ssfile currently contains two lines.  The ssfile line 1 line
       was checked in by mary on March 27.  Then, on March 28, joe added a
       line ssfile line 2, without modifying the ssfile line 1 line.  This
       report doesn't tell you anything about lines which have been deleted or
       replaced; you need to use cvs diff for that (see node `diff' in the CVS
       manual).

       The options to cvs annotate are listed in see node `Invoking CVS' in
       the CVS manual, and can be used to select the files and revisions to
       annotate.  The options are described in more detail there and in see
       node `Common options' in the CVS manual.


checkout
   Check out sources for editing
       ⊕ Synopsis: checkout [options] modules...

       ⊕ Requires: repository.

       ⊕ Changes: working directory.

       ⊕ Synonyms: co, get

         Create or update a working directory containing copies of the source
         files specified by modules.  You must execute checkout before using
         most of the other cvs commands, since most of them operate on your
         working directory.

         The modules are either symbolic names for some collection of source
         directories and files, or paths to directories or files in the
         repository.  The symbolic names are defined in the modules file.  see
         node `modules' in the CVS manual.

         Depending on the modules you specify, checkout may recursively create
         directories and populate them with the appropriate source files.  You
         can then edit these source files at any time (regardless of whether
         other software developers are editing their own copies of the
         sources); update them to include new changes applied by others to the
         source repository; or commit your work as a permanent change to the
         source repository.

         Note that checkout is used to create directories.  The top-level
         directory created is always added to the directory where checkout is
         invoked, and usually has the same name as the specified module.  In
         the case of a module alias, the created sub-directory may have a
         different name, but you can be sure that it will be a sub-directory,
         and that checkout will show the relative path leading to each file as
         it is extracted into your private work area (unless you specify the
         -Q global option).

         The files created by checkout are created read-write, unless the -r
         option to cvs (see node `Global options' in the CVS manual) is
         specified, the CVSREAD environment variable is specified (see node
         `Environment variables' in the CVS manual), or a watch is in effect
         for that file (see node `Watches' in the CVS manual).

         Note that running checkout on a directory that was already built by a
         prior checkout is also permitted.  This is similar to specifying the
         -d option to the update command in the sense that new directories
         that have been created in the repository will appear in your work
         area.  However, checkout takes a module name whereas update takes a
         directory name.  Also to use checkout this way it must be run from
         the top level directory (where you originally ran checkout from), so
         before you run checkout to update an existing directory, don't forget
         to change your directory to the top level directory.

         For the output produced by the checkout command see see node `update
         output' in the CVS manual.


checkout options
       These standard options are supported by checkout (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  This option is
         sticky, and implies -P.  See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS
         manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.




       -f


         Only useful with the -D or -r flags.  If no matching revision is
         found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring the
         file).




       -k kflag


         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.  This option is sticky; future
         updates of this file in this working directory will use the same
         kflag.  The status command can be viewed to see the sticky options.
         See see node `Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information
         on the status command.




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.




       -n


         Do not run any checkout program (as specified with the -o option in
         the modules file; see node `modules' in the CVS manual).




       -P


         Prune empty directories.  See see node `Moving directories' in the
         CVS manual.




       -p


         Pipe files to the standard output.




       -R


         Checkout directories recursively.  This option is on by default.




       -r tag[:date]


         Checkout the revision specified by tag or, when date is specified and
         tag is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on
         date.  This option is sticky, and implies -P.  See see node `Sticky
         tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
         Also, see see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

         In addition to those, you can use these special command options with
         checkout:




       -A


         Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options.  See see node `Sticky
         tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.




       -c


         Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output, instead of
         creating or modifying any files or directories in your working
         directory.




       -d dir


         Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of using
         the module name.  In general, using this flag is equivalent to using
         mkdir dir; cd dir followed by the checkout command without the -d
         flag.

         There is an important exception, however.  It is very convenient when
         checking out a single item to have the output appear in a directory
         that doesn't contain empty intermediate directories.  In this case
         only, cvs tries to ``shorten'' pathnames to avoid those empty
         directories.

         For example, given a module foo that contains the file bar.c, the
         command cvs co -d dir foo will create directory dir and place bar.c
         inside.  Similarly, given a module bar which has subdirectory baz
         wherein there is a file quux.c, the command cvs co -d dir bar/baz
         will create directory dir and place quux.c inside.

         Using the -N flag will defeat this behavior.  Given the same module
         definitions above, cvs co -N -d dir foo will create directories
         dir/foo and place bar.c inside, while cvs co -N -d dir bar/baz will
         create directories dir/bar/baz and place quux.c inside.




       -j tag


         With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
         the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
         option, into the working directory.

         With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
         revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
         The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
         the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
         -j option.

         In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date
         specification which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen
         revision to one within a specific date.  An optional date is
         specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag:
         -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.

         see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.




       -N


         Only useful together with -d dir.  With this option, cvs will not
         ``shorten'' module paths in your working directory when you check out
         a single module.  See the -d flag for examples and a discussion.




       -s


         Like -c, but include the status of all modules, and sort it by the
         status string.  see node `modules' in the CVS manual, for info about
         the -s option that is used inside the modules file to set the module
         status.


checkout examples
       Get a copy of the module tc:



         $ cvs checkout tc





       Get a copy of the module tc as it looked one day ago:



         $ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc






commit
   Check files into the repository
       ⊕ Synopsis: commit [-lnRf] [-m 'log_message' | -F file] [-r revision]
         [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: working directory, repository.

       ⊕ Changes: repository.

       ⊕ Synonym: ci

         Use commit when you want to incorporate changes from your working
         source files into the source repository.

         If you don't specify particular files to commit, all of the files in
         your working current directory are examined.  commit is careful to
         change in the repository only those files that you have really
         changed.  By default (or if you explicitly specify the -R option),
         files in subdirectories are also examined and committed if they have
         changed; you can use the -l option to limit commit to the current
         directory only.

         commit verifies that the selected files are up to date with the
         current revisions in the source repository; it will notify you, and
         exit without committing, if any of the specified files must be made
         current first with update (see node `update' in the CVS manual).
         commit does not call the update command for you, but rather leaves
         that for you to do when the time is right.

         When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to enter a log
         message that will be written to one or more logging programs (see
         node `modules' in the CVS manual, and see node `loginfo' in the CVS
         manual) and placed in the rcs file inside the repository.  This log
         message can be retrieved with the log command (see node `log & rlog'
         in the CVS manual).  You can specify the log message on the command
         line with the -m message option, and thus avoid the editor
         invocation, or use the -F file option to specify that the argument
         file contains the log message.

         At commit, a unique commitid is placed in the rcs file inside the
         repository. All files committed at once get the same commitid. The
         commitid can be retrieved with the log and status command (see node
         `log & rlog' in the CVS manual, see node `File status' in the CVS
         manual).


commit options
       These standard options are supported by commit (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.




       -R


         Commit directories recursively.  This is on by default.




       -r revision


         Commit to revision.  revision must be either a branch, or a revision
         on the main trunk that is higher than any existing revision number
         (see node `Assigning revisions' in the CVS manual).  You cannot
         commit to a specific revision on a branch.

         commit also supports these options:




       -c


         Refuse to commit files unless the user has registered a valid edit on
         the file via cvs edit.  This is most useful when commit -c and edit
         -c have been placed in all .cvsrc files.  A commit can be forced
         anyways by either registering an edit retroactively via cvs edit (no
         changes to the file will be lost) or using the -f option to commit.
         Support for commit -c requires both client and a server versions
         1.12.10 or greater.




       -F file


         Read the log message from file, instead of invoking an editor.




       -f


         Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as
         defined in see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

         Force cvs to commit a new revision even if you haven't made any
         changes to the file.  As of cvs version 1.12.10, it also causes the
         -c option to be ignored.  If the current revision of file is 1.7,
         then the following two commands are equivalent:



           $ cvs commit -f file

           $ cvs commit -r 1.8 file




         The -f option disables recursion (i.e., it implies -l).  To force cvs
         to commit a new revision for all files in all subdirectories, you
         must use -f -R.




       -m message


         Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.


commit examples
   Committing to a branch
       You can commit to a branch revision (one that has an even number of
       dots) with the -r option.  To create a branch revision, use the -b
       option of the rtag or tag commands (see node `Branching and merging' in
       the CVS manual).  Then, either checkout or update can be used to base
       your sources on the newly created branch.  From that point on, all
       commit changes made within these working sources will be automatically
       added to a branch revision, thereby not disturbing main-line
       development in any way.  For example, if you had to create a patch to
       the 1.2 version of the product, even though the 2.0 version is already
       under development, you might do:



         $ cvs rtag -b -r FCS1_2 FCS1_2_Patch product_module

         $ cvs checkout -r FCS1_2_Patch product_module

         $ cd product_module

         [[ hack away ]]

         $ cvs commit





       This works automatically since the -r option is sticky.


   Creating the branch after editing
       Say you have been working on some extremely experimental software,
       based on whatever revision you happened to checkout last week.  If
       others in your group would like to work on this software with you, but
       without disturbing main-line development, you could commit your change
       to a new branch.  Others can then checkout your experimental stuff and
       utilize the full benefit of cvs conflict resolution.  The scenario
       might look like:



         [[ hacked sources are present ]]

         $ cvs tag -b EXPR1

         $ cvs update -r EXPR1

         $ cvs commit





       The update command will make the -r EXPR1 option sticky on all files.
       Note that your changes to the files will never be removed by the update
       command.  The commit will automatically commit to the correct branch,
       because the -r is sticky.  You could also do like this:



         [[ hacked sources are present ]]

         $ cvs tag -b EXPR1

         $ cvs commit -r EXPR1





       but then, only those files that were changed by you will have the -r
       EXPR1 sticky flag.  If you hack away, and commit without specifying the
       -r EXPR1 flag, some files may accidentally end up on the main trunk.

       To work with you on the experimental change, others would simply do



         $ cvs checkout -r EXPR1 whatever_module






diff
   Show differences between revisions
       ⊕ Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options] [(-r rev1[:date1] |
         -D date1) [-r rev2[:date2] | -D date2]] [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: working directory, repository.

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

         The diff command is used to compare different revisions of files.
         The default action is to compare your working files with the
         revisions they were based on, and report any differences that are
         found.

         If any file names are given, only those files are compared.  If any
         directories are given, all files under them will be compared.

         The exit status for diff is different than for other cvs commands;
         for details see node `Exit status' in the CVS manual.


diff options
       These standard options are supported by diff (see node `Common options'
       in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  See -r for how this
         affects the comparison.




       -k kflag


         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.




       -R


         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.




       -r tag[:date]


         Compare with revision specified by tag or, when date is specified and
         tag is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on
         date.  Zero, one or two -r options can be present.  With no -r
         option, the working file will be compared with the revision it was
         based on.  With one -r, that revision will be compared to your
         current working file.  With two -r options those two revisions will
         be compared (and your working file will not affect the outcome in any
         way).

         One or both -r options can be replaced by a -D date option, described
         above.

         The following options specify the format of the output.  They have
         the same meaning as in GNU diff.  Most options have two equivalent
         names, one of which is a single letter preceded by -, and the other
         of which is a long name preceded by --.




       -lines


         Show lines (an integer) lines of context.  This option does not
         specify an output format by itself; it has no effect unless it is
         combined with -c or -u.  This option is obsolete.  For proper
         operation, patch typically needs at least two lines of context.




       -a


         Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
         do not seem to be text.




       -b


         Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
         or more white space characters to be equivalent.




       -B


         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.




       --binary


         Read and write data in binary mode.




       --brief


         Report only whether the files differ, not the details of the
         differences.




       -c


         Use the context output format.




       -C lines





       --context[=lines]


         Use the context output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
         context, or three if lines is not given.  For proper operation, patch
         typically needs at least two lines of context.




       --changed-group-format=format


         Use format to output a line group containing differing lines from
         both files in if-then-else format.  see node `Line group formats' in
         the CVS manual.




       -d


         Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This
         makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).




       -e





       --ed


         Make output that is a valid ed script.




       --expand-tabs


         Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
         tabs in the input files.




       -f


         Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
         the order they appear in the file.




       -F regexp


         In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
         some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.




       --forward-ed


         Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in
         the order they appear in the file.




       -H


         Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
         scattered small changes.




       --horizon-lines=lines


         Do not discard the last lines lines of the common prefix and the
         first lines lines of the common suffix.




       -i


         Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case letters
         equivalent.




       -I regexp


         Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.




       --ifdef=name


         Make merged if-then-else output using name.




       --ignore-all-space


         Ignore white space when comparing lines.




       --ignore-blank-lines


         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.




       --ignore-case


         Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the
         same.




       --ignore-matching-lines=regexp


         Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.




       --ignore-space-change


         Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one
         or more white space characters to be equivalent.




       --initial-tab


         Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
         or context format.  This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
         look normal.




       -L label


         Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
         format headers.




       --label=label


         Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified
         format headers.




       --left-column


         Print only the left column of two common lines in side by side
         format.




       --line-format=format


         Use format to output all input lines in if-then-else format.  see
         node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.




       --minimal


         Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This
         makes diff slower (sometimes much slower).




       -n


         Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
         the number of lines affected.




       -N





       --new-file


         In directory comparison, if a file is found in only one directory,
         treat it as present but empty in the other directory.




       --new-group-format=format


         Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the second file
         in if-then-else format.  see node `Line group formats' in the CVS
         manual.




       --new-line-format=format


         Use format to output a line taken from just the second file in if-
         then-else format.  see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.




       --old-group-format=format


         Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the first file
         in if-then-else format.  see node `Line group formats' in the CVS
         manual.




       --old-line-format=format


         Use format to output a line taken from just the first file in if-
         then-else format.  see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.




       -p


         Show which C function each change is in.




       --rcs


         Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies
         the number of lines affected.




       --report-identical-files





       -s


         Report when two files are the same.




       --show-c-function


         Show which C function each change is in.




       --show-function-line=regexp


         In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show
         some of the last preceding line that matches regexp.




       --side-by-side


         Use the side by side output format.




       --speed-large-files


         Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
         scattered small changes.




       --suppress-common-lines


         Do not print common lines in side by side format.




       -t


         Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of
         tabs in the input files.




       -T


         Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal
         or context format.  This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to
         look normal.




       --text


         Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
         do not appear to be text.




       -u


         Use the unified output format.




       --unchanged-group-format=format


         Use format to output a group of common lines taken from both files in
         if-then-else format.  see node `Line group formats' in the CVS
         manual.




       --unchanged-line-format=format


         Use format to output a line common to both files in if-then-else
         format.  see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual.




       -U lines





       --unified[=lines]


         Use the unified output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of
         context, or three if lines is not given.  For proper operation, patch
         typically needs at least two lines of context.




       -w


         Ignore white space when comparing lines.




       -W columns





       --width=columns


         Use an output width of columns in side by side format.




       -y


         Use the side by side output format.


Line group formats
       Line group formats let you specify formats suitable for many
       applications that allow if-then-else input, including programming
       languages and text formatting languages.  A line group format specifies
       the output format for a contiguous group of similar lines.

       For example, the following command compares the TeX file myfile with
       the original version from the repository, and outputs a merged file in
       which old regions are surrounded by \begin{em}-\end{em} lines, and new
       regions are surrounded by \begin{bf}-\end{bf} lines.



         cvs diff \

            --old-group-format='\begin{em}

         %<\end{em}

         ' \

            --new-group-format='\begin{bf}

         %>\end{bf}

         ' \

            myfile





       The following command is equivalent to the above example, but it is a
       little more verbose, because it spells out the default line group
       formats.



         cvs diff \

            --old-group-format='\begin{em}

         %<\end{em}

         ' \

            --new-group-format='\begin{bf}

         %>\end{bf}

         ' \

            --unchanged-group-format='%=' \

            --changed-group-format='\begin{em}

         %<\end{em}

         \begin{bf}

         %>\end{bf}

         ' \

            myfile





       Here is a more advanced example, which outputs a diff listing with
       headers containing line numbers in a ``plain English'' style.



         cvs diff \

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

            --old-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) deleted at %df:

         %<' \

            --new-group-format='-------- %dN line%(N=1?:s) added after %de:

         %>' \

            --changed-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) changed at %df:

         %<-------- to:

         %>' \

            myfile





       To specify a line group format, use one of the options listed below.
       You can specify up to four line group formats, one for each kind of
       line group.  You should quote format, because it typically contains
       shell metacharacters.




       --old-group-format=format


         These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the first
         file.  The default old group format is the same as the changed group
         format if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
         line group as-is.




       --new-group-format=format


         These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the second
         file.  The default new group format is same as the changed group
         format if it is specified; otherwise it is a format that outputs the
         line group as-is.




       --changed-group-format=format


         These line groups are hunks containing lines from both files.  The
         default changed group format is the concatenation of the old and new
         group formats.




       --unchanged-group-format=format


         These line groups contain lines common to both files.  The default
         unchanged group format is a format that outputs the line group as-is.

         In a line group format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
         conversion specifications start with % and have one of the following
         forms.




       %<


         stands for the lines from the first file, including the trailing
         newline.  Each line is formatted according to the old line format
         (see node `Line formats' in the CVS manual).




       %>


         stands for the lines from the second file, including the trailing
         newline.  Each line is formatted according to the new line format.




       %=


         stands for the lines common to both files, including the trailing
         newline.  Each line is formatted according to the unchanged line
         format.




       %%


         stands for %.




       %c'C'


         where C is a single character, stands for C.  C may not be a
         backslash or an apostrophe.  For example, %c':' stands for a colon,
         even inside the then-part of an if-then-else format, which a colon
         would normally terminate.




       %c'\O'


         where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the
         character with octal code O.  For example, %c'\0' stands for a null
         character.




       Fn


         where F is a printf conversion specification and n is one of the
         following letters, stands for n's value formatted with F.



         e


           The line number of the line just before the group in the old file.



         f


           The line number of the first line in the group in the old file;
           equals e + 1.



         l


           The line number of the last line in the group in the old file.



         m


           The line number of the line just after the group in the old file;
           equals l + 1.



         n


           The number of lines in the group in the old file; equals l - f + 1.



         E, F, L, M, N


           Likewise, for lines in the new file.


           The printf conversion specification can be %d, %o, %x, or %X,
           specifying decimal, octal, lower case hexadecimal, or upper case
           hexadecimal output respectively.  After the % the following options
           can appear in sequence: a - specifying left-justification; an
           integer specifying the minimum field width; and a period followed
           by an optional integer specifying the minimum number of digits.
           For example, %5dN prints the number of new lines in the group in a
           field of width 5 characters, using the printf format "%5d".




       (A=B?T:E)


         If A equals B then T else E.  A and B are each either a decimal
         constant or a single letter interpreted as above.  This format spec
         is equivalent to T if A's value equals B's; otherwise it is
         equivalent to E.

         For example, %(N=0?no:%dN) line%(N=1?:s) is equivalent to no lines if
         N (the number of lines in the group in the new file) is 0, to 1 line
         if N is 1, and to %dN lines otherwise.


Line formats
       Line formats control how each line taken from an input file is output
       as part of a line group in if-then-else format.

       For example, the following command outputs text with a one-column
       change indicator to the left of the text.  The first column of output
       is - for deleted lines, | for added lines, and a space for unchanged
       lines.  The formats contain newline characters where newlines are
       desired on output.



         cvs diff \

            --old-line-format='-%l

         ' \

            --new-line-format='|%l

         ' \

            --unchanged-line-format=' %l

         ' \

            myfile





       To specify a line format, use one of the following options.  You should
       quote format, since it often contains shell metacharacters.




       --old-line-format=format


         formats lines just from the first file.




       --new-line-format=format


         formats lines just from the second file.




       --unchanged-line-format=format


         formats lines common to both files.




       --line-format=format


         formats all lines; in effect, it sets all three above options
         simultaneously.

         In a line format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
         conversion specifications start with % and have one of the following
         forms.




       %l


         stands for the contents of the line, not counting its trailing
         newline (if any).  This format ignores whether the line is
         incomplete.




       %L


         stands for the contents of the line, including its trailing newline
         (if any).  If a line is incomplete, this format preserves its
         incompleteness.




       %%


         stands for %.




       %c'C'


         where C is a single character, stands for C.  C may not be a
         backslash or an apostrophe.  For example, %c':' stands for a colon.




       %c'\O'


         where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the
         character with octal code O.  For example, %c'\0' stands for a null
         character.




       Fn


         where F is a printf conversion specification, stands for the line
         number formatted with F.  For example, %.5dn prints the line number
         using the printf format "%.5d".  see node `Line group formats' in the
         CVS manual, for more about printf conversion specifications.


         The default line format is %l followed by a newline character.

         If the input contains tab characters and it is important that they
         line up on output, you should ensure that %l or %L in a line format
         is just after a tab stop (e.g. by preceding %l or %L with a tab
         character), or you should use the -t or --expand-tabs option.

         Taken together, the line and line group formats let you specify many
         different formats.  For example, the following command uses a format
         similar to diff's normal format.  You can tailor this command to get
         fine control over diff's output.



         cvs diff \

            --old-line-format='< %l

         ' \

            --new-line-format='> %l

         ' \

            --old-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)d%dE

         %<' \

            --new-group-format='%dea%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)

         %>' \

            --changed-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)c%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)

         %<--

         %>' \

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

            myfile






diff examples
       The following line produces a Unidiff (-u flag) between revision 1.14
       and 1.19 of backend.c.  Due to the -kk flag no keywords are
       substituted, so differences that only depend on keyword substitution
       are ignored.



         $ cvs diff -kk -u -r 1.14 -r 1.19 backend.c





       Suppose the experimental branch EXPR1 was based on a set of files
       tagged RELEASE_1_0.  To see what has happened on that branch, the
       following can be used:



         $ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1





       A command like this can be used to produce a context diff between two
       releases:



         $ cvs diff -c -r RELEASE_1_0 -r RELEASE_1_1 > diffs





       If you are maintaining ChangeLogs, a command like the following just
       before you commit your changes may help you write the ChangeLog entry.
       All local modifications that have not yet been committed will be
       printed.



         $ cvs diff -u | less






export
   Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout
       ⊕ Synopsis: export [-flNnR] (-r rev[:date] | -D date) [-k subst] [-d
         dir] module...

       ⊕ Requires: repository.

       ⊕ Changes: current directory.

         This command is a variant of checkout; use it when you want a copy of
         the source for module without the cvs administrative directories.
         For example, you might use export to prepare source for shipment off-
         site.  This command requires that you specify a date or tag (with -D
         or -r), so that you can count on reproducing the source you ship to
         others (and thus it always prunes empty directories).

         One often would like to use -kv with cvs export.  This causes any
         keywords to be expanded such that an import done at some other site
         will not lose the keyword revision information.  But be aware that
         doesn't handle an export containing binary files correctly.  Also be
         aware that after having used -kv, one can no longer use the ident
         command (which is part of the rcs suite--see ident(1)) which looks
         for keyword strings.  If you want to be able to use ident you must
         not use -kv.


export options
       These standard options are supported by export (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Use the most recent revision no later than date.




       -f


         If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
         (instead of ignoring the file).




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.




       -n


         Do not run any checkout program.




       -R


         Export directories recursively.  This is on by default.




       -r tag[:date]


         Export the revision specified by tag or, when date is specified and
         tag is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on
         date.  See see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

         In addition, these options (that are common to checkout and export)
         are also supported:




       -d dir


         Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of using
         the module name.  see node `checkout options' in the CVS manual, for
         complete details on how cvs handles this flag.




       -k subst


         Set keyword expansion mode (see node `Substitution modes' in the CVS
         manual).




       -N


         Only useful together with -d dir.  see node `checkout options' in the
         CVS manual, for complete details on how cvs handles this flag.


history
   Show status of files and users
       ⊕ Synopsis:     history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

         cvs can keep a history log that tracks each use of most cvs commands.
         You can use history to display this information in various formats.

         To enable logging, the LogHistory config option must be set to some
         value other than the empty string and the history file specified by
         the HistoryLogPath option must be writable by all users who may run
         the cvs executable (see node `config' in the CVS manual).

         To enable the history command, logging must be enabled as above and
         the HistorySearchPath config option (see node `config' in the CVS
         manual) must be set to specify some number of the history logs
         created thereby and these files must be readable by each user who
         might run the history command.

         Creating a repository via the cvs init command will enable logging of
         all possible events to a single history log file
         ($CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history) with read and write permissions for all
         users (see node `Creating a repository' in the CVS manual).

         Note: history uses -f, -l, -n, and -p in ways that conflict with the
         normal use inside cvs (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).


history options
       Several options (shown above as -report)  control  what kind of report
       is generated:




       -c


         Report on each time commit was used (i.e., each time the repository
         was modified).




       -e


         Everything (all record types).  Equivalent to specifying -x with all
         record types.  Of course, -e will also include record types which are
         added in a future version of cvs; if you are writing a script which
         can only handle certain record types, you'll want to specify -x.




       -m module


         Report on a particular module.  (You can meaningfully use -m more
         than once on the command line.)




       -o


         Report on checked-out modules.  This is the default report type.




       -T


         Report on all tags.




       -x type


         Extract a particular set of record types type from the cvs history.
         The types are indicated by single letters, which you may specify in
         combination.

         Certain commands have a single record type:



         F


           release


         O


           checkout


         E


           export


         T


           tag and rtag

           One of five record types may result from an update:



         C


           A merge was necessary but collisions were detected (requiring
           manual merging).


         G


           A merge was necessary and it succeeded.


         U


           A working file was copied from the repository.


         P


           A working file was patched to match the repository.


         W


           The working copy of a file was deleted during update (because it
           was gone from the repository).

           One of three record types results from commit:



         A


           A file was added for the first time.


         M


           A file was modified.


         R


           A file was removed.

           One record type results from the admin command:


         X


           The admin command.

           The options shown as -flags constrain or expand the report without
           requiring option arguments:




       -a


         Show data for all users (the default is to show data only for the
         user executing history).




       -l


         Show last modification only.




       -w


         Show only the records for modifications done from the same working
         directory where history is executing.

         The options shown as -options args constrain the report based on an
         argument:




       -b str


         Show data back to a record containing  the  string str  in  either
         the module name, the file name, or the repository path.




       -D date


         Show data since date.  This is slightly different from the normal use
         of -D date, which selects the newest revision older than date.




       -f file


         Show data for a particular file (you can specify several -f options
         on the same command line).  This is equivalent to specifying the file
         on the command line.




       -n module


         Show data for a particular module (you can specify several -n options
         on the same command line).




       -p repository


         Show data for a particular source repository  (you can specify
         several -p options on the same command line).




       -r rev


         Show records referring to revisions since the revision or tag named
         rev appears in individual rcs files.  Each rcs file is searched for
         the revision or tag.




       -t tag


         Show records since tag tag was last added to the history file.  This
         differs from the -r flag above in that it reads only the history
         file, not the rcs files, and is much faster.




       -u name


         Show records for user name.




       -z timezone


         Show times in the selected records using the specified time zone
         instead of UTC.


import
   Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches
       ⊕ Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag...

       ⊕ Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.

       ⊕ Changes: repository.

         Use import to incorporate an entire source distribution from an
         outside source (e.g., a source vendor) into your source repository
         directory.  You can use this command both for initial creation of a
         repository, and for wholesale updates to the module from the outside
         source.  see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, for a
         discussion on this subject.

         The repository argument gives a directory name (or a path to a
         directory) under the cvs root directory for repositories; if the
         directory did not exist, import creates it.

         When you use import for updates to source that has been modified in
         your source repository (since a prior import), it will notify you of
         any files that conflict in the two branches of development; use
         checkout -j to reconcile the differences, as import instructs you to
         do.

         If cvs decides a file should be ignored (see node `cvsignore' in the
         CVS manual), it does not import it and prints I  followed by the
         filename (see node `import output' in the CVS manual, for a complete
         description of the output).

         If the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvswrappers exists, any file whose names
         match the specifications in that file will be treated as packages and
         the appropriate filtering will be performed on the file/directory
         before being imported.  see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.

         The outside source is saved in a first-level branch, by default
         1.1.1.  Updates are leaves of this branch; for example, files from
         the first imported collection of source will be revision 1.1.1.1,
         then files from the first imported update will be revision 1.1.1.2,
         and so on.

         At least three arguments are required.  repository is needed to
         identify the collection of source.  vendortag is a tag for the entire
         branch (e.g., for 1.1.1).  You must also specify at least one
         releasetag to uniquely identify the files at the leaves created each
         time you execute import.  The releasetag should be new, not
         previously existing in the repository file, and uniquely identify the
         imported release,

         Note that import does not change the directory in which you invoke
         it.  In particular, it does not set up that directory as a cvs
         working directory; if you want to work with the sources import them
         first and then check them out into a different directory (see node
         `Getting the source' in the CVS manual).


import options
       This standard option is supported by import (see node `Common options'
       in the CVS manual, for a complete description):




       -m message


         Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.

         There are the following additional special options.




       -b branch


         See see node `Multiple vendor branches' in the CVS manual.




       -k subst


         Indicate the keyword expansion mode desired.  This setting will apply
         to all files created during the import, but not to any files that
         previously existed in the repository.  See see node `Substitution
         modes' in the CVS manual, for a list of valid -k settings.




       -I name


         Specify file names that should be ignored during import.  You can use
         this option repeatedly.  To avoid ignoring any files at all (even
         those ignored by default), specify `-I !'.

         name can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
         in the .cvsignore file.  see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual.




       -W spec


         Specify file names that should be filtered during import.  You can
         use this option repeatedly.

         spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
         in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.




       -X


         Modify the algorithm used by cvs when importing new files so that new
         files do not immediately appear on the main trunk.

         Specifically, this flag causes cvs to mark new files as if they were
         deleted on the main trunk, by taking the following steps for each
         file in addition to those normally taken on import: creating a new
         revision on the main trunk indicating that the new file is dead,
         resetting the new file's default branch, and placing the file in the
         Attic (see node `Attic' in the CVS manual) directory.

         Use of this option can be forced on a repository-wide basis by
         setting the ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly option in CVSROOT/config
         (see node `config' in the CVS manual).


import output
       import keeps you informed of its progress by printing a line for each
       file, preceded by one character indicating the status of the file:




       U file


         The file already exists in the repository and has not been locally
         modified; a new revision has been created (if necessary).




       N file


         The file is a new file which has been added to the repository.




       C file


         The file already exists in the repository but has been locally
         modified; you will have to merge the changes.




       I file


         The file is being ignored (see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual).




       L file


         The file is a symbolic link; cvs import ignores symbolic links.
         People periodically suggest that this behavior should be changed, but
         if there is a consensus on what it should be changed to, it is not
         apparent.  (Various options in the modules file can be used to
         recreate symbolic links on checkout, update, etc.; see node `modules'
         in the CVS manual.)


import examples
       See see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, and see node `From
       files' in the CVS manual.


init
   Initialize a repository
       ⊕ Synopsis: init

       ⊕ Requires: working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: repository, working directory.

         The init command initializes a repository by adding the CVSROOT
         subdirectory and some default control files. You must use this
         command or initialize the repository in some other way before you can
         use it. Specify the root of the repository with the general -d
         option.  This will set up an empty repository in the cvs root
         specified in the usual way (see node `Repository' in the CVS manual).

         init is careful to never overwrite any existing files in the
         repository, so no harm is done if you run init on an already set-up
         repository. Note you may need to be a member of the group cvsadmin to
         do this.

         Note init will enable history logging; if you don't want that, remove
         the history file after running init (see node `history file' in the
         CVS manual).


init examples


         $ cvs -d /usr/local/cvsroot init






log & rlog
   Print out log information for files
       ⊕ Synopsis: log [options] [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: repository, working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

         Display log information for files.  log used to call the rcs utility
         rlog.  Although this is no longer true in the current sources, this
         history determines the format of the output and the options, which
         are not quite in the style of the other cvs commands.

         The output includes the location of the rcs file, the head revision
         (the latest revision on the trunk), all symbolic names (tags) and
         some other things.  For each revision, the revision number, the date,
         the author, the number of lines added/deleted, the commitid and the
         log message are printed.  All dates are displayed in local time at
         the client. This is typically specified in the $TZ environment
         variable, which can be set to govern how log displays dates.

         Note: log uses -R in a way that conflicts with the normal use inside
         cvs (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).


log options
       By default, log prints all information that is available.  All other
       options restrict the output.  Note that the revision selection options
       (-d, -r, -s, and -w) have no effect, other than possibly causing a
       search for files in Attic directories, when used in conjunction with
       the options that restrict the output to only log header fields (-b, -h,
       -R, and -t) unless the -S option is also specified.




       -b


         Print information about the revisions on the default branch, normally
         the highest branch on the trunk.




       -d dates


         Print information about revisions with a checkin date/time in the
         range given by the semicolon-separated list of dates.  The date
         formats accepted are those accepted by the -D option to many other
         cvs commands (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).  Dates
         can be combined into ranges as follows:



         d1<d2




         d2>d1


           Select the revisions that were deposited between d1 and d2.



         <d




         d>


           Select all revisions dated d or earlier.



         d<




         >d


           Select all revisions dated d or later.



         d


           Select the single, latest revision dated d or earlier.

           The > or < characters may be followed by = to indicate an inclusive
           range rather than an exclusive one.

           Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).




       -h


         Print only the name of the rcs file, name of the file in the working
         directory, head, default branch, access list, locks, symbolic names,
         and suffix.




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.  (Default is to run
         recursively).




       -N


         Do not print the list of tags for this file.  This option can be very
         useful when your site uses a lot of tags, so rather than "more"'ing
         over 3 pages of tag information, the log information is presented
         without tags at all.




       -R


         Print only the name of the rcs file.




       -rrevisions


         Print information about revisions given in the comma-separated list
         revisions of revisions and ranges.  The following table explains the
         available range formats:



         rev1:rev2


           Revisions rev1 to rev2 (which must be on the same branch).



         rev1::rev2


           The same, but excluding rev1.



         :rev




         ::rev


           Revisions from the beginning of the branch up to and including rev.



         rev:


           Revisions starting with rev to the end of the branch containing
           rev.



         rev::


           Revisions starting just after rev to the end of the branch
           containing rev.



         branch


           An argument that is a branch means all revisions on that branch.



         branch1:branch2




         branch1::branch2


           A range of branches means all revisions on the branches in that
           range.



         branch.


           The latest revision in branch.

           A bare -r with no revisions means the latest revision on the
           default branch, normally the trunk.  There can be no space between
           the -r option and its argument.




       -S


         Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.




       -s states


         Print information about revisions whose state attributes match one of
         the states given in the comma-separated list states.  Individual
         states may be any text string, though cvs commonly only uses two
         states, Exp and dead.  See see node `admin options' in the CVS manual
         for more information.




       -t


         Print the same as -h, plus the descriptive text.




       -wlogins


         Print information about revisions checked in by users with login
         names appearing in the comma-separated list logins.  If logins is
         omitted, the user's login is assumed.  There can be no space between
         the -w option and its argument.

         log prints the intersection of the revisions selected with the
         options -d, -s, and -w, intersected with the union of the revisions
         selected by -b and -r.


log examples
       Since log shows dates in local time, you might want to see them in
       Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or some other timezone.  To do this
       you can set your $TZ environment variable before invoking cvs:



         $ TZ=UTC cvs log foo.c

         $ TZ=EST cvs log bar.c





       (If you are using a csh-style shell, like tcsh, you would need to
       prefix the examples above with env.)


ls & rls
       ⊕ ls [-e | -l] [-RP] [-r tag[:date]] [-D date] [path...]

       ⊕ Requires: repository for rls, repository & working directory for ls.

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

       ⊕ Synonym: dir & list are synonyms for ls and rdir & rlist are synonyms
         for rls.

         The ls and rls commands are used to list files and directories in the
         repository.

         By default ls lists the files and directories that belong in your
         working directory, what would be there after an update.

         By default rls lists the files and directories on the tip of the
         trunk in the topmost directory of the repository.

         Both commands accept an optional list of file and directory names,
         relative to the working directory for ls and the topmost directory of
         the repository for rls.  Neither is recursive by default.


ls & rls options
       These standard options are supported by ls & rls:




       -d


         Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).




       -e


         Display in CVS/Entries format.  This format is meant to remain easily
         parsable by automation.




       -l


         Display all details.




       -P


         Don't list contents of empty directories when recursing.




       -R


         List recursively.




       -r tag[:date]


         Show files specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag is a
         branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.
         See see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.




       -D date


         Show files from date.


rls examples


         $ cvs rls

         cvs rls: Listing module: `.'

         CVSROOT

         first-dir







         $ cvs rls CVSROOT

         cvs rls: Listing module: `CVSROOT'

         checkoutlist

         commitinfo

         config

         cvswrappers

         loginfo

         modules

         notify

         rcsinfo

         taginfo

         verifymsg







rdiff
   'patch' format diffs between releases
       ⊕ rdiff [options] {-r tag1[:date1] | -D date1} [-r tag2[:date2] | -D
         date2] modules...

       ⊕ Requires: repository.

       ⊕ Changes: nothing.

       ⊕ Synonym: patch

         Builds a Larry Wall format patch(1) file between two releases, that
         can be fed directly into the patch program to bring an old release
         up-to-date with the new release.  The diff output is sent to the
         standard output device.

         You can specify (using the standard -r and -D options) any
         combination of one or two revisions or dates.  If only one revision
         or date is specified, the patch file reflects differences between
         that revision or date and the current head revisions in the rcs file.

         Note that if the patch created by rdiff spans multiple directories,
         then it may be necessary to specify the -p option when feeding the
         patch back to the patch command, so that patch is able to update
         files that are located in directories other than the one patch is run
         in.


rdiff options
       These standard options are supported by rdiff (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Use the most recent revision no later than date.




       -f


         If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision
         (instead of ignoring the file).




       -k kflag


         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.




       -l


         Local; don't descend subdirectories.




       -p


         Show which C function each change is in.




       -R


         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.




       -r tag


         Use the revision specified by tag, or when date is specified and tag
         is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on
         date.  See see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

         In addition to the above, these options are available:




       -c


         Use the context diff format.  This is the default format.




       -s


         Create a summary change report instead of a patch.  The summary
         includes information about files that were changed or added between
         the releases.  It is sent to the standard output device.  This is
         useful for finding out, for example, which files have changed between
         two dates or revisions.




       -t


         A diff of the top two revisions is sent to the standard output
         device.  This is most useful for seeing what the last change to a
         file was.




       -u


         Use the unidiff format for the context diffs.  Remember that old
         versions of the patch program can't handle the unidiff format, so if
         you plan to post this patch to the net you should probably not use
         -u.


rdiff examples
       Suppose you receive mail from foo@example.net asking for an update from
       release 1.2 to 1.4 of the tc compiler.  You have no such patches on
       hand, but with cvs that can easily be fixed with a command such as
       this:



         $ cvs rdiff -c -r FOO1_2 -r FOO1_4 tc | \

         $$ Mail -s 'The patches you asked for' foo@example.net





       Suppose you have made release 1.3, and forked a branch called R_1_3fix
       for bug fixes.  R_1_3_1 corresponds to release 1.3.1, which was made
       some time ago.  Now, you want to see how much development has been done
       on the branch.  This command can be used:



         $ cvs patch -s -r R_1_3_1 -r R_1_3fix module-name

         cvs rdiff: Diffing module-name

         File ChangeLog,v changed from revision 1.52.2.5 to 1.52.2.6

         File foo.c,v changed from revision 1.52.2.3 to 1.52.2.4

         File bar.h,v changed from revision 1.29.2.1 to 1.2






release
   Indicate that a Module is no longer in use
       ⊕ release [-d] directories...

       ⊕ Requires: Working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: Working directory, history log.

         This command is meant to safely cancel the effect of cvs checkout.
         Since cvs doesn't lock files (except for the cvs admin -l command,
         see node `admin options' in the CVS manual), it isn't strictly
         necessary to use this command.  You can always simply delete your
         working directory, if you like; but you risk losing changes you may
         have forgotten, and you leave no trace in the cvs history file (see
         node `history file' in the CVS manual) that you've abandoned your
         checkout.

         Use cvs release to avoid these problems.  This command checks that no
         uncommitted changes are present; that you are executing it from
         immediately above a cvs working directory; and that the repository
         recorded for your files is the same as the repository defined in the
         module database.

         If all these conditions are true, cvs release leaves a record of its
         execution (attesting to your intentionally abandoning your checkout)
         in the cvs history log.


release options
       The release command supports one command option:




       -d


         Delete your working copy of the file if the release succeeds.  If
         this flag is not given your files will remain in your working
         directory.

         WARNING:  The release command deletes all directories and files
         recursively.  This has the very serious side-effect that any
         directory that you have created inside your checked-out sources, and
         not added to the repository (using the add command; see node `Adding
         files' in the CVS manual) will be silently deleted--even if it is
         non-empty!


release output
       Before release releases your sources it will print a one-line message
       for any file that is not up-to-date.




       U file





       P file


         There exists a newer revision of this file in the repository, and you
         have not modified your local copy of the file (U and P mean the same
         thing).




       A file


         The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, but has
         not yet been committed to the repository.  If you delete your copy of
         the sources this file will be lost.




       R file


         The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, but
         has not yet been removed from the repository, since you have not yet
         committed the removal.  see node `commit' in the CVS manual.




       M file


         The file is modified in your working directory.  There might also be
         a newer revision inside the repository.




       ? file


         file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to
         anything in the source repository, and is not in the list of files
         for cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see node
         `cvsignore' in the CVS manual).  If you remove your working sources,
         this file will be lost.


release examples
       Release the tc directory, and delete your local working copy of the
       files.



         $ cd ..         # You must stand immediately above the

                         # sources when you issue cvs release.

         $ cvs release -d tc

         You have [0] altered files in this repository.

         Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': y

         $






remove
   Remove files from active use
       ⊕ Synopsis: remove [-flR] [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: repository, working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: working directory.

         The remove command is used to remove unwanted files from active use.
         The user normally deletes the files from the working directory prior
         to invocation of the remove command.  Only the working directory is
         updated.  Changes to the repository are not made until the commit
         command is run.

         The remove command does not delete files from from the repository.
         cvs keeps all historical data in the repository so that it is
         possible to reconstruct previous states of the projects under
         revision control.

         To undo cvs remove or to resurrect files that were previously
         removed, see node `add' in the CVS manual.


remove options
       These standard options are supported by remove (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual for a complete description of them):




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.  See see node
         `Recursive behavior' in the CVS manual.




       -R


         Process directories recursively.  See see node `Recursive behavior'
         in the CVS manual.


         In addition, these options are also supported:




       -f


         Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as
         defined in see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

         Delete files before removing them.

         Entire directory hierarchies are easily removed using -f, but take
         note that it is not as easy to resurrect directory hierarchies as it
         is to remove them.



remove examples
   Removing a file


         $ cvs remove remove.me

         cvs remove: file `remove.me' still in working directory

         cvs remove: 1 file exists; remove it first

         $ rm -f remove.me

         $ cvs remove remove.me

         cvs remove: scheduling `remove.me' for removal

         cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove this file permanently


         $ ls remove.it

         remove.it

         $ cvs remove -f remove.it

         cvs remove: scheduling `remove.it' for removal

         cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove this file permanently






   Removing entire directories

         $ tree -d a

         a

         |-- CVS

         `-- b

             `-- CVS


         3 directories

         $ cvs remove -f a

         cvs remove: Removing a

         cvs remove: Removing a/b

         cvs remove: scheduling `a/b/c' for removal

         cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove this file permanently






server & pserver
   Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout
       ⊕ pserver [-c path]

         server [-c path]

       ⊕ Requires: repository, client conversation on stdin/stdout

       ⊕ Changes: Repository or, indirectly, client working directory.

         The cvs server and pserver commands are used to provide repository
         access to remote clients and expect a client conversation on stdin &
         stdout.  Typically these commands are launched from inetd or via ssh
         (see node `Remote repositories' in the CVS manual).

         server expects that the client has already been authenticated
         somehow, typically via ssh, and pserver attempts to authenticate the
         client itself.

         Only one option is available with the server and pserver commands:




       -c path


         Load configuration from path rather than the default location
         $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/config (see node `config' in the CVS manual).  path
         must be /etc/cvs.conf or prefixed by /etc/cvs/.  This option is
         supported beginning with cvs release 1.12.13.


tag & rtag
   Mark project snapshot for later retrieval.
       ⊕ tag [-bBcdFflR] [-r tag] [-D date] new_tag [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: working directory, repository.

       ⊕ Changes: repository.

       ⊕ Synonym: ta, freeze

         and


       ⊕ rtag [-abBdFflnR] [-r tag | -D date] new_tag module...

       ⊕ Requires: repository.

       ⊕ Changes: repository.

       ⊕ Synonym: rt, rfreeze

         Use tag to assign symbolic tags to the revisions of files checked out
         into your sandbox.  The tags are applied immediately to the
         repository, with the revision numbers to attach the tag to supplied
         implicitly by the cvs records of your working files.

         rtag works similarly, but does not need a sandbox to operate in,
         requiring an explicitly supplied tag or date instead (or assuming the
         tip of the trunk when one is not supplied explicitly).  cvs uses this
         preexisting tag or date to determine which revisions of files in the
         repository to attach the new symbolic tag to.

         The symbolic tags are meant to permanently record which revisions of
         which files were used for some purpose.  The checkout and update
         commands allow you to extract an exact copy of a tagged release at
         any time in the future, regardless of whether files have been
         changed, added, or removed on the trunk or other branches since the
         release was tagged.  For more, see node `Branching and merging' in
         the CVS manual.

         These commands may also be used to delete a symbolic tag, or to
         create a branch.  See the options section below.

         Note if you wish to run destructive commands such as tag deletion,
         you may need to be a member of the group cvsadmin to do this.

         If you attempt to create a tag that already exists, CVS will complain
         and not overwrite that tag.  Use the -F option to move the tag to a
         new set of revisions.

         These standard options are supported by tag or rtag (see node `Common
         options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Tag the most recent revision no later than date.  This option is not
         valid when deleting tags (see -d option, below).




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.  see node `Recursive
         behavior' in the CVS manual.




       -R


         Update directories recursively (default).  see node `Recursive
         behavior' in the CVS manual.




       -r tag[:date]


         Tag the revisions specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag
         is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on
         date.  This option is not valid when deleting tags (see -d option,
         below).

         Several tag specific options are also available.  When an option is
         only available with one of tag or rtag, it is noted below:




       -a


         Clear new_tag from removed files that would not otherwise be tagged
         (rtag only).




       -B


         Allows -d or -F to delete or move branch tags.

         WARNING: Recovering the information stored by branch tags is a very
         hard problem, more so than regular tags.  Be absolutely sure you
         understand what you are doing before using this option.




       -b


         The -b option makes the new tag a branch tag (see node `Branching and
         merging' in the CVS manual), allowing concurrent, isolated
         development.  This is commonly used to create patches to a previously
         released software distribution.




       -c


         Abort if any tagged files are locally modified (tag only).




       -d


         Delete new_tag, instead of creating it.

         WARNING: Be very certain of your ground before you delete a tag;
         doing this permanently discards some historical information, which
         could later turn out to be valuable.




       -F


         When a tag already exists, move it to the new revision.  When the tag
         does not exist, create it as normal.  This option is new in cvs 1.4.
         The pre-1.4 behavior is identical to cvs tag -F.

         WARNING: Be very certain of your ground before you delete a tag;
         doing this permanently discards some historical information, which
         could later turn out to be valuable.




       -f


         With -r tag or -d date, force a head revision match if tag and date
         are not found (in other words, attach new_tag to the most recent
         trunk revision when tag and date do not resolve to an existing
         revision).




       -n


         Do not execute the tag program specified in the modules file (rtag
         only).  see node `modules' in the CVS manual, for more.


update
   Bring work tree in sync with repository
       ⊕ update [-ACdflPpRt] [-I name] [-j rev [-j rev]] [-k kflag] [-r
         tag[:date] | -D date] [-W spec] [files...]

       ⊕ Requires: repository, working directory.

       ⊕ Changes: working directory.

         After you've run checkout to create your private copy of source from
         the common repository, other developers will continue changing the
         central source.  From time to time, when it is convenient in your
         development process, you can use the update command from within your
         working directory to reconcile your work with any revisions applied
         to the source repository since your last checkout or update.  Without
         the -C option, update will also merge any differences between the
         local copy of files and their base revisions into any destination
         revisions specified with -r, -D, or -A.


update options
       These standard options are available with update (see node `Common
       options' in the CVS manual, for a complete description of them):




       -D date


         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  This option is
         sticky, and implies -P.  See see node `Sticky tags' in the CVS
         manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.




       -f


         Only useful with the -D or -r flags.  If no matching revision is
         found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring the
         file).




       -k kflag


         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword
         substitution' in the CVS manual.  This option is sticky; future
         updates of this file in this working directory will use the same
         kflag.  The status command can be viewed to see the sticky options.
         See see node `Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information
         on the status command.




       -l


         Local; run only in current working directory.  see node `Recursive
         behavior' in the CVS manual.




       -P


         Prune empty directories.  See see node `Moving directories' in the
         CVS manual.




       -p


         Pipe files to the standard output.




       -R


         Update directories recursively (default).  see node `Recursive
         behavior' in the CVS manual.




       -r tag[:date]


         Retrieve the revisions specified by tag or, when date is specified
         and tag is a branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it
         existed on date.  This option is sticky, and implies -P.  See see
         node `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
         tags/dates. Also see see node `Common options' in the CVS manual.




       -t


         Preserve source timestamps.  Unlike checkout, where files are created
         using the original timestamp of the file in the repository, update
         updates files using the current time of the machine.  This is
         convenient because updated files appear newer than any other files on
         the system so make(1) knows that their corresponding built artifacts
         are out of date and they will get rebuilt.  The -t flag instead
         preserves the timestamps of the original repository files, behaving
         exactly like checkout.  This is useful for maintaining a tree in the
         original checked-out state.

         These special options are also available with update.




       -A


         Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options.  See see node `Sticky
         tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.




       -C


         Overwrite locally modified files with clean copies from the
         repository (the modified file is saved in .#file.revision, however).




       -d


         Create any directories that exist in the repository if they're
         missing from the working directory.  Normally, update acts only on
         directories and files that were already enrolled in your working
         directory.

         This is useful for updating directories that were created in the
         repository since the initial checkout; but it has an unfortunate side
         effect.  If you deliberately avoided certain directories in the
         repository when you created your working directory (either through
         use of a module name or by listing explicitly the files and
         directories you wanted on the command line), then updating with -d
         will create those directories, which may not be what you want.




       -I name


         Ignore files whose names match name (in your working directory)
         during the update.  You can specify -I more than once on the command
         line to specify several files to ignore.  Use -I ! to avoid ignoring
         any files at all.  see node `cvsignore' in the CVS manual, for other
         ways to make cvs ignore some files.




       -Wspec


         Specify file names that should be filtered during update.  You can
         use this option repeatedly.

         spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
         in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.




       -jrevision


         With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with
         the first -j option to the revision specified with the second j
         option, into the working directory.

         With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the
         revision specified with the -j option, into the working directory.
         The ancestor revision is the common ancestor of the revision which
         the working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
         -j option.

         Note that using a single -j tagname option rather than -j branchname
         to merge changes from a branch will often not remove files which were
         removed on the branch.  see node `Merging adds and removals' in the
         CVS manual, for more.

         In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date
         specification which, when used with branches, can limit the chosen
         revision to one within a specific date.  An optional date is
         specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag:
         -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.

         see node `Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.



update output
       update and checkout keep you informed of their progress by printing a
       line for each file, preceded by one character indicating the status of
       the file:




       U file


         The file was brought up to date with respect to the repository.  This
         is done for any file that exists in the repository but not in your
         working directory, and for files that you haven't changed but are not
         the most recent versions available in the repository.




       P file


         Like U, but the cvs server sends a patch instead of an entire file.
         This accomplishes the same thing as U using less bandwidth.




       A file


         The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, and will
         be added to the source repository when you run commit on the file.
         This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.




       R file


         The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources, and
         will be removed from the source repository when you run commit on the
         file.  This is a reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.




       M file


         The file is modified in  your  working  directory.

         M can indicate one of two states for a file you're working on: either
         there were no modifications to the same file in the repository, so
         that your file remains as you last saw it; or there were
         modifications in the repository as well as in your copy, but they
         were merged successfully, without conflict, in your working
         directory.

         cvs will print some messages if it merges your work, and a backup
         copy of your working file (as it looked before you ran update) will
         be made.  The exact name of that file is printed while update runs.




       C file


         A conflict was detected while trying to merge your changes to file
         with changes from the source repository.  file (the copy in your
         working directory) is now the result of attempting to merge the two
         revisions; an unmodified copy of your file is also in your working
         directory, with the name .#file.revision where revision is the
         revision that your modified file started from.  Resolve the conflict
         as described in see node `Conflicts example' in the CVS manual.
         (Note that some systems automatically purge files that begin with .#
         if they have not been accessed for a few days.  If you intend to keep
         a copy of your original file, it is a very good idea to rename it.)
         Under vms, the file name starts with __ rather than .#.




       ? file


         file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to
         anything in the source repository, and is not in the list of files
         for cvs to ignore (see the description of the -I option, and see node
         `cvsignore' in the CVS manual).

AUTHORS
       Dick Grune
              Original author of the cvs shell script version posted to
              comp.sources.unix in the volume6 release of December, 1986.
              Credited with much of the cvs conflict resolution algorithms.

       Brian Berliner
              Coder and designer of the cvs program itself in April, 1989,
              based on the original work done by Dick.

       Jeff Polk
              Helped Brian with the design of the cvs module and vendor branch
              support and author of the checkin(1) shell script (the ancestor
              of cvs import).

       Larry Jones, Derek R. Price, and Mark D. Baushke
              Have helped maintain cvs for many years.

       And many others too numerous to mention here.

SEE ALSO
       The most comprehensive manual for CVS is Version Management with CVS by
       Per Cederqvist et al.  Depending on your system, you may be able to get
       it with the info CVS command or it may be available as cvs.pdf
       (Portable Document Format), cvs.ps (PostScript), cvs.texinfo (Texinfo
       source), or cvs.html.

       For CVS updates, more information on documentation, software related to
       CVS, development of CVS, and more, see:


           http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/

 ci(1), co(1), cvs(5), cvsbug(8), diff(1), grep(1), patch(1), rcs(1),
 rcsdiff(1), rcsmerge(1), rlog(1).



                                                                        CVS(1)