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<title>CVS&mdash;Concurrent Versions System v1.12.13</title>

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Next: <a href="#Overview" accesskey="n" rel="next">Overview</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<a class="top" id="SEC_Top"></a>
<a class="anchor" id="Cederqvist"></a><p>This info manual describes how to use and administer
<small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.13-MirOS-0AB9.1 and up.
</p>


<div class="element-shortcontents" id="SEC_Shortcontents">
<h2 class="shortcontents-heading">Short Table of Contents</h2>

<div class="shortcontents">
<ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
<li><a id="stoc-Overview-1" href="#toc-Overview-1">1 Overview</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-The-Repository" href="#toc-The-Repository">2 The Repository</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Starting-a-project-with-CVS" href="#toc-Starting-a-project-with-CVS">3 Starting a project with CVS</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Revisions-1" href="#toc-Revisions-1">4 Revisions</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Branching-and-merging-1" href="#toc-Branching-and-merging-1">5 Branching and merging</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Recursive-behavior-1" href="#toc-Recursive-behavior-1">6 Recursive behavior</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Adding_002c-removing_002c-and-renaming-files-and-directories" href="#toc-Adding_002c-removing_002c-and-renaming-files-and-directories">7 Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-History-browsing-1" href="#toc-History-browsing-1">8 History browsing</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Handling-binary-files" href="#toc-Handling-binary-files">9 Handling binary files</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Multiple-developers-1" href="#toc-Multiple-developers-1">10 Multiple developers</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Revision-management-1" href="#toc-Revision-management-1">11 Revision management</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Keyword-substitution-1" href="#toc-Keyword-substitution-1">12 Keyword substitution</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Tracking-third_002dparty-sources" href="#toc-Tracking-third_002dparty-sources">13 Tracking third-party sources</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-How-your-build-system-interacts-with-CVS" href="#toc-How-your-build-system-interacts-with-CVS">14 How your build system interacts with CVS</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Special-Files-1" href="#toc-Special-Files-1">15 Special Files</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Guide-to-CVS-commands" href="#toc-Guide-to-CVS-commands">Appendix A Guide to CVS commands</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Quick-reference-to-CVS-commands" href="#toc-Quick-reference-to-CVS-commands">Appendix B Quick reference to CVS commands</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Reference-manual-for-Administrative-files" href="#toc-Reference-manual-for-Administrative-files">Appendix C Reference manual for Administrative files</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-All-environment-variables-which-affect-CVS" href="#toc-All-environment-variables-which-affect-CVS">Appendix D All environment variables which affect CVS</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Compatibility-between-CVS-Versions" href="#toc-Compatibility-between-CVS-Versions">Appendix E Compatibility between CVS Versions</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Troubleshooting-1" href="#toc-Troubleshooting-1">Appendix F Troubleshooting</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Credits-1" href="#toc-Credits-1">Appendix G Credits</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Dealing-with-bugs-in-CVS-or-this-manual" href="#toc-Dealing-with-bugs-in-CVS-or-this-manual">Appendix H Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Alphabetical-list-of-all-CVS-commands" href="#toc-Alphabetical-list-of-all-CVS-commands">Appendix I Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a></li>
<li><a id="stoc-Index-1" href="#toc-Index-1" rel="index">Index</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="element-contents" id="SEC_Contents">
<h2 class="contents-heading">Table of Contents</h2>

<div class="contents">

<ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
  <li><a id="toc-Overview-1" href="#Overview">1 Overview</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-What-is-CVS_003f-1" href="#What-is-CVS_003f">1.1 What is CVS?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-What-is-CVS-not_003f-1" href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f">1.2 What is CVS not?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-A-sample-session-1" href="#A-sample-session">1.3 A sample session</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Getting-the-source-1" href="#Getting-the-source">1.3.1 Getting the source</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Committing-your-changes-1" href="#Committing-your-changes">1.3.2 Committing your changes</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Cleaning-up-1" href="#Cleaning-up">1.3.3 Cleaning up</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Viewing-differences-1" href="#Viewing-differences">1.3.4 Viewing differences</a></li>
    </ul></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-The-Repository" href="#Repository">2 The Repository</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Telling-CVS-where-your-repository-is" href="#Specifying-a-repository">2.1 Telling CVS where your repository is</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-data-is-stored-in-the-repository" href="#Repository-storage">2.2 How data is stored in the repository</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Where-files-are-stored-within-the-repository" href="#Repository-files">2.2.1 Where files are stored within the repository</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-File-permissions-1" href="#File-permissions">2.2.2 File permissions</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-File-Permission-issues-specific-to-Windows" href="#Windows-permissions">2.2.3 File Permission issues specific to Windows</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-The-attic" href="#Attic">2.2.4 The attic</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-The-CVS-directory-in-the-repository" href="#CVS-in-repository">2.2.5 The CVS directory in the repository</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-CVS-locks-in-the-repository" href="#Locks">2.2.6 CVS locks in the repository</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-How-files-are-stored-in-the-CVSROOT-directory" href="#CVSROOT-storage">2.2.7 How files are stored in the CVSROOT directory</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-data-is-stored-in-the-working-directory" href="#Working-directory-storage">2.3 How data is stored in the working directory</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-administrative-files" href="#Intro-administrative-files">2.4 The administrative files</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Editing-administrative-files" href="#Editing-administrative-files">2.4.1 Editing administrative files</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Multiple-repositories-1" href="#Multiple-repositories">2.5 Multiple repositories</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Creating-a-repository-1" href="#Creating-a-repository">2.6 Creating a repository</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Backing-up-a-repository" href="#Backing-up">2.7 Backing up a repository</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Moving-a-repository-1" href="#Moving-a-repository">2.8 Moving a repository</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Remote-repositories-1" href="#Remote-repositories">2.9 Remote repositories</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Server-requirements-1" href="#Server-requirements">2.9.1 Server requirements</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-The-connection-method-1" href="#The-connection-method">2.9.2 The connection method</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Connecting-with-rsh" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">2.9.3 Connecting with rsh</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Direct-connection-with-password-authentication" href="#Password-authenticated">2.9.4 Direct connection with password authentication</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Setting-up-the-server-for-password-authentication" href="#Password-authentication-server">2.9.4.1 Setting up the server for password authentication</a></li>
        <li><a id="toc-Using-the-client-with-password-authentication" href="#Password-authentication-client">2.9.4.2 Using the client with password authentication</a></li>
        <li><a id="toc-Security-considerations-with-password-authentication" href="#Password-authentication-security">2.9.4.3 Security considerations with password authentication</a></li>
      </ul></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Direct-connection-with-GSSAPI" href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">2.9.5 Direct connection with GSSAPI</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Direct-connection-with-Kerberos" href="#Kerberos-authenticated">2.9.6 Direct connection with Kerberos</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Connecting-with-fork" href="#Connecting-via-fork">2.9.7 Connecting with fork</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Distributing-load-across-several-CVS-servers" href="#Write-proxies">2.9.8 Distributing load across several CVS servers</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Read_002donly-repository-access" href="#Read_002donly-access">2.10 Read-only repository access</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Temporary-directories-for-the-server" href="#Server-temporary-directory">2.11 Temporary directories for the server</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Starting-a-project-with-CVS" href="#Starting-a-new-project">3 Starting a project with CVS</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Setting-up-the-files-1" href="#Setting-up-the-files">3.1 Setting up the files</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Creating-a-directory-tree-from-a-number-of-files" href="#From-files">3.1.1 Creating a directory tree from a number of files</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Creating-Files-From-Other-Version-Control-Systems" href="#From-other-version-control-systems">3.1.2 Creating Files From Other Version Control Systems</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Creating-a-directory-tree-from-scratch" href="#From-scratch">3.1.3 Creating a directory tree from scratch</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Defining-the-module-1" href="#Defining-the-module">3.2 Defining the module</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Revisions-1" href="#Revisions">4 Revisions</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Revision-numbers-1" href="#Revision-numbers">4.1 Revision numbers</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Versions_002c-revisions-and-releases" href="#Versions-revisions-releases">4.2 Versions, revisions and releases</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Assigning-revisions-1" href="#Assigning-revisions">4.3 Assigning revisions</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Tags_002d_002dSymbolic-revisions" href="#Tags">4.4 Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Specifying-what-to-tag-from-the-working-directory" href="#Tagging-the-working-directory">4.5 Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Specifying-what-to-tag-by-date-or-revision" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">4.6 Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Deleting_002c-moving_002c-and-renaming-tags" href="#Modifying-tags">4.7 Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Tagging-and-adding-and-removing-files" href="#Tagging-add_002fremove">4.8 Tagging and adding and removing files</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Sticky-tags-1" href="#Sticky-tags">4.9 Sticky tags</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Branching-and-merging-1" href="#Branching-and-merging">5 Branching and merging</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-What-branches-are-good-for" href="#Branches-motivation">5.1 What branches are good for</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Creating-a-branch-1" href="#Creating-a-branch">5.2 Creating a branch</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Accessing-branches-1" href="#Accessing-branches">5.3 Accessing branches</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Branches-and-revisions-1" href="#Branches-and-revisions">5.4 Branches and revisions</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Magic-branch-numbers-1" href="#Magic-branch-numbers">5.5 Magic branch numbers</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Merging-an-entire-branch" href="#Merging-a-branch">5.6 Merging an entire branch</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Merging-from-a-branch-several-times" href="#Merging-more-than-once">5.7 Merging from a branch several times</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Merging-differences-between-any-two-revisions" href="#Merging-two-revisions">5.8 Merging differences between any two revisions</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Merging-can-add-or-remove-files" href="#Merging-adds-and-removals">5.9 Merging can add or remove files</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Merging-and-keywords-1" href="#Merging-and-keywords">5.10 Merging and keywords</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Recursive-behavior-1" href="#Recursive-behavior">6 Recursive behavior</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Adding_002c-removing_002c-and-renaming-files-and-directories" href="#Adding-and-removing">7 Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Adding-files-to-a-directory" href="#Adding-files">7.1 Adding files to a directory</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Removing-files-1" href="#Removing-files">7.2 Removing files</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Removing-directories-1" href="#Removing-directories">7.3 Removing directories</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Moving-and-renaming-files" href="#Moving-files">7.4 Moving and renaming files</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-The-Normal-way-to-Rename" href="#Outside">7.4.1 The Normal way to Rename</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Moving-the-history-file" href="#Inside">7.4.2 Moving the history file</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Copying-the-history-file" href="#Rename-by-copying">7.4.3 Copying the history file</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Moving-and-renaming-directories" href="#Moving-directories">7.5 Moving and renaming directories</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-History-browsing-1" href="#History-browsing">8 History browsing</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Log-messages" href="#log-messages">8.1 Log messages</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-history-database" href="#history-database">8.2 The history database</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-User_002ddefined-logging" href="#user_002ddefined-logging">8.3 User-defined logging</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Handling-binary-files" href="#Binary-files">9 Handling binary files</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-The-issues-with-binary-files" href="#Binary-why">9.1 The issues with binary files</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-to-store-binary-files" href="#Binary-howto">9.2 How to store binary files</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Multiple-developers-1" href="#Multiple-developers">10 Multiple developers</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-File-status-1" href="#File-status">10.1 File status</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Bringing-a-file-up-to-date" href="#Updating-a-file">10.2 Bringing a file up to date</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Conflicts-example-1" href="#Conflicts-example">10.3 Conflicts example</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Informing-others-about-commits" href="#Informing-others">10.4 Informing others about commits</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Several-developers-simultaneously-attempting-to-run-CVS" href="#Concurrency">10.5 Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Mechanisms-to-track-who-is-editing-files" href="#Watches">10.6 Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Telling-CVS-to-watch-certain-files" href="#Setting-a-watch">10.6.1 Telling CVS to watch certain files</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Telling-CVS-to-notify-you" href="#Getting-Notified">10.6.2 Telling CVS to notify you</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-How-to-edit-a-file-which-is-being-watched" href="#Editing-files">10.6.3 How to edit a file which is being watched</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Information-about-who-is-watching-and-editing" href="#Watch-information">10.6.4 Information about who is watching and editing</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Using-watches-with-old-versions-of-CVS" href="#Watches-Compatibility">10.6.5 Using watches with old versions of CVS</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Choosing-between-reserved-or-unreserved-checkouts" href="#Choosing-a-model">10.7 Choosing between reserved or unreserved checkouts</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Revision-management-1" href="#Revision-management">11 Revision management</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-When-to-commit_003f" href="#When-to-commit">11.1 When to commit?</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Keyword-substitution-1" href="#Keyword-substitution">12 Keyword substitution</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Keyword-List" href="#Keyword-list">12.1 Keyword List</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Using-keywords-1" href="#Using-keywords">12.2 Using keywords</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Avoiding-substitution-1" href="#Avoiding-substitution">12.3 Avoiding substitution</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Substitution-modes-1" href="#Substitution-modes">12.4 Substitution modes</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Configuring-Keyword-Expansion" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">12.5 Configuring Keyword Expansion</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Problems-with-the-_0024Log_0024-keyword_002e" href="#Log-keyword">12.6 Problems with the $<i class="i"></i>Log$ keyword.</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Tracking-third_002dparty-sources" href="#Tracking-sources">13 Tracking third-party sources</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Importing-for-the-first-time" href="#First-import">13.1 Importing for the first time</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Updating-with-the-import-command" href="#Update-imports">13.2 Updating with the import command</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Reverting-to-the-latest-vendor-release" href="#Reverting-local-changes">13.3 Reverting to the latest vendor release</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-to-handle-binary-files-with-cvs-import" href="#Binary-files-in-imports">13.4 How to handle binary files with cvs import</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-to-handle-keyword-substitution-with-cvs-import" href="#Keywords-in-imports">13.5 How to handle keyword substitution with cvs import</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Multiple-vendor-branches-1" href="#Multiple-vendor-branches">13.6 Multiple vendor branches</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-How-your-build-system-interacts-with-CVS" href="#Builds">14 How your build system interacts with CVS</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Special-Files-1" href="#Special-Files">15 Special Files</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Guide-to-CVS-commands" href="#CVS-commands">Appendix A Guide to CVS commands</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Overall-structure-of-CVS-commands" href="#Structure">A.1 Overall structure of CVS commands</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-CVS_0027s-exit-status" href="#Exit-status">A.2 CVS&rsquo;s exit status</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Default-options-and-the-_007e_002f_002ecvsrc-file" href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">A.3 Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Global-options-1" href="#Global-options">A.4 Global options</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Common-command-options" href="#Common-options">A.5 Common command options</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Date-input-formats-1" href="#Date-input-formats">A.6 Date input formats</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-General-date-syntax-1" href="#General-date-syntax">A.6.1 General date syntax</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Calendar-date-items-1" href="#Calendar-date-items">A.6.2 Calendar date items</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Time-of-day-items-1" href="#Time-of-day-items">A.6.3 Time of day items</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Time-zone-items-1" href="#Time-zone-items">A.6.4 Time zone items</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Day-of-week-items-1" href="#Day-of-week-items">A.6.5 Day of week items</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Relative-items-in-date-strings-1" href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings">A.6.6 Relative items in date strings</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Pure-numbers-in-date-strings-1" href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings">A.6.7 Pure numbers in date strings</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Seconds-since-the-Epoch-1" href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch">A.6.8 Seconds since the Epoch</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Authors-of-get_005fdate-1" href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">A.6.9 Authors of <code class="code">get_date</code></a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-admin_002d_002d_002dAdministration-front_002dend-for-RCS" href="#admin">A.7 admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-admin-options-1" href="#admin-options">A.7.1 admin options</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-annotate_002d_002d_002dWhat-revision-modified-each-line-of-a-file_003f" href="#annotate">A.8 annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-annotate-options-1" href="#annotate-options">A.8.1 annotate options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-annotate-example-1" href="#annotate-example">A.8.2 annotate example</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-checkout_002d_002d_002dCheck-out-sources-for-editing" href="#checkout">A.9 checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-checkout-options-1" href="#checkout-options">A.9.1 checkout options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-checkout-examples-1" href="#checkout-examples">A.9.2 checkout examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-commit_002d_002d_002dCheck-files-into-the-repository" href="#commit">A.10 commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-commit-options-1" href="#commit-options">A.10.1 commit options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-commit-examples-1" href="#commit-examples">A.10.2 commit examples</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Committing-to-a-branch" href="#Committing-to-a-branch">A.10.2.1 Committing to a branch</a></li>
        <li><a id="toc-Creating-the-branch-after-editing" href="#Creating-the-branch-after-editing">A.10.2.2 Creating the branch after editing</a></li>
      </ul></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-diff_002d_002d_002dShow-differences-between-revisions" href="#diff">A.11 diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-diff-options-1" href="#diff-options">A.11.1 diff options</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Line-group-formats-1" href="#Line-group-formats">A.11.1.1 Line group formats</a></li>
        <li><a id="toc-Line-formats-1" href="#Line-formats">A.11.1.2 Line formats</a></li>
      </ul></li>
      <li><a id="toc-diff-examples-1" href="#diff-examples">A.11.2 diff examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-export_002d_002d_002dExport-sources-from-CVS_002c-similar-to-checkout" href="#export">A.12 export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-export-options-1" href="#export-options">A.12.1 export options</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-history_002d_002d_002dShow-repository-access-history" href="#history">A.13 history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-history-options-1" href="#history-options">A.13.1 history options</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-import_002d_002d_002dImport-sources-into-CVS_002c-using-vendor-branches" href="#import">A.14 import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-import-options-1" href="#import-options">A.14.1 import options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-import-output-1" href="#import-output">A.14.2 import output</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-import-examples-1" href="#import-examples">A.14.3 import examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-log_002d_002d_002dPrint-out-history-information-for-files" href="#log">A.15 log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-log-options-1" href="#log-options">A.15.1 log options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-log-examples-1" href="#log-examples">A.15.2 log examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-ls-_0026-rls_002d_002d_002dList-files-in-the-repository" href="#ls-_0026-rls">A.16 ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-ls-_0026-rls-options-1" href="#ls-_0026-rls-options">A.16.1 ls &amp; rls options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-rls-examples-1" href="#rls-examples">A.16.2 rls examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-rdiff_002d_002d_002dCreate-_0027patch_0027-format-diffs-between-revisions" href="#rdiff">A.17 rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-rdiff-options-1" href="#rdiff-options">A.17.1 rdiff options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-rdiff-examples-1" href="#rdiff-examples">A.17.2 rdiff examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-release_002d_002d_002dIndicate-that-a-directory-is-no-longer-in-use" href="#release">A.18 release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-release-options-1" href="#release-options">A.18.1 release options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-release-output-1" href="#release-output">A.18.2 release output</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-release-examples-1" href="#release-examples">A.18.3 release examples</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-server-_0026-pserver_002d_002d_002dAct-as-a-server-for-a-client-on-stdin_002fstdout" href="#server-_0026-pserver">A.19 server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-suck_002d_002d_002dDownload-RCS-_002cv-file-raw" href="#suck">A.20 suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-update_002d_002d_002dBring-work-tree-in-sync-with-repository" href="#update">A.21 update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-update-options-1" href="#update-options">A.21.1 update options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-update-output-1" href="#update-output">A.21.2 update output</a></li>
    </ul></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Quick-reference-to-CVS-commands" href="#Invoking-CVS">Appendix B Quick reference to CVS commands</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Reference-manual-for-Administrative-files" href="#Administrative-files">Appendix C Reference manual for Administrative files</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-The-modules-file" href="#modules">C.1 The modules file</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Alias-modules-1" href="#Alias-modules">C.1.1 Alias modules</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Regular-modules-1" href="#Regular-modules">C.1.2 Regular modules</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Ampersand-modules-1" href="#Ampersand-modules">C.1.3 Ampersand modules</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Excluding-directories-1" href="#Excluding-directories">C.1.4 Excluding directories</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Module-options-1" href="#Module-options">C.1.5 Module options</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-How-the-modules-file-_0060_0060program-options_0027_0027-programs-are-run" href="#Module-program-options">C.1.6 How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-cvswrappers-file" href="#Wrappers">C.2 The cvswrappers file</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-Trigger-Scripts" href="#Trigger-Scripts">C.3 The Trigger Scripts</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-The-common-syntax" href="#syntax">C.3.1 The common syntax</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Security-and-the-Trigger-Scripts" href="#Trigger-Script-Security">C.3.2 Security and the Trigger Scripts</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-The-commit-support-files" href="#commit-files">C.3.3 The commit support files</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Updating-legacy-repositories-to-stop-using-deprecated-command-line-template-formats" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">C.3.3.1 Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a></li>
      </ul></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Commitinfo" href="#commitinfo">C.3.4 Commitinfo</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Verifying-log-messages" href="#verifymsg">C.3.5 Verifying log messages</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Verifying-log-messages-1" href="#verifymsg-example">C.3.5.1 Verifying log messages</a></li>
      </ul></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Loginfo" href="#loginfo">C.3.6 Loginfo</a>
      <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
        <li><a id="toc-Loginfo-example" href="#loginfo-example">C.3.6.1 Loginfo example</a></li>
        <li><a id="toc-Keeping-a-checked-out-copy-1" href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">C.3.6.2 Keeping a checked out copy</a></li>
      </ul></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Logging-admin-commands" href="#postadmin">C.3.7 Logging admin commands</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Taginfo" href="#taginfo">C.3.8 Taginfo</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Logging-tags" href="#posttag">C.3.9 Logging tags</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Logging-watch-commands" href="#postwatch">C.3.10 Logging watch commands</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Launch-a-Script-before-Proxying" href="#preproxy">C.3.11 Launch a Script before Proxying</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Launch-a-Script-after-Proxying" href="#postproxy">C.3.12 Launch a Script after Proxying</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Rcsinfo" href="#rcsinfo">C.4 Rcsinfo</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Ignoring-files-via-cvsignore" href="#cvsignore">C.5 Ignoring files via cvsignore</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-checkoutlist-file" href="#checkoutlist">C.6 The checkoutlist file</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-history-file" href="#history-file">C.7 The history file</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Expansions-in-administrative-files" href="#Variables">C.8 Expansions in administrative files</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-The-CVSROOT_002fconfig-configuration-file" href="#config">C.9 The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-All-environment-variables-which-affect-CVS" href="#Environment-variables">Appendix D All environment variables which affect CVS</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Compatibility-between-CVS-Versions" href="#Compatibility">Appendix E Compatibility between CVS Versions</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Troubleshooting-1" href="#Troubleshooting">Appendix F Troubleshooting</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Partial-list-of-error-messages" href="#Error-messages">F.1 Partial list of error messages</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Trouble-making-a-connection-to-a-CVS-server" href="#Connection">F.2 Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Other-common-problems" href="#Other-problems">F.3 Other common problems</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Credits-1" href="#Credits">Appendix G Credits</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Dealing-with-bugs-in-CVS-or-this-manual" href="#BUGS">Appendix H Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Alphabetical-list-of-all-CVS-commands" href="#CVS-command-list">Appendix I Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Index-1" href="#Index" rel="index">Index</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Overview">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="n" rel="next">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Overview-1"><span>1 Overview<a class="copiable-link" href="#Overview-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overview"></a>

<p>This chapter is for people who have never used
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, and perhaps have never used version control
software before.
</p>
<p>If you are already familiar with <small class="sc">CVS</small> and are just
trying to learn a particular feature or remember a
certain command, you can probably skip everything here.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f" accesskey="1">What is CVS?</a></li>
<li><a href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f" accesskey="2">What is CVS not?</a></li>
<li><a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="3">A sample session</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="What-is-CVS_003f">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f" accesskey="n" rel="next">What is CVS not?</a>, Up: <a href="#Overview" accesskey="u" rel="up">Overview</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="What-is-CVS_003f-1"><span>1.1 What is CVS?<a class="copiable-link" href="#What-is-CVS_003f-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-What-is-CVS_003f"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Introduction-to-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002c-introduction-to"></a>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> is a version control system.  Using it, you can
record the history of your source files.
</p>

<p>For example, bugs sometimes creep in when
software is modified, and you might not detect the bug
until a long time after you make the modification.
With <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you can easily retrieve old versions to see
exactly which change caused the bug.  This can
sometimes be a big help.
</p>
<p>You could of course save every version of every file
you have ever created.  This would
however waste an enormous amount of disk space.  <small class="sc">CVS</small>
stores all the versions of a file in a single file in a
clever way that only stores the differences between
versions.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> also helps you if you are part of a group of people working
on the same project.  It is all too easy to overwrite
each others&rsquo; changes unless you are extremely careful.
Some editors, like <small class="sc">GNU</small> Emacs, try to make sure that
two people never modify the same file at the
same time.  Unfortunately, if someone is using another
editor, that safeguard will not work.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> solves this problem
by insulating the different developers from each other.  Every
developer works in his own directory, and <small class="sc">CVS</small> merges
the work when each developer is done.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-History-of-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002c-history-of"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Credits-_0028CVS-program_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Contributors-_0028CVS-program_0029"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> started out as a bunch of shell scripts written by
Dick Grune, posted to the newsgroup
<code class="code">comp.sources.unix</code> in the volume 6
release of July, 1986.  While no actual code from
these shell scripts is present in the current version
of <small class="sc">CVS</small> much of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> conflict resolution algorithms
come from them.
</p>
<p>In April, 1989, Brian Berliner designed and coded <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
Jeff Polk later helped Brian with the design of the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
module and vendor branch support.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Source_002c-getting-CVS-source"></a>
<p>You can get <small class="sc">CVS</small> in a variety of ways, including
free download from the Internet.  For more information
on downloading <small class="sc">CVS</small> and other <small class="sc">CVS</small> topics, see:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><a class="url" href="http://cvs.nongnu.org/">http://cvs.nongnu.org/</a>
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Mailing-list"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-List_002c-mailing-list"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Newsgroups"></a>
<p>There is a mailing list, known as <a class="email" href="mailto:info-cvs@nongnu.org">info-cvs@nongnu.org</a>,
devoted to <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  To subscribe or
unsubscribe
write to
<a class="email" href="mailto:info-cvs-request@nongnu.org">info-cvs-request@nongnu.org</a>.
If you prefer a Usenet group, there is a one-way mirror (posts to the email
list are usually sent to the news group, but not visa versa) of
<a class="email" href="mailto:info-cvs@nongnu.org">info-cvs@nongnu.org</a> at <a class="url" href="news:gnu.cvs.help">news:gnu.cvs.help</a>.  The right
Usenet group for posts is <a class="url" href="news:comp.software.config-mgmt">news:comp.software.config-mgmt</a> which is for
<small class="sc">CVS</small> discussions (along with other configuration
management systems).  In the future, it might be
possible to create a
<code class="code">comp.software.config-mgmt.cvs</code>, but probably only
if there is sufficient <small class="sc">CVS</small> traffic on
<a class="url" href="news:comp.software.config-mgmt">news:comp.software.config-mgmt</a>.
</p>
<p>You can also subscribe to the <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a> mailing list,
described in more detail in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.  To subscribe
send mail to <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs-request@nongnu.org">bug-cvs-request@nongnu.org</a>.  There is a two-way
Usenet mirror (posts to the Usenet group are usually sent to the email list and
visa versa) of <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a> named <a class="url" href="news:gnu.cvs.bug">news:gnu.cvs.bug</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="What-is-CVS-not_003f">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="n" rel="next">A sample session</a>, Previous: <a href="#What-is-CVS_003f" accesskey="p" rel="prev">What is CVS?</a>, Up: <a href="#Overview" accesskey="u" rel="up">Overview</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="What-is-CVS-not_003f-1"><span>1.2 What is CVS not?<a class="copiable-link" href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-What-is-CVS-not_003f"></a>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can do a lot of things for you, but it does
not try to be everything for everyone.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> is not a build system.</dt>
<dd>
<p>Though the structure of your repository and modules
file interact with your build system
(e.g. <samp class="file">Makefile</samp>s), they are essentially
independent.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not dictate how you build anything.  It
merely stores files for retrieval in a tree structure
you devise.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not dictate how to use disk space in the
checked out working directories.  If you write your
<samp class="file">Makefile</samp>s or scripts in every directory so they
have to know the relative positions of everything else,
you wind up requiring the entire repository to be
checked out.
</p>
<p>If you modularise your work, and construct a build
system that will share files (via links, mounts,
<code class="code">VPATH</code> in <samp class="file">Makefile</samp>s, etc.), you can
arrange your disk usage however you like.
</p>
<p>But you have to remember that <em class="emph">any</em> such system is
a lot of work to construct and maintain.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> does
not address the issues involved.
</p>
<p>Of course, you should place the tools created to
support such a build system (scripts, <samp class="file">Makefile</samp>s,
etc) under <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>Figuring out what files need to be rebuilt when
something changes is, again, something to be handled
outside the scope of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  One traditional
approach is to use <code class="code">make</code> for building, and use
some automated tool for generating the dependencies which
<code class="code">make</code> uses.
</p>
<p>See <a class="ref" href="#Builds">How your build system interacts with CVS</a>, for more information on doing builds
in conjunction with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> is not a substitute for management.</dt>
<dd>
<p>Your managers and project leaders are expected to talk
to you frequently enough to make certain you are aware
of schedules, merge points, branch names and release
dates.  If they don&rsquo;t, <small class="sc">CVS</small> can&rsquo;t help.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> is an instrument for making sources dance to
your tune.  But you are the piper and the composer.  No
instrument plays itself or writes its own music.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> is not a substitute for developer communication.</dt>
<dd>
<p>When faced with conflicts within a single file, most
developers manage to resolve them without too much
effort.  But a more general definition of &ldquo;conflict&rdquo;
includes problems too difficult to solve without
communication between developers.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> cannot determine when simultaneous changes
within a single file, or across a whole collection of
files, will logically conflict with one another.  Its
concept of a <em class="dfn">conflict</em> is purely textual, arising
when two changes to the same base file are near enough
to spook the merge (i.e. <code class="code">diff3</code>) command.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not claim to help at all in figuring out
non-textual or distributed conflicts in program logic.
</p>
<p>For example: Say you change the arguments to function
<code class="code">X</code> defined in file <samp class="file">A</samp>.  At the same time,
someone edits file <samp class="file">B</samp>, adding new calls to
function <code class="code">X</code> using the old arguments.  You are
outside the realm of <small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s competence.
</p>
<p>Acquire the habit of reading specs and talking to your
peers.
</p>

</dd>
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not have change control</dt>
<dd>
<p>Change control refers to a number of things.  First of
all it can mean <em class="dfn">bug-tracking</em>, that is being able
to keep a database of reported bugs and the status of
each one (is it fixed?  in what release?  has the bug
submitter agreed that it is fixed?).  For interfacing
<small class="sc">CVS</small> to an external bug-tracking system, see the
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> and <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> files
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Administrative-files">Reference manual for Administrative files</a>).
</p>
<p>Another aspect of change control is keeping track of
the fact that changes to several files were in fact
changed together as one logical change.  If you check
in several files in a single <code class="code">cvs commit</code>
operation, <small class="sc">CVS</small> then forgets that those files were
checked in together, and the fact that they have the
same log message is the only thing tying them
together.  Keeping a <small class="sc">GNU</small> style <samp class="file">ChangeLog</samp>
can help somewhat.
</p>
<p>Another aspect of change control, in some systems, is
the ability to keep track of the status of each
change.  Some changes have been written by a developer,
others have been reviewed by a second developer, and so
on.  Generally, the way to do this with <small class="sc">CVS</small> is to
generate a diff (using <code class="code">cvs diff</code> or <code class="code">diff</code>)
and email it to someone who can then apply it using the
<code class="code">patch</code> utility.  This is very flexible, but
depends on mechanisms outside <small class="sc">CVS</small> to make sure
nothing falls through the cracks.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> is not an automated testing program</dt>
<dd>
<p>It should be possible to enforce mandatory use of a
test suite using the <code class="code">commitinfo</code> file.  I haven&rsquo;t
heard a lot about projects trying to do that or whether
there are subtle gotchas, however.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not have a built-in process model</dt>
<dd>
<p>Some systems provide ways to ensure that changes or
releases go through various steps, with various
approvals as needed.  Generally, one can accomplish
this with <small class="sc">CVS</small> but it might be a little more work.
In some cases you&rsquo;ll want to use the <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>,
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp>, <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp>, or <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>
files, to require that certain steps be performed
before cvs will allow a checkin.  Also consider whether
features such as branches and tags can be used to
perform tasks such as doing work in a development tree
and then merging certain changes over to a stable tree
only once they have been proven.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="A-sample-session">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f" accesskey="p" rel="prev">What is CVS not?</a>, Up: <a href="#Overview" accesskey="u" rel="up">Overview</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="A-sample-session-1"><span>1.3 A sample session<a class="copiable-link" href="#A-sample-session-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Example-of-a-work_002dsession"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Getting-started"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Work_002dsession_002c-example-of"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-tc_002c-Trivial-Compiler-_0028example_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Trivial-Compiler-_0028example_0029"></a>


<p>As a way of introducing <small class="sc">CVS</small>, we&rsquo;ll go through a
typical work-session using <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  The first thing
to understand is that <small class="sc">CVS</small> stores all files in a
centralised <em class="dfn">repository</em> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>); this
section assumes that a repository is set up.
</p>
<p>Suppose you are working on a simple compiler.  The source
consists of a handful of C files and a <samp class="file">Makefile</samp>.
The compiler is called &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo; (Trivial Compiler),
and the repository is set up so that there is a module
called &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Getting-the-source" accesskey="1">Getting the source</a></li>
<li><a href="#Committing-your-changes" accesskey="2">Committing your changes</a></li>
<li><a href="#Cleaning-up" accesskey="3">Cleaning up</a></li>
<li><a href="#Viewing-differences" accesskey="4">Viewing differences</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Getting-the-source">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Committing-your-changes" accesskey="n" rel="next">Committing your changes</a>, Up: <a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="u" rel="up">A sample session</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Getting-the-source-1"><span>1.3.1 Getting the source<a class="copiable-link" href="#Getting-the-source-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Getting-the-source"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Checking-out-source"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Fetching-source"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Source_002c-getting-from-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Checkout_002c-example"></a>

<p>The first thing you must do is to get your own working copy of the
source for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo;.  For this, you use the <code class="code">checkout</code> command:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout tc
</pre></div>

<p>This will create a new directory called <samp class="file">tc</samp> and populate it with
the source files.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd tc
$ ls
CVS         Makefile    backend.c   driver.c    frontend.c  parser.c
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directory is used internally by
<small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Normally, you should not modify or remove
any of the files in it.
</p>
<p>You start your favorite editor, hack away at <samp class="file">backend.c</samp>, and a couple
of hours later you have added an optimization pass to the compiler.
A note to <small class="sc">RCS</small> and <small class="sc">SCCS</small> users: There is no need to lock the files that
you want to edit.  See <a class="xref" href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a>, for an explanation.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Committing-your-changes">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Cleaning-up" accesskey="n" rel="next">Cleaning up</a>, Previous: <a href="#Getting-the-source" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Getting the source</a>, Up: <a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="u" rel="up">A sample session</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Committing-your-changes-1"><span>1.3.2 Committing your changes<a class="copiable-link" href="#Committing-your-changes-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Committing-changes-to-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-message-entry"></a>

<p>When you have checked that the compiler is still compilable you decide
to make a new version of <samp class="file">backend.c</samp>.  This will
store your new <samp class="file">backend.c</samp> in the repository and
make it available to anyone else who is using that same
repository.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit backend.c
</pre></div>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> starts an editor, to allow you to enter a log
message.  You type in &ldquo;Added an optimization pass.&rdquo;,
save the temporary file, and exit the editor.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSEDITOR_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-EDITOR_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<p>The environment variable <code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code> determines
which editor is started.  If <code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code> is not
set, then if the environment variable <code class="code">$EDITOR</code> is
set, it will be used. If both <code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code> and
<code class="code">$EDITOR</code> are not set then there is a default
which will vary with your operating system, for example
<code class="code">vi</code> for unix or <code class="code">notepad</code> for Windows
NT/95.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-VISUAL_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<p>In addition, <small class="sc">CVS</small> checks the <code class="code">$VISUAL</code> environment
variable.  Opinions vary on whether this behavior is desirable and
whether future releases of <small class="sc">CVS</small> should check <code class="code">$VISUAL</code> or
ignore it.  You will be OK either way if you make sure that
<code class="code">$VISUAL</code> is either unset or set to the same thing as
<code class="code">$EDITOR</code>.
</p>
<p>When <small class="sc">CVS</small> starts the editor, it includes a list of
files which are modified.  For the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client,
this list is based on comparing the modification time
of the file against the modification time that the file
had when it was last gotten or updated.  Therefore, if
a file&rsquo;s modification time has changed but its contents
have not, it will show up as modified.  The simplest
way to handle this is simply not to worry about it&mdash;if
you proceed with the commit <small class="sc">CVS</small> will detect that
the contents are not modified and treat it as an
unmodified file.  The next <code class="code">update</code> will clue
<small class="sc">CVS</small> in to the fact that the file is unmodified,
and it will reset its stored timestamp so that the file
will not show up in future editor sessions.
</p>
<p>If you want to avoid
starting an editor you can specify the log message on
the command line using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; flag instead, like
this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -m &quot;Added an optimization pass&quot; backend.c
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Cleaning-up">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Viewing-differences" accesskey="n" rel="next">Viewing differences</a>, Previous: <a href="#Committing-your-changes" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Committing your changes</a>, Up: <a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="u" rel="up">A sample session</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Cleaning-up-1"><span>1.3.3 Cleaning up<a class="copiable-link" href="#Cleaning-up-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Cleaning-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Working-copy_002c-removing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-your-working-copy"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Releasing-your-working-copy"></a>

<p>Before you turn to other tasks you decide to remove your working copy of
tc.  One acceptable way to do that is of course
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..
$ rm -r tc
</pre></div>

<p>but a better way is to use the <code class="code">release</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#release">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..
$ cvs release -d tc
M driver.c
? tc
You have [1] altered files in this repository.
Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': n
** `release' aborted by user choice.
</pre></div>

<p>The <code class="code">release</code> command checks that all your modifications have been
committed.  If history logging is enabled it also makes a note in the
history file.  See <a class="xref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>.
</p>
<p>When you use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; flag with <code class="code">release</code>, it
also removes your working copy.
</p>
<p>In the example above, the <code class="code">release</code> command wrote a couple of lines
of output.  &lsquo;<samp class="samp">? tc</samp>&rsquo; means that the file <samp class="file">tc</samp> is unknown to <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
That is nothing to worry about: <samp class="file">tc</samp> is the executable compiler,
and it should not be stored in the repository.  See <a class="xref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>,
for information about how to make that warning go away.
See <a class="xref" href="#release-output">release output</a>, for a complete explanation of
all possible output from <code class="code">release</code>.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">M driver.c</samp>&rsquo; is more serious.  It means that the
file <samp class="file">driver.c</samp> has been modified since it was
checked out.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">release</code> command always finishes by telling
you how many modified files you have in your working
copy of the sources, and then asks you for confirmation
before deleting any files or making any note in the
history file.
</p>
<p>You decide to play it safe and answer <kbd class="kbd">n <kbd class="key">RET</kbd></kbd>
when <code class="code">release</code> asks for confirmation.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Viewing-differences">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Cleaning-up" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Cleaning up</a>, Up: <a href="#A-sample-session" accesskey="u" rel="up">A sample session</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Viewing-differences-1"><span>1.3.4 Viewing differences<a class="copiable-link" href="#Viewing-differences-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Viewing-differences"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Diff"></a>

<p>You do not remember modifying <samp class="file">driver.c</samp>, so you want to see what
has happened to that file.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd tc
$ cvs diff driver.c
</pre></div>

<p>This command runs <code class="code">diff</code> to compare the version of <samp class="file">driver.c</samp>
that you checked out with your working copy.  When you see the output
you remember that you added a command line option that enabled the
optimization pass.  You check it in, and release the module.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -m &quot;Added an optimization pass&quot; driver.c
Checking in driver.c;
/usr/local/cvsroot/tc/driver.c,v  &lt;--  driver.c
new revision: 1.2; previous revision: 1.1
done
$ cd ..
$ cvs release -d tc
? tc
You have [0] altered files in this repository.
Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': y
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Repository">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Starting-a-new-project" accesskey="n" rel="next">Starting a project with CVS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Overview" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Overview</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="The-Repository"><span>2 The Repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-Repository"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository-_0028intro_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository_002c-example"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Layout-of-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Typical-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002fusr_002flocal_002fcvsroot_002c-as-example-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-cvsroot"></a>

<p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small> <em class="dfn">repository</em> stores a complete copy of
all the files and directories which are under version
control.
</p>
<p>Normally, you never access any of the files in the
repository directly.  Instead, you use <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands to get your own copy of the files into a
<em class="dfn">working directory</em>, and then
work on that copy.  When you&rsquo;ve finished a set of
changes, you check (or <em class="dfn">commit</em>) them back into the
repository.  The repository then contains the changes
which you have made, as well as recording exactly what
you changed, when you changed it, and other such
information.  Note that the repository is not a
subdirectory of the working directory, or vice versa;
they should be in separate locations.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-local-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can access a repository by a variety of
means.  It might be on the local computer, or it might
be on a computer across the room or across the world.
To distinguish various ways to access a repository, the
repository name can start with an <em class="dfn">access method</em>.
For example, the access method <code class="code">:local:</code> means to
access a repository directory, so the repository
<code class="code">:local:/usr/local/cvsroot</code> means that the
repository is in <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot</samp> on the
computer running <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  For information on other
access methods, see <a class="ref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>.
</p>
<p>If the access method is omitted, then if the repository
starts with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo;, then <code class="code">:local:</code> is
assumed.  If it does not start with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo; then either
<code class="code">:ext:</code> or <code class="code">:server:</code> is assumed.  For
example, if you have a local repository in
<samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot</samp>, you can use
<code class="code">/usr/local/cvsroot</code> instead of
<code class="code">:local:/usr/local/cvsroot</code>.  But if (under
Windows NT, for example) your local repository is
<samp class="file">c:\src\cvsroot</samp>, then you must specify the access
method, as in <code class="code">:local:c:/src/cvsroot</code>.
</p>
<p>The repository is split in two parts.  <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp> contains
administrative files for <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  The other directories contain the actual
user-defined modules.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Specifying-a-repository" accesskey="1">Telling CVS where your repository is</a></li>
<li><a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="2">How data is stored in the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#Working-directory-storage" accesskey="3">How data is stored in the working directory</a></li>
<li><a href="#Intro-administrative-files" accesskey="4">The administrative files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Multiple-repositories" accesskey="5">Multiple repositories</a></li>
<li><a href="#Creating-a-repository" accesskey="6">Creating a repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#Backing-up" accesskey="7">Backing up a repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#Moving-a-repository" accesskey="8">Moving a repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="9">Remote repositories</a></li>
<li><a href="#Read_002donly-access">Read-only repository access</a></li>
<li><a href="#Server-temporary-directory">Temporary directories for the server</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Specifying-a-repository">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="n" rel="next">How data is stored in the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Telling-CVS-where-your-repository-is"><span>2.1 Telling CVS where your repository is<a class="copiable-link" href="#Telling-CVS-where-your-repository-is"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>There are several ways to tell <small class="sc">CVS</small>
where to find the repository.  You can name the
repository on the command line explicitly, with the
<code class="code">-d</code> (for &quot;directory&quot;) option:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d /usr/local/cvsroot checkout yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002eprofile_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002ecshrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002etcshrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002ebashrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<p>Or you can set the <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> environment
variable to an absolute path to the root of the
repository, <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot</samp> in this example.
To set <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>, <code class="code">csh</code> and <code class="code">tcsh</code>
users should have this line in their <samp class="file">.cshrc</samp> or
<samp class="file">.tcshrc</samp> files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">setenv CVSROOT /usr/local/cvsroot
</pre></div>

<p><code class="code">sh</code> and <code class="code">bash</code> users should instead have these lines in their
<samp class="file">.profile</samp> or <samp class="file">.bashrc</samp>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">CVSROOT=/usr/local/cvsroot
export CVSROOT
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Root-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fRoot-file"></a>
<p>A repository specified with <code class="code">-d</code> will
override the <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> environment variable.
Once you&rsquo;ve checked a working copy out from the
repository, it will remember where its repository is
(the information is recorded in the
<samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp> file in the working copy).
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">-d</code> option and the <samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp> file both
override the <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> environment variable.  If
<code class="code">-d</code> option differs from <samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp>, the
former is used.  Of course, for proper operation they
should be two ways of referring to the same repository.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Repository-storage">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Working-directory-storage" accesskey="n" rel="next">How data is stored in the working directory</a>, Previous: <a href="#Specifying-a-repository" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Telling CVS where your repository is</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="How-data-is-stored-in-the-repository"><span>2.2 How data is stored in the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-data-is-stored-in-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository_002c-how-data-is-stored"></a>

<p>For most purposes it isn&rsquo;t important <em class="emph">how</em>
<small class="sc">CVS</small> stores information in the repository.  In
fact, the format has changed in the past, and is likely
to change in the future.  Since in almost all cases one
accesses the repository via <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands, such
changes need not be disruptive.
</p>
<p>However, in some cases it may be necessary to
understand how <small class="sc">CVS</small> stores data in the repository,
for example you might need to track down <small class="sc">CVS</small> locks
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>) or you might need to deal with
the file permissions appropriate for the repository.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Repository-files" accesskey="1">Where files are stored within the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#File-permissions" accesskey="2">File permissions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Windows-permissions" accesskey="3">File Permission issues specific to Windows</a></li>
<li><a href="#Attic" accesskey="4">The attic</a></li>
<li><a href="#CVS-in-repository" accesskey="5">The CVS directory in the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#Locks" accesskey="6">CVS locks in the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#CVSROOT-storage" accesskey="7">How files are stored in the CVSROOT directory</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Repository-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#File-permissions" accesskey="n" rel="next">File permissions</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Where-files-are-stored-within-the-repository"><span>2.2.1 Where files are stored within the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#Where-files-are-stored-within-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h4>


<p>The overall structure of the repository is a directory
tree corresponding to the directories in the working
directory.  For example, supposing the repository is in
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">/usr/local/cvsroot
</pre></div>

<p>here is a possible directory tree (showing only the
directories):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><code class="t">/usr</code>
 |
 +--<code class="t">local</code>
 |   |
 |   +--<code class="t">cvsroot</code>
 |   |    |
 |   |    +--<code class="t">CVSROOT</code>
          |      (administrative files)
          |
          +--<code class="t">gnu</code>
          |   |
          |   +--<code class="t">diff</code>
          |   |   (source code to <span class="sc">GNU</span> diff)
          |   |
          |   +--<code class="t">rcs</code>
          |   |   (source code to <span class="sc">RCS</span>)
          |   |
          |   +--<code class="t">cvs</code>
          |       (source code to <span class="sc">CVS</span>)
          |
          +--<code class="t">yoyodyne</code>
              |
              +--<code class="t">tc</code>
              |    |
              |    +--<code class="t">man</code>
              |    |
              |    +--<code class="t">testing</code>
              |
              +--(other Yoyodyne software)
</pre></div>

<p>With the directories are <em class="dfn">history files</em> for each file
under version control.  The name of the history file is
the name of the corresponding file with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,v</samp>&rsquo;
appended to the end.  Here is what the repository for
the <samp class="file">yoyodyne/tc</samp> directory might look like:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">  <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>
    |
    +--<code class="t">yoyodyne</code>
    |   |
    |   +--<code class="t">tc</code>
    |   |   |
            +--<code class="t">Makefile,v</code>
            +--<code class="t">backend.c,v</code>
            +--<code class="t">driver.c,v</code>
            +--<code class="t">frontend.c,v</code>
            +--<code class="t">parser.c,v</code>
            +--<code class="t">man</code>
            |    |
            |    +--<code class="t">tc.1,v</code>
            |
            +--<code class="t">testing</code>
                 |
                 +--<code class="t">testpgm.t,v</code>
                 +--<code class="t">test2.t,v</code>
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-History-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-RCS-history-files"></a>
<p>The history files contain, among other things, enough
information to recreate any revision of the file, a log
of all commit messages and the user-name of the person
who committed the revision.  The history files are
known as <em class="dfn">RCS files</em>, because the first program to
store files in that format was a version control system
known as <small class="sc">RCS</small>.  For a full
description of the file format, see the <code class="code">man</code> page
<cite class="cite">rcsfile(5)</cite>, distributed with <small class="sc">RCS</small>, or the
file <samp class="file">doc/RCSFILES</samp> in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source
distribution.  This
file format has become very common&mdash;many systems other
than <small class="sc">CVS</small> or <small class="sc">RCS</small> can at least import history
files in this format.
</p>
<p>The <small class="sc">RCS</small> files used in <small class="sc">CVS</small> differ in a few
ways from the standard format.  The biggest difference
is magic branches; for more information see <a class="ref" href="#Magic-branch-numbers">Magic branch numbers</a>.  Also in <small class="sc">CVS</small> the valid tag names
are a subset of what <small class="sc">RCS</small> accepts; for <small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s
rules see <a class="ref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="File-permissions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Windows-permissions" accesskey="n" rel="next">File Permission issues specific to Windows</a>, Previous: <a href="#Repository-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Where files are stored within the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="File-permissions-1"><span>2.2.2 File permissions<a class="copiable-link" href="#File-permissions-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Security_002c-file-permissions-in-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-File-permissions_002c-general"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Permissions_002c-general"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Group_002c-UNIX-file-permissions_002c-in-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Read_002donly-files_002c-in-repository"></a>
<p>All &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,v</samp>&rsquo; files are created read-only, and you
should not change the permission of those files.  The
directories inside the repository should be writable by
the persons that have permission to modify the files in
each directory.  This normally means that you must
create a UNIX group (see group(5)) consisting of the
persons that are to edit the files in a project, and
set up the repository so that it is that group that
owns the directory.
(On some systems, you also need to set the set-group-ID-on-execution bit
on the repository directories (see chmod(1)) so that newly-created files
and directories get the group-ID of the parent directory rather than
that of the current process.)
</p>

<p>This means that you can only control access to files on
a per-directory basis.
</p>
<p>Note that users must also have write access to check
out files, because <small class="sc">CVS</small> needs to create lock files
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>).  You can use LockDir in CVSROOT/config
to put the lock files somewhere other than in the repository
if you want to allow read-only access to some directories
(see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002fval_002dtags-file_002c-and-read_002donly-access-to-projects"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-val_002dtags-file_002c-and-read_002donly-access-to-projects"></a>
<p>Also note that users must have write access to the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/val-tags</samp> file.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses it to keep
track of what tags are valid tag names (it is sometimes
updated when tags are used, as well as when they are
created).
</p>
<p>Each <small class="sc">RCS</small> file will be owned by the user who last
checked it in.  This has little significance; what
really matters is who owns the directories.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSUMASK_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Umask_002c-for-repository-files"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> tries to set up reasonable file permissions
for new directories that are added inside the tree, but
you must fix the permissions manually when a new
directory should have different permissions than its
parent directory.  If you set the <code class="code">CVSUMASK</code>
environment variable that will control the file
permissions which <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses in creating directories
and/or files in the repository.  <code class="code">CVSUMASK</code> does
not affect the file permissions in the working
directory; such files have the permissions which are
typical for newly created files, except that sometimes
<small class="sc">CVS</small> creates them read-only (see the sections on
watches, <a class="ref" href="#Setting-a-watch">Telling CVS to watch certain files</a>; -r, <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>; or <code class="code">CVSREAD</code>, <a class="ref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>).
</p>
<p>Note that using the client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>), there is no good way to
set <code class="code">CVSUMASK</code>; the setting on the client machine
has no effect.  If you are connecting with <code class="code">rsh</code>, you
can set <code class="code">CVSUMASK</code> in <samp class="file">.bashrc</samp> or <samp class="file">.cshrc</samp>, as
described in the documentation for your operating
system.  This behavior might change in future versions
of <small class="sc">CVS</small>; do not rely on the setting of
<code class="code">CVSUMASK</code> on the client having no effect.
</p>
<p>Using pserver, you will generally need stricter
permissions on the <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> directory and
directories above it in the tree; see <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-security">Security considerations with password authentication</a>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Setuid"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Setgid"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Security_002c-setuid"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Installed-images-_0028VMS_0029"></a>
<p>Some operating systems have features which allow a
particular program to run with the ability to perform
operations which the caller of the program could not.
For example, the set user ID (setuid) or set group ID
(setgid) features of unix or the installed image
feature of VMS.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> was not written to use such
features and therefore attempting to install <small class="sc">CVS</small> in
this fashion will provide protection against only
accidental lapses; anyone who is trying to circumvent
the measure will be able to do so, and depending on how
you have set it up may gain access to more than just
<small class="sc">CVS</small>.  You may wish to instead consider pserver.  It
shares some of the same attributes, in terms of
possibly providing a false sense of security or opening
security holes wider than the ones you are trying to
fix, so read the documentation on pserver security
carefully if you are considering this option
(<a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-security">Security considerations with password authentication</a>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Windows-permissions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Attic" accesskey="n" rel="next">The attic</a>, Previous: <a href="#File-permissions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">File permissions</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="File-Permission-issues-specific-to-Windows"><span>2.2.3 File Permission issues specific to Windows<a class="copiable-link" href="#File-Permission-issues-specific-to-Windows"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Windows_002c-and-permissions"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-File-permissions_002c-Windows_002dspecific"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Permissions_002c-Windows_002dspecific"></a>

<p>Some file permission issues are specific to Windows
operating systems (Windows 95, Windows NT, and
presumably future operating systems in this family.
Some of the following might apply to OS/2 but I&rsquo;m not
sure).
</p>
<p>If you are using local <small class="sc">CVS</small> and the repository is on a
networked filesystem which is served by the Samba SMB
server, some people have reported problems with
permissions.  Enabling WRITE=YES in the samba
configuration is said to fix/workaround it.
Disclaimer: I haven&rsquo;t investigated enough to know the
implications of enabling that option, nor do I know
whether there is something which <small class="sc">CVS</small> could be doing
differently in order to avoid the problem.  If you find
something out, please let us know as described in
<a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Attic">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#CVS-in-repository" accesskey="n" rel="next">The CVS directory in the repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#Windows-permissions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">File Permission issues specific to Windows</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="The-attic"><span>2.2.4 The attic<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-attic"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Attic"></a>

<p>You will notice that sometimes <small class="sc">CVS</small> stores an
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file in the <code class="code">Attic</code>.  For example, if the
<small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> is <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot</samp> and we are
talking about the file <samp class="file">backend.c</samp> in the
directory <samp class="file">yoyodyne/tc</samp>, then the file normally
would be in
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">/usr/local/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/backend.c,v
</pre></div>

<p>but if it goes in the attic, it would be in
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">/usr/local/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/Attic/backend.c,v
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Dead-state"></a>
<p>instead.  It should not matter from a user point of
view whether a file is in the attic; <small class="sc">CVS</small> keeps
track of this and looks in the attic when it needs to.
But in case you want to know, the rule is that the RCS
file is stored in the attic if and only if the head
revision on the trunk has state <code class="code">dead</code>.  A
<code class="code">dead</code> state means that file has been removed, or
never added, for that revision.  For example, if you
add a file on a branch, it will have a trunk revision
in <code class="code">dead</code> state, and a branch revision in a
non-<code class="code">dead</code> state.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="CVS-in-repository">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Locks" accesskey="n" rel="next">CVS locks in the repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#Attic" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The attic</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="The-CVS-directory-in-the-repository"><span>2.2.5 The CVS directory in the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-CVS-directory-in-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS-directory_002c-in-repository"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directory in each repository directory
contains information such as file attributes (in a file
called <samp class="file">CVS/fileattr</samp>.  In the
future additional files may be added to this directory,
so implementations should silently ignore additional
files.
</p>
<p>This behavior is implemented only by <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.7 and
later; for details see <a class="ref" href="#Watches-Compatibility">Using watches with old versions of CVS</a>.
</p>
<p>The format of the <samp class="file">fileattr</samp> file is a series of entries
of the following form (where &lsquo;<samp class="samp">{</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">}</samp>&rsquo;
means the text between the braces can be repeated zero
or more times):
</p>
<p><var class="var">ent-type</var> <var class="var">filename</var> &lt;tab&gt; <var class="var">attrname</var> = <var class="var">attrval</var>
  {; <var class="var">attrname</var> = <var class="var">attrval</var>} &lt;linefeed&gt;
</p>
<p><var class="var">ent-type</var> is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">F</samp>&rsquo; for a file, in which case the entry specifies the
attributes for that file.
</p>
<p><var class="var">ent-type</var> is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo;,
and <var class="var">filename</var> empty, to specify default attributes
to be used for newly added files.
</p>
<p>Other <var class="var">ent-type</var> are reserved for future expansion.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 and older
will delete them any time it writes file attributes.
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.10 and later will preserve them.
</p>
<p>Note that the order of the lines is not significant;
a program writing the fileattr file may
rearrange them at its convenience.
</p>
<p>There is currently no way of quoting tabs or line feeds in the
filename, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">=</samp>&rsquo; in <var class="var">attrname</var>,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">;</samp>&rsquo; in <var class="var">attrval</var>, etc.  Note: some implementations also
don&rsquo;t handle a NUL character in any of the fields, but
implementations are encouraged to allow it.
</p>
<p>By convention, <var class="var">attrname</var> starting with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">_</samp>&rsquo; is for an attribute given
special meaning by <small class="sc">CVS</small>; other <var class="var">attrname</var>s are for user-defined attributes
(or will be, once implementations start supporting user-defined attributes).
</p>
<p>Built-in attributes:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">_watched</code></dt>
<dd><p>Present means the file is watched and should be checked out
read-only.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">_watchers</code></dt>
<dd><p>Users with watches for this file.  Value is
<var class="var">watcher</var> &gt; <var class="var">type</var> { , <var class="var">watcher</var> &gt; <var class="var">type</var> }
where <var class="var">watcher</var> is a username, and <var class="var">type</var>
is zero or more of edit,unedit,commit separated by
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">+</samp>&rsquo; (that is, nothing if none; there is no &quot;none&quot; or &quot;all&quot; keyword).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">_editors</code></dt>
<dd><p>Users editing this file.  Value is
<var class="var">editor</var> &gt; <var class="var">val</var> { , <var class="var">editor</var> &gt; <var class="var">val</var> }
where <var class="var">editor</var> is a username, and <var class="var">val</var> is
<var class="var">time</var>+<var class="var">hostname</var>+<var class="var">pathname</var>, where
<var class="var">time</var> is when the <code class="code">cvs edit</code> command (or
equivalent) happened,
and <var class="var">hostname</var> and <var class="var">pathname</var> are for the working directory.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>Example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Ffile1 _watched=;_watchers=joe&gt;edit,mary&gt;commit
Ffile2 _watched=;_editors=sue&gt;8 Jan 1975+workstn1+/home/sue/cvs
D _watched=
</pre></div>

<p>means that the file <samp class="file">file1</samp> should be checked out
read-only.  Furthermore, joe is watching for edits and
mary is watching for commits.  The file <samp class="file">file2</samp>
should be checked out read-only; sue started editing it
on 8 Jan 1975 in the directory <samp class="file">/home/sue/cvs</samp> on
the machine <code class="code">workstn1</code>.  Future files which are
added should be checked out read-only.  To represent
this example here, we have shown a space after
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Ffile1</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Ffile2</samp>&rsquo;, but in fact
there must be a single tab character there and no spaces.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Locks">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#CVSROOT-storage" accesskey="n" rel="next">How files are stored in the CVSROOT directory</a>, Previous: <a href="#CVS-in-repository" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The CVS directory in the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="CVS-locks-in-the-repository"><span>2.2.6 CVS locks in the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#CVS-locks-in-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-technical-details"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002epfl_002c-technical-details"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002ewfl_002c-technical-details"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002elock_002c-technical-details"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-technical-details"></a>
<p>For an introduction to <small class="sc">CVS</small> locks focusing on
user-visible behavior, see <a class="ref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>.  The
following section is aimed at people who are writing
tools which want to access a <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository without
interfering with other tools accessing the same
repository.  If you find yourself confused by concepts
described here, like <em class="dfn">read lock</em>, <em class="dfn">write lock</em>,
and <em class="dfn">deadlock</em>, you might consult the literature on
operating systems or databases.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002etfl"></a>
<p>Any file in the repository with a name starting
with <samp class="file">#cvs.rfl.</samp> is a read lock.  Any file in
the repository with a name starting with
<samp class="file">#cvs.pfl</samp> is a promotable read lock.  Any file in
the repository with a name starting with
<samp class="file">#cvs.wfl</samp> is a write lock.  Old versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>
(before <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5) also created files with names starting
with <samp class="file">#cvs.tfl</samp>, but they are not discussed here.
The directory <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> serves as a master
lock.  That is, one must obtain this lock first before
creating any of the other locks.
</p>
<p>To obtain a read lock, first create the <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp>
directory.  This operation must be atomic (which should
be true for creating a directory under most operating
systems).  If it fails because the directory already
existed, wait for a while and try again.  After
obtaining the <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> lock, create a file
whose name is <samp class="file">#cvs.rfl.</samp> followed by information
of your choice (for example, hostname and process
identification number).  Then remove the
<samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory to release the master lock.
Then proceed with reading the repository.  When you are
done, remove the <samp class="file">#cvs.rfl</samp> file to release the
read lock.
</p>
<p>Promotable read locks are a concept you may not find in other literature on
concurrency.  They are used to allow a two (or more) pass process to only lock
a file for read on the first (read) pass(es), then upgrade its read locks to
write locks if necessary for a final pass, still assured that the files have
not changed since they were first read.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses promotable read locks,
for example, to prevent commit and tag verification passes from interfering
with other reading processes.  It can then lock only a single directory at a
time for write during the write pass.
</p>
<p>To obtain a promotable read lock, first create the <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory,
as with a non-promotable read lock.  Then check
that there are no files that start with
<samp class="file">#cvs.pfl</samp>.  If there are, remove the master <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory,
wait awhile (CVS waits 30 seconds between lock attempts), and try again.  If
there are no other promotable locks, go ahead and create a file whose name is
<samp class="file">#cvs.pfl</samp> followed by information of your choice (for example, CVS uses
its hostname and the process identification number of the CVS server process
creating the lock).  If versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> older than version 1.12.4 access
your repository directly (not via a <small class="sc">CVS</small> server of version 1.12.4 or
later), then you should also create a read lock since older versions of CVS
will ignore the promotable lock when attempting to create their own write lock.
Then remove the master <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory in order to allow other
processes to obtain read locks.
</p>
<p>To obtain a write lock, first create the
<samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory, as with read locks.  Then
check that there are no files whose names start with
<samp class="file">#cvs.rfl.</samp> and no files whose names start with <samp class="file">#cvs.pfl</samp> that are
not owned by the process attempting to get the write lock.  If either exist,
remove <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp>, wait for a while, and try again.  If
there are no readers or promotable locks from other processes, then create a
file whose name is <samp class="file">#cvs.wfl</samp> followed by information of your choice
(again, CVS uses the hostname and server process identification
number).  Remove your <samp class="file">#cvs.pfl</samp> file if present.  Hang on to the
<samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> lock.  Proceed
with writing the repository.  When you are done, first
remove the <samp class="file">#cvs.wfl</samp> file and then the
<samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> directory. Note that unlike the
<samp class="file">#cvs.rfl</samp> file, the <samp class="file">#cvs.wfl</samp> file is just
informational; it has no effect on the locking operation
beyond what is provided by holding on to the
<samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp> lock itself.
</p>
<p>Note that each lock (write lock or read lock) only locks
a single directory in the repository, including
<samp class="file">Attic</samp> and <samp class="file">CVS</samp> but not including
subdirectories which represent other directories under
version control.  To lock an entire tree, you need to
lock each directory (note that if you fail to obtain
any lock you need, you must release the whole tree
before waiting and trying again, to avoid deadlocks).
</p>
<p>Note also that <small class="sc">CVS</small> expects write locks to control
access to individual <samp class="file">foo,v</samp> files.  <small class="sc">RCS</small> has
a scheme where the <samp class="file">,foo,</samp> file serves as a lock,
but <small class="sc">CVS</small> does not implement it and so taking out a
<small class="sc">CVS</small> write lock is recommended.  See the comments at
rcs_internal_lockfile in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source code for
further discussion/rationale.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="CVSROOT-storage">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Locks" accesskey="p" rel="prev">CVS locks in the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="u" rel="up">How data is stored in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="How-files-are-stored-in-the-CVSROOT-directory"><span>2.2.7 How files are stored in the CVSROOT directory<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-files-are-stored-in-the-CVSROOT-directory"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002c-storage-of-files"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp> directory contains the
various administrative files.  In some ways this
directory is just like any other directory in the
repository; it contains <small class="sc">RCS</small> files whose names end
in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,v</samp>&rsquo;, and many of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands operate
on it the same way.  However, there are a few
differences.
</p>
<p>For each administrative file, in addition to the
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file, there is also a checked out copy of the
file.  For example, there is an <small class="sc">RCS</small> file
<samp class="file">loginfo,v</samp> and a file <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> which
contains the latest revision contained in
<samp class="file">loginfo,v</samp>.  When you check in an administrative
file, <small class="sc">CVS</small> should print
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs commit: Rebuilding administrative file database
</pre></div>

<p>and update the checked out copy in
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp>.  If it does not, there is
something wrong (see <a class="pxref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>).  To add your own files
to the files to be updated in this fashion, you can add
them to the <samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp> administrative file
(see <a class="pxref" href="#checkoutlist">The checkoutlist file</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-modules_002edb"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-modules_002epag"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-modules_002edir"></a>
<p>By default, the <samp class="file">modules</samp> file behaves as
described above.  If the modules file is very large,
storing it as a flat text file may make looking up
modules slow (I&rsquo;m not sure whether this is as much of a
concern now as when <small class="sc">CVS</small> first evolved this
feature; I haven&rsquo;t seen benchmarks).  Therefore, by
making appropriate edits to the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source code
one can store the modules file in a database which
implements the <code class="code">ndbm</code> interface, such as Berkeley
db or GDBM.  If this option is in use, then the modules
database will be stored in the files <samp class="file">modules.db</samp>,
<samp class="file">modules.pag</samp>, and/or <samp class="file">modules.dir</samp>.
</p>
<p>For information on the meaning of the various
administrative files, see <a class="ref" href="#Administrative-files">Reference manual for Administrative files</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Working-directory-storage">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Intro-administrative-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">The administrative files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Repository-storage" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How data is stored in the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="How-data-is-stored-in-the-working-directory"><span>2.3 How data is stored in the working directory<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-data-is-stored-in-the-working-directory"> &para;</a></span></h3>


<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS-directory_002c-in-working-directory"></a>
<p>While we are discussing <small class="sc">CVS</small> internals which may
become visible from time to time, we might as well talk
about what <small class="sc">CVS</small> puts in the <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directories
in the working directories.  As with the repository,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> handles this information and one can usually
access it via <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands.  But in some cases it
may be useful to look at it, and other programs, such
as the <code class="code">jCVS</code> graphical user interface or the
<code class="code">VC</code> package for emacs, may need to look at it.
Such programs should follow the recommendations in this
section if they hope to be able to work with other
programs which use those files, including future
versions of the programs just mentioned and the
command-line <small class="sc">CVS</small> client.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directory contains several files.
Programs which are reading this directory should
silently ignore files which are in the directory but
which are not documented here, to allow for future
expansion.
</p>
<p>The files are stored according to the text file
convention for the system in question.  This means that
working directories are not portable between systems
with differing conventions for storing text files.
This is intentional, on the theory that the files being
managed by <small class="sc">CVS</small> probably will not be portable between
such systems either.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><samp class="file">Root</samp></dt>
<dd><p>This file contains the current <small class="sc">CVS</small> root, as
described in <a class="ref" href="#Specifying-a-repository">Telling CVS where your repository is</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fRepository-file"></a>
<a id="index-Repository-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Repository</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Repository-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file contains the directory within the repository
which the current directory corresponds with.  It can
be either an absolute pathname or a relative pathname;
<small class="sc">CVS</small> has had the ability to read either format
since at least version 1.3 or so.  The relative
pathname is relative to the root, and is the more
sensible approach, but the absolute pathname is quite
common and implementations should accept either.  For
example, after the command
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :local:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

<p><samp class="file">Root</samp> will contain
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:local:/usr/local/cvsroot
</pre></div>

<p>and <samp class="file">Repository</samp> will contain either
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">/usr/local/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

<p>or
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

<p>If the particular working directory does not correspond
to a directory in the repository, then <samp class="file">Repository</samp>
should contain <samp class="file">CVSROOT/Emptydir</samp>.
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Emptydir_002c-in-CVSROOT-directory"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002fEmptydir-directory"></a>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fEntries-file"></a>
<a id="index-Entries-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Entries</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Entries-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file lists the files and directories in the
working directory.
The first character of each line indicates what sort of
line it is.  If the character is unrecognised, programs
reading the file should silently skip that line, to
allow for future expansion.
</p>
<p>If the first character is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo;, then the format is:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">/<var class="var">name</var>/<var class="var">revision</var>/<var class="var">timestamp</var>[+<var class="var">conflict</var>]/<var class="var">options</var>/<var class="var">tagdate</var>
</pre></div>

<p>where &lsquo;<samp class="samp">[</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">]</samp>&rsquo; are not part of the entry,
but instead indicate that the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">+</samp>&rsquo; and conflict
marker are optional.  <var class="var">name</var> is the name of the
file within the directory.  <var class="var">revision</var> is the
revision that the file in the working derives from, or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">0</samp>&rsquo; for an added file, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo; followed by a
revision for a removed file.  <var class="var">timestamp</var> is the
timestamp of the file at the time that <small class="sc">CVS</small> created
it; if the timestamp differs with the actual
modification time of the file it means the file has
been modified.  It is stored in
the format used by the ISO C asctime() function (for
example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Sun Apr  7 01:29:26 1996</samp>&rsquo;).  One may
write a string which is not in that format, for
example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Result of merge</samp>&rsquo;, to indicate that the
file should always be considered to be modified.  This
is not a special case; to see whether a file is
modified a program should take the timestamp of the file
and simply do a string compare with <var class="var">timestamp</var>.
If there was a conflict, <var class="var">conflict</var> can be set to
the modification time of the file after the file has been
written with conflict markers (see <a class="pxref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>).
Thus if <var class="var">conflict</var> is subsequently the same as the actual
modification time of the file it means that the user
has obviously not resolved the conflict.  <var class="var">options</var>
contains sticky options (for example &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; for a
binary file).  <var class="var">tagdate</var> contains &lsquo;<samp class="samp">T</samp>&rsquo; followed
by a tag name, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo; for a date, followed by a
sticky tag or date.  Note that if <var class="var">timestamp</var>
contains a pair of timestamps separated by a space,
rather than a single timestamp, you are dealing with a
version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> earlier than <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5 (not
documented here).
</p>
<p>The timezone on the timestamp in CVS/Entries (local or
universal) should be the same as the operating system
stores for the timestamp of the file itself.  For
example, on Unix the file&rsquo;s timestamp is in universal
time (UT), so the timestamp in CVS/Entries should be
too.  On <small class="sc">VMS</small>, the file&rsquo;s timestamp is in local
time, so <small class="sc">CVS</small> on <small class="sc">VMS</small> should use local time.
This rule is so that files do not appear to be modified
merely because the timezone changed (for example, to or
from summer time).
</p>
<p>If the first character of a line in <samp class="file">Entries</samp> is
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo;, then it indicates a subdirectory.  &lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo;
on a line all by itself indicates that the program
which wrote the <samp class="file">Entries</samp> file does record
subdirectories (therefore, if there is such a line and
no other lines beginning with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo;, one knows there
are no subdirectories).  Otherwise, the line looks
like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">D/<var class="var">name</var>/<var class="var">filler1</var>/<var class="var">filler2</var>/<var class="var">filler3</var>/<var class="var">filler4</var>
</pre></div>

<p>where <var class="var">name</var> is the name of the subdirectory, and
all the <var class="var">filler</var> fields should be silently ignored,
for future expansion.  Programs which modify
<code class="code">Entries</code> files should preserve these fields.
</p>
<p>The lines in the <samp class="file">Entries</samp> file can be in any order.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fEntries_002eLog-file"></a>
<a id="index-Entries_002eLog-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Entries_002eLog-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file does not record any information beyond that
in <samp class="file">Entries</samp>, but it does provide a way to update
the information without having to rewrite the entire
<samp class="file">Entries</samp> file, including the ability to preserve
the information even if the program writing
<samp class="file">Entries</samp> and <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp> abruptly aborts.
Programs which are reading the <samp class="file">Entries</samp> file
should also check for <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp>.  If the latter
exists, they should read <samp class="file">Entries</samp> and then apply
the changes mentioned in <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp>.  After
applying the changes, the recommended practice is to
rewrite <samp class="file">Entries</samp> and then delete <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp>.
The format of a line in <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp> is a single
character command followed by a space followed by a
line in the format specified for a line in
<samp class="file">Entries</samp>.  The single character command is
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">A</samp>&rsquo; to indicate that the entry is being added,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">R</samp>&rsquo; to indicate that the entry is being removed,
or any other character to indicate that the entire line
in <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp> should be silently ignored (for
future expansion).  If the second character of the line
in <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp> is not a space, then it was
written by an older version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> (not documented
here).
</p>
<p>Programs which are writing rather than reading can
safely ignore <samp class="file">Entries.Log</samp> if they so choose.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fEntries_002eBackup-file"></a>
<a id="index-Entries_002eBackup-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Entries.Backup</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Entries_002eBackup-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This is a temporary file.  Recommended usage is to
write a new entries file to <samp class="file">Entries.Backup</samp>, and
then to rename it (atomically, where possible) to <samp class="file">Entries</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fEntries_002eStatic-file"></a>
<a id="index-Entries_002eStatic-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Entries.Static</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Entries_002eStatic-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The only relevant thing about this file is whether it
exists or not.  If it exists, then it means that only
part of a directory was gotten and <small class="sc">CVS</small> will
not create additional files in that directory.  To
clear it, use the <code class="code">update</code> command with the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; option, which will get the additional files
and remove <samp class="file">Entries.Static</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fTag-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Sticky-tags_002fdates_002c-per_002ddirectory"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Per_002ddirectory-sticky-tags_002fdates"></a>
<a id="index-Tag-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Tag</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Tag-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file contains per-directory sticky tags or dates.
The first character is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">T</samp>&rsquo; for a branch tag,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">N</samp>&rsquo; for a non-branch tag, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">D</samp>&rsquo; for a date,
or another character to mean the file should be
silently ignored, for future expansion.  This character
is followed by the tag or date.  Note that
per-directory sticky tags or dates are used for things
like applying to files which are newly added; they
might not be the same as the sticky tags or dates on
individual files.  For general information on sticky
tags and dates, see <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fNotify-file"></a>
<a id="index-Notify-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Notify</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Notify-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file stores notifications (for example, for
<code class="code">edit</code> or <code class="code">unedit</code>) which have not yet been
sent to the server.  Its format is not yet documented
here.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fNotify_002etmp-file"></a>
<a id="index-Notify_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Notify.tmp</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Notify_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file is to <samp class="file">Notify</samp> as <samp class="file">Entries.Backup</samp>
is to <samp class="file">Entries</samp>.  That is, to write <samp class="file">Notify</samp>,
first write the new contents to <samp class="file">Notify.tmp</samp> and
then (atomically where possible), rename it to
<samp class="file">Notify</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fBase-directory"></a>
<a id="index-Base-directory_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Base</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Base-directory_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>If watches are in use, then an <code class="code">edit</code> command
stores the original copy of the file in the <samp class="file">Base</samp>
directory.  This allows the <code class="code">unedit</code> command to
operate even if it is unable to communicate with the
server.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fBaserev-file"></a>
<a id="index-Baserev-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Baserev</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Baserev-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The file lists the revision for each of the files in
the <samp class="file">Base</samp> directory.  The format is:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">B<var class="var">name</var>/<var class="var">rev</var>/<var class="var">expansion</var>
</pre></div>

<p>where <var class="var">expansion</var> should be ignored, to allow for
future expansion.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fBaserev_002etmp-file"></a>
<a id="index-Baserev_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Baserev.tmp</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Baserev_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file is to <samp class="file">Baserev</samp> as <samp class="file">Entries.Backup</samp>
is to <samp class="file">Entries</samp>.  That is, to write <samp class="file">Baserev</samp>,
first write the new contents to <samp class="file">Baserev.tmp</samp> and
then (atomically where possible), rename it to
<samp class="file">Baserev</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002fTemplate-file"></a>
<a id="index-Template-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"></a><span><samp class="file">Template</samp><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Template-file_002c-in-CVS-directory"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This file contains the template specified by the
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#rcsinfo">Rcsinfo</a>).  It is only used
by the client; the non-client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small> consults
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> directly.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Intro-administrative-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Multiple-repositories" accesskey="n" rel="next">Multiple repositories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Working-directory-storage" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How data is stored in the working directory</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="The-administrative-files"><span>2.4 The administrative files<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-administrative-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Administrative-files-_0028intro_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Modules-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002c-module-name"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Defining-modules-_0028intro_0029"></a>


<p>The directory <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp> contains some <em class="dfn">administrative
files</em>.  See <a class="xref" href="#Administrative-files">Reference manual for Administrative files</a>, for a complete description.
You can use <small class="sc">CVS</small> without any of these files, but
some commands work better when at least the
<samp class="file">modules</samp> file is properly set up.
</p>
<p>The most important of these files is the <samp class="file">modules</samp>
file.  It defines all modules in the repository.  This
is a sample <samp class="file">modules</samp> file.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">CVSROOT         CVSROOT
modules         CVSROOT modules
cvs             gnu/cvs
rcs             gnu/rcs
diff            gnu/diff
tc              yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">modules</samp> file is line oriented.  In its
simplest form each line contains the name of the
module, whitespace, and the directory where the module
resides.  The directory is a path relative to
<code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>.  The last four lines in the example
above are examples of such lines.
</p>

<p>The line that defines the module called &lsquo;<samp class="samp">modules</samp>&rsquo;
uses features that are not explained here.
See <a class="xref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>, for a full explanation of all the
available features.
</p>
<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Editing-administrative-files" accesskey="1">Editing administrative files</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Editing-administrative-files">
<h4 class="subsection"><span>2.4.1 Editing administrative files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Editing-administrative-files"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Editing-administrative-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Administrative-files_002c-editing-them"></a>

<p>You edit the administrative files in the same way that you would edit
any other module.  Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs checkout CVSROOT</samp>&rsquo; to get a working
copy, edit it, and commit your changes in the normal way.
</p>
<p>It is possible to commit an erroneous administrative
file.  You can often fix the error and check in a new
revision, but sometimes a particularly bad error in the
administrative file makes it impossible to commit new
revisions.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Multiple-repositories">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Creating-a-repository" accesskey="n" rel="next">Creating a repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#Intro-administrative-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The administrative files</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Multiple-repositories-1"><span>2.5 Multiple repositories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Multiple-repositories-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Multiple-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repositories_002c-multiple"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Many-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Parallel-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Disjoint-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002c-multiple-repositories"></a>

<p>In some situations it is a good idea to have more than
one repository, for instance if you have two
development groups that work on separate projects
without sharing any code.  All you have to do to have
several repositories is to specify the appropriate
repository, using the <code class="code">CVSROOT</code> environment
variable, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; option to <small class="sc">CVS</small>, or (once
you have checked out a working directory) by simply
allowing <small class="sc">CVS</small> to use the repository that was used
to check out the working directory
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Specifying-a-repository">Telling CVS where your repository is</a>).
</p>
<p>The big advantage of having multiple repositories is
that they can reside on different servers.  With <small class="sc">CVS</small>
version 1.10, a single command cannot recurse into
directories from different repositories.  With development
versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you can check out code from multiple
servers into your working directory.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will
recurse and handle all the details of making
connections to as many server machines as necessary to
perform the requested command.  Here is an example of
how to set up a working directory:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d server1:/cvs co dir1
cd dir1
cvs -d server2:/root co sdir
cvs update
</pre></div>

<p>The <code class="code">cvs co</code> commands set up the working
directory, and then the <code class="code">cvs update</code> command will
contact server2, to update the dir1/sdir subdirectory,
and server1, to update everything else.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Creating-a-repository">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Backing-up" accesskey="n" rel="next">Backing up a repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#Multiple-repositories" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Multiple repositories</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Creating-a-repository-1"><span>2.6 Creating a repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-a-repository-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Creating-a-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Setting-up-a-repository"></a>

<p>This section describes how to set up a <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository for any
sort of access method.  After completing the setup described in this
section, you should be able to access your <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository immediately
via the local access method and several remote access methods.  For
more information on setting up remote access to the repository you create
in this section, please read the section on See <a class="xref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>.
</p>
<p>To set up a <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository, first choose the
machine and disk on which you want to store the
revision history of the source files.  CPU and memory
requirements are modest, so most machines should be
adequate.  For details see <a class="ref" href="#Server-requirements">Server requirements</a>.
</p>
<p>To estimate disk space
requirements, if you are importing RCS files from
another system, the size of those files is the
approximate initial size of your repository, or if you
are starting without any version history, a rule of
thumb is to allow for the server approximately three
times the size of the code to be under <small class="sc">CVS</small> for the
repository (you will eventually outgrow this, but not
for a while).  On the machines on which the developers
will be working, you&rsquo;ll want disk space for
approximately one working directory for each developer
(either the entire tree or a portion of it, depending
on what each developer uses).
</p>
<p>The repository should be accessible
(directly or via a networked filesystem) from all
machines which want to use <small class="sc">CVS</small> in server or local
mode; the client machines need not have any access to
it other than via the <small class="sc">CVS</small> protocol.  It is not
normally possible to use <small class="sc">CVS</small> to read from a repository
which one only has read access to; <small class="sc">CVS</small> needs to be
able to create lock files (see <a class="pxref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>).
</p>
<p>If the environment variable <code class="code">$CVSREADONLYFS</code> is defined,
however, CVS will allow read-only access without creating any
history entries or reader lock files.  This allows doing most
usual repository operations except checkin in a fast way,
although if any other user is accessing the same data at the
same time, it may lead to corrupt data.  This mode is best used
for publicly accessible anonymous CVS mirrors, not the main
working repository.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-init-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<p>To create a repository, run the <code class="code">cvs init</code>
command.  It will set up an empty repository in the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> root specified in the usual way
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>).  For example,
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d /usr/local/cvsroot init
</pre></div>

<p><code class="code">cvs init</code> is careful to never overwrite any
existing files in the repository, so no harm is done if
you run <code class="code">cvs init</code> on an already set-up
repository.
</p>
<p>The repository is created honouring the <code class="code">$CVSUMASK</code>
setting (see <a class="pxref" href="#CVSUMASK">CVSUMASK</a>), even the <samp class="file">history</samp> and
<samp class="file">val-tags</samp> files are not created world-writable any
more as in previous CVS versions.  History logging is,
accordingly, configured to log write operations only; if
you don’t want that, edit or remove the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">LogHistory</samp>&rsquo;
entry in the <samp class="file">config</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>) and make
sure that all users who need to write that file can do so,
for example by using a <code class="code">$CVSUMASK</code> of 002 (which is
also the default) and putting everyone into the same Unix
group (consider the security implications if you really
want to enable world-writable logging).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Backing-up">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Moving-a-repository" accesskey="n" rel="next">Moving a repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#Creating-a-repository" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Creating a repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Backing-up-a-repository"><span>2.7 Backing up a repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#Backing-up-a-repository"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository_002c-backing-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Backing-up_002c-repository"></a>

<p>There is nothing particularly magical about the files
in the repository; for the most part it is possible to
back them up just like any other files.  However, there
are a few issues to consider.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-and-backups"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-and-backups"></a>
<p>The first is that to be paranoid, one should either not
use <small class="sc">CVS</small> during the backup, or have the backup
program lock <small class="sc">CVS</small> while doing the backup.  To not
use <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you might forbid logins to machines which
can access the repository, turn off your <small class="sc">CVS</small>
server, or similar mechanisms.  The details would
depend on your operating system and how you have
<small class="sc">CVS</small> set up.  To lock <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you would create
<samp class="file">#cvs.rfl</samp> locks in each repository directory.
See <a class="ref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>, for more on <small class="sc">CVS</small> locks.
Having said all this, if you just back up without any
of these precautions, the results are unlikely to be
particularly dire.  Restoring from backup, the
repository might be in an inconsistent state, but this
would not be particularly hard to fix manually.
</p>
<p>When you restore a repository from backup, assuming
that changes in the repository were made after the time
of the backup, working directories which were not
affected by the failure may refer to revisions which no
longer exist in the repository.  Trying to run <small class="sc">CVS</small>
in such directories will typically produce an error
message.  One way to get those changes back into the
repository is as follows:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Get a new working directory.

</li><li>Copy the files from the working directory from before
the failure over to the new working directory (do not
copy the contents of the <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directories, of
course).

</li><li>Working in the new working directory, use commands such
as <code class="code">cvs update</code> and <code class="code">cvs diff</code> to figure out
what has changed, and then when you are ready, commit
the changes into the repository.
</li></ul>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Moving-a-repository">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="n" rel="next">Remote repositories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Backing-up" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Backing up a repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Moving-a-repository-1"><span>2.8 Moving a repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#Moving-a-repository-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repository_002c-moving"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Moving-a-repository"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Copying-a-repository"></a>

<p>Just as backing up the files in the repository is
pretty much like backing up any other files, if you
need to move a repository from one place to another it
is also pretty much like just moving any other
collection of files.
</p>
<p>The main thing to consider is that working directories
point to the repository.  The simplest way to deal with
a moved repository is to just get a fresh working
directory after the move.  Of course, you&rsquo;ll want to
make sure that the old working directory had been
checked in before the move, or you figured out some
other way to make sure that you don&rsquo;t lose any
changes.  If you really do want to reuse the existing
working directory, it should be possible with manual
surgery on the <samp class="file">CVS/Repository</samp> files.  You can
see <a class="ref" href="#Working-directory-storage">How data is stored in the working directory</a>, for information on
the <samp class="file">CVS/Repository</samp> and <samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp> files, but
unless you are sure you want to bother, it probably
isn&rsquo;t worth it.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Remote-repositories">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Read_002donly-access" accesskey="n" rel="next">Read-only repository access</a>, Previous: <a href="#Moving-a-repository" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Moving a repository</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Remote-repositories-1"><span>2.9 Remote repositories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Remote-repositories-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repositories_002c-remote"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Remote-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Client_002fServer-Operation"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Server_002c-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Remote-repositories_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repositories_002c-remote_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Client_002fServer-Operation_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-kserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-gserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-port_002c-specifying-for-remote-repositories"></a>

<p>Your working copy of the sources can be on a
different machine than the repository.  Using <small class="sc">CVS</small>
in this manner is known as <em class="dfn">client/server</em>
operation.  You run <small class="sc">CVS</small> on a machine which can
mount your working directory, known as the
<em class="dfn">client</em>, and tell it to communicate to a machine
which can mount the repository, known as the
<em class="dfn">server</em>.  Generally, using a remote
repository is just like using a local one, except that
the format of the repository name is:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">[:<var class="var">method</var>:][[<var class="var">user</var>][:<var class="var">password</var>]@]<var class="var">hostname</var>[:[<var class="var">port</var>]]/path/to/repository
</pre></div>

<p>Specifying a password in the repository name is not recommended during
checkout, since this will cause <small class="sc">CVS</small> to store a cleartext copy of the
password in each created directory.  <code class="code">cvs login</code> first instead
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-client">Using the client with password authentication</a>).
</p>
<p>The details of exactly what needs to be set up depend
on how you are connecting to the server.
</p>


<p>For the protocol specification,
see <a data-manual="cvsclient" href="cvsclient.html#Top">the CVS client/server protocol</a> in <cite class="cite">The CVS client/server protocol</cite>.
</p>
<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Server-requirements" accesskey="1">Server requirements</a></li>
<li><a href="#The-connection-method" accesskey="2">The connection method</a></li>
<li><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh" accesskey="3">Connecting with rsh</a></li>
<li><a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="4">Direct connection with password authentication</a></li>
<li><a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated" accesskey="5">Direct connection with GSSAPI</a></li>
<li><a href="#Kerberos-authenticated" accesskey="6">Direct connection with Kerberos</a></li>
<li><a href="#Connecting-via-fork" accesskey="7">Connecting with fork</a></li>
<li><a href="#Write-proxies" accesskey="8">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Server-requirements">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#The-connection-method" accesskey="n" rel="next">The connection method</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Server-requirements-1"><span>2.9.1 Server requirements<a class="copiable-link" href="#Server-requirements-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>The quick answer to what sort of machine is suitable as
a server is that requirements are modest&mdash;a server
with 32M of memory or even less can handle a fairly
large source tree with a fair amount of activity.
</p>
<p>The real answer, of course, is more complicated.
Estimating the known areas of large memory consumption
should be sufficient to estimate memory requirements.
There are two such areas documented here; other memory
consumption should be small by comparison (if you find
that is not the case, let us know, as described in
<a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>, so we can update this documentation).
</p>
<p>The first area of big memory consumption is large
checkouts, when using the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server.  The server
consists of two processes for each client that it is
serving.  Memory consumption on the child process
should remain fairly small.  Memory consumption on the
parent process, particularly if the network connection
to the client is slow, can be expected to grow to
slightly more than the size of the sources in a single
directory, or two megabytes, whichever is larger.
</p>
<p>Multiplying the size of each <small class="sc">CVS</small> server by the
number of servers which you expect to have active at
one time should give an idea of memory requirements for
the server.  For the most part, the memory consumed by
the parent process probably can be swap space rather
than physical memory.
</p>

<p>The second area of large memory consumption is
<code class="code">diff</code>, when checking in large files.  This is
required even for binary files.  The rule of thumb is
to allow about ten times the size of the largest file
you will want to check in, although five times may be
adequate.  For example, if you want to check in a file
which is 10 megabytes, you should have 100 megabytes of
memory on the machine doing the checkin (the server
machine for client/server, or the machine running
<small class="sc">CVS</small> for non-client/server).  This can be swap
space rather than physical memory.  Because the memory
is only required briefly, there is no particular need
to allow memory for more than one such checkin at a
time.
</p>
<p>Resource consumption for the client is even more
modest&mdash;any machine with enough capacity to run the
operating system in question should have little
trouble.
</p>
<p>For information on disk space requirements, see
<a class="ref" href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="The-connection-method">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Connecting-via-rsh" accesskey="n" rel="next">Connecting with rsh</a>, Previous: <a href="#Server-requirements" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Server requirements</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="The-connection-method-1"><span>2.9.2 The connection method<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-connection-method-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>In its simplest form, the <var class="var">method</var> portion of the repository string
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>) may be one of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ext</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">fork</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">gserver</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">kserver</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">local</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pserver</samp>&rsquo;, and, on some
platforms, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">server</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>If <var class="var">method</var> is not specified, and the repository
name starts with a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo;, then the default is <code class="code">local</code>.
If <var class="var">method</var> is not specified, and the repository
name does not start with a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo;, then the default is <code class="code">ext</code>
or <code class="code">server</code>, depending on your platform; both the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ext</samp>&rsquo;
and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">server</samp>&rsquo; methods are described in <a class="ref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-connection-method-options"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-options_002c-connection-method"></a>
<p>The <code class="code">ext</code>, <code class="code">fork</code>, <code class="code">gserver</code>, and <code class="code">pserver</code> connection
methods all accept optional method options, specified as part of the
<var class="var">method</var> string, like so:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:<var class="var">method</var>[;<var class="var">option</var>=<var class="var">arg</var>...]:<var class="var">other_connection_data</var>
</pre></div>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> is not sensitive to the case of <var class="var">method</var> or <var class="var">option</var>, though
it may sometimes be sensitive to the case of <var class="var">arg</var>.  The possible method
options are as follows:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxy_002c-method-option"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxyport_002c-method-option"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxies_002c-web_002c-connecting-via"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-web-proxies_002c-connecting-via"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxies_002c-HTTP_002c-connecting-via"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-HTTP-proxies_002c-connecting-via"></a>
<a id="index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT"></a><span><code class="code">proxy=<var class="var">hostname</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dt><code class="code">proxyport=<var class="var">port</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>These two method options can be used to connect via an HTTP tunnel style web
proxy.  <var class="var">hostname</var> should be the name of the HTTP proxy server to connect
through and <var class="var">port</var> is the port number on the HTTP proxy server to connect
via.  <var class="var">port</var> defaults to 8080.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">NOTE: An HTTP proxy server is not the same as a <small class="sc">CVS</small> write proxy
server - please see <a class="ref" href="#Write-proxies">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a> for more on <small class="sc">CVS</small> write proxies.</em>
</p>
<p>For example, to connect pserver via a web proxy listening on port 8000 of
www.myproxy.net, you would use a method of:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:pserver;proxy=www.myproxy.net;proxyport=8000:<var class="var">connstr</var>
</pre></div>

<p><em class="emph">NOTE: In the above example, the pserver connection string <var class="var">connstr</var>
is still required to connect and authenticate to the CVS server, as noted in
the upcoming sections on password authentication, <code class="code">gserver</code>, and
<code class="code">kserver</code>.  The example above only demonstrates a modification to the
<var class="var">method</var> portion of the repository name.</em>
</p>
<p>These options first appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.7 and are valid as
modifcations to the <code class="code">gserver</code> and <code class="code">pserver</code> connection methods.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fRSH-method-option"></a><span><code class="code">CVS_RSH=<var class="var">path</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fRSH-method-option"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This method option can be used with the <code class="code">ext</code> method to specify the path
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client will use to find the remote shell used to contact the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> server and takes precedence over any path specified in the
<code class="code">$CVS_RSH</code> environment variable (see <a class="pxref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>).  For
example, to connect to a <small class="sc">CVS</small> server via the local
<samp class="file">/path/to/ssh/command</samp> command, you could choose to specify the following
<var class="var">path</var> via the <code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> method option:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:ext;CVS_RSH=/path/to/ssh/command:<var class="var">ext_connection_string</var>
</pre></div>

<p>This method option first appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.11 and is valid only
as a modifcation to the <code class="code">ext</code> connection method.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fSERVER-method-option"></a><span><code class="code">CVS_SERVER=<var class="var">path</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER-method-option"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This method option can be used with the <code class="code">ext</code> and <code class="code">fork</code> methods to
specify the path <small class="sc">CVS</small> will use to find the <small class="sc">CVS</small> executable on the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> server and takes precedence over any path specified in the
<code class="code">$CVS_SERVER</code> environment variable (see <a class="pxref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>).  For
example, to select the remote <samp class="file">/path/to/cvs/command</samp> executable as your
<small class="sc">CVS</small> server application on the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server machine, you could choose to
specify the following <var class="var">path</var> via the <code class="code">CVS_SERVER</code> method option:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:ext;CVS_SERVER=/path/to/cvs/command:<var class="var">ext_connection_string</var>
</pre></div>

<p>or, to select an executable named &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs-1.12.11</samp>&rsquo;, assuming it is in your
<code class="code">$PATH</code> on the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:ext;CVS_SERVER=cvs-1.12.11:<var class="var">ext_connection_string</var>
</pre></div>

<p>This method option first appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.11 and is valid
as a modifcation to both the <code class="code">ext</code> and <code class="code">fork</code> connection methods.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Redirect_002c-method-option"></a><span><code class="code">Redirect=<var class="var">boolean-state</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Redirect_002c-method-option"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The <code class="code">Redirect</code> method option determines whether the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client will
allow a <small class="sc">CVS</small> server to redirect it to a different <small class="sc">CVS</small> server, usually
for write requests, as in a write proxy setup.
</p>
<p>A <var class="var">boolean-state</var> of any value acceptable for boolean <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp>
file options is acceptable here (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).  For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">on</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">off</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">true</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">false</samp>&rsquo; are all valid values for
<var class="var">boolean-state</var>.  <var class="var">boolean-state</var> for the <code class="code">Redirect</code> method option
defaults to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">on</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>This option will have no effect when talking to any non-secondary <small class="sc">CVS</small>
server.  For more on write proxies and secondary servers, please see
<a class="ref" href="#Write-proxies">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a>.
</p>
<p>This method option first appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.11 and is valid only
as a modifcation to the <code class="code">ext</code> connection method.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>As a further example, to combine both the <code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> and <code class="code">CVS_SERVER</code>
options, a method specification like the following would work:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">:ext;CVS_RSH=/path/to/ssh/command;CVS_SERVER=/path/to/cvs/command:
</pre></div>

<p>This means that you would not need to have
the <code class="code">CVS_SERVER</code> or <code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> environment
variables set correctly.  See <a class="ref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>, for more details on
these environment variables.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Connecting-via-rsh">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="n" rel="next">Direct connection with password authentication</a>, Previous: <a href="#The-connection-method" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The connection method</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Connecting-with-rsh"><span>2.9.3 Connecting with rsh<a class="copiable-link" href="#Connecting-with-rsh"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rsh"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> uses the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rsh</samp>&rsquo; protocol to perform these
operations, so the remote user host needs to have a
<samp class="file">.rhosts</samp> file which grants access to the local
user. Note that the program that <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses for this
purpose may be specified using the <samp class="file">--with-rsh</samp>
flag to configure.
</p>
<p>For example, suppose you are the user &lsquo;<samp class="samp">mozart</samp>&rsquo; on
the local machine &lsquo;<samp class="samp">toe.example.com</samp>&rsquo;, and the
server machine is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">faun.example.org</samp>&rsquo;.  On
faun, put the following line into the file
<samp class="file">.rhosts</samp> in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">bach</samp>&rsquo;&rsquo;s home directory:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">toe.example.com  mozart
</pre></div>

<p>Then test that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rsh</samp>&rsquo; is working with
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">rsh -l bach faun.example.org 'echo $PATH'
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_005fSERVER_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<p>Next you have to make sure that <code class="code">rsh</code> will be able
to find the server.  Make sure that the path which
<code class="code">rsh</code> printed in the above example includes the
directory containing a program named <code class="code">cvs</code> which
is the server.  You need to set the path in
<samp class="file">.bashrc</samp>, <samp class="file">.cshrc</samp>, etc., not <samp class="file">.login</samp>
or <samp class="file">.profile</samp>.  Alternately, you can set the
environment variable <code class="code">CVS_SERVER</code> on the client
machine to the filename of the server you want to use,
for example <samp class="file">/usr/local/bin/cvs-1.6</samp>.
For the <code class="code">ext</code> and <code class="code">fork</code> methods, you may
also specify <var class="var">CVS_SERVER</var> as an option in the
<var class="var">CVSROOT</var> so that you may use different servers for
differnt roots. See <a class="ref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a> for more
details.
</p>
<p>There is no need to edit <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp> or start a
<small class="sc">CVS</small> server daemon.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-server-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-ext-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Kerberos_002c-using-kerberized-rsh"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-SSH-_0028rsh-replacement_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rsh-replacements-_0028Kerberized_002c-SSH_002c-_0026c_0029"></a>
<p>There are two access methods that you use in <code class="code">CVSROOT</code>
for rsh.  <code class="code">:server:</code> specifies an internal rsh
client, which is supported only by some <small class="sc">CVS</small> ports.
This is not supported on most Unix-style systems.
<code class="code">:ext:</code> specifies an external rsh program.  By
default this is <code class="code">rsh</code> (unless otherwise specified
by the <samp class="file">--with-rsh</samp> flag to configure) but you may set the
<code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> environment variable to invoke another
program which can access the remote server (for
example, <code class="code">remsh</code> on HP-UX 9 because <code class="code">rsh</code> is
something different, or <code class="code">ssh</code> to allow the use of secure
and/or compressed connections).  It must be a program which can
transmit data to and from the server without modifying
it; for example the Windows NT <code class="code">rsh</code> is not
suitable since it by default translates between CRLF
and LF.  The OS/2 <small class="sc">CVS</small> port has a hack to pass &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo;
to <code class="code">rsh</code> to get around this, but since this could
potentially cause problems for programs other than the
standard <code class="code">rsh</code>, it may change in the future.  If
you set <code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> to <code class="code">SSH</code> or some other rsh
replacement, the instructions in the rest of this
section concerning <samp class="file">.rhosts</samp> and so on are likely
to be inapplicable; consult the documentation for your rsh
replacement.
</p>
<p>In the Debian and MirBSD versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you can
also specify <code class="code">:extssh:</code> to force use of the Secure
Shell, or <code class="code">:ext=prog:</code> or <code class="code">:ext=/path/to/prog:</code>
to specify the remote shell to use without needing to
touch the <code class="code">CVS_RSH</code> environment variable.
</p>
<p>You may choose to specify the <var class="var">CVS_RSH</var> option as a method option
in the <var class="var">CVSROOT</var> string to allow you to use different connection tools
for different roots (see <a class="pxref" href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a>).  For example, allowing
some roots to use <code class="code">CVS_RSH=remsh</code> and some to use
<code class="code">CVS_RSH=ssh</code> for the <code class="code">ext</code> method.  See also
the <a class="ref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a> for more details.
</p>
<p>Continuing our example, supposing you want to access
the module <samp class="file">foo</samp> in the repository
<samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot/</samp>, on machine
<samp class="file">faun.example.org</samp>, you are ready to go:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :ext:bach@faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout foo
</pre></div>

<p>(The <samp class="file">bach@</samp> can be omitted if the username is
the same on both the local and remote hosts.)
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Password-authenticated">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated" accesskey="n" rel="next">Direct connection with GSSAPI</a>, Previous: <a href="#Connecting-via-rsh" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Connecting with rsh</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Direct-connection-with-password-authentication"><span>2.9.4 Direct connection with password authentication<a class="copiable-link" href="#Direct-connection-with-password-authentication"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small> client can also connect to the server
using a password protocol.  This is particularly useful
if using <code class="code">rsh</code> is not feasible (for example,
the server is behind a firewall), and Kerberos also is
not available.
</p>
<p>To use this method, it is necessary to make
some adjustments on both the server and client sides.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Password-authentication-server" accesskey="1">Setting up the server for password authentication</a></li>
<li><a href="#Password-authentication-client" accesskey="2">Using the client with password authentication</a></li>
<li><a href="#Password-authentication-security" accesskey="3">Security considerations with password authentication</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsubsection-level-extent" id="Password-authentication-server">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Password-authentication-client" accesskey="n" rel="next">Using the client with password authentication</a>, Up: <a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="u" rel="up">Direct connection with password authentication</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsubsection" id="Setting-up-the-server-for-password-authentication"><span>2.9.4.1 Setting up the server for password authentication<a class="copiable-link" href="#Setting-up-the-server-for-password-authentication"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>First of all, you probably want to tighten the
permissions on the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT</samp> and
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp> directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-security">Security considerations with password authentication</a>, for more details.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pserver-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Remote-repositories_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Repositories_002c-remote_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Client_002fServer-Operation_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-kserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-gserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-port_002c-specifying-for-remote-repositories-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Password-server_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Authenticating-server_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-inetd_002c-configuring-for-pserver"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-xinetd_002c-configuring-for-pserver"></a>
<p>On the server side, the file <samp class="file">/etc/inetd.conf</samp>
needs to be edited so <code class="code">inetd</code> knows to run the
command <code class="code">cvs pserver</code> when it receives a
connection on the right port.  By default, the port
number is 2401; it would be different if your client
were compiled with <code class="code">CVS_AUTH_PORT</code> defined to
something else, though.  This can also be specified in the CVSROOT variable
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>) or overridden with the CVS_CLIENT_PORT
environment variable (see <a class="pxref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>).
</p>
<p>If your <code class="code">inetd</code> allows raw port numbers in
<samp class="file">/etc/inetd.conf</samp>, then the following (all on a
single line in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>) should be sufficient:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">2401  stream  tcp  nowait  root  /usr/local/bin/cvs
cvs -f --allow-root=/usr/cvsroot pserver
</pre></div>

<p>(You could also use the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo; option to specify a temporary directory.)
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">--allow-root</samp>&rsquo; option specifies the allowable
<small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> directory.  Clients which attempt to use a
different <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> directory will not be allowed to
connect.  To allow a whole class of <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small>, specify
a POSIX extended regular expression to match allowed
directories with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">--allow-root-regexp</samp>&rsquo; option.
These options may be used in conjunction, and both options
may be repeated to allow access to multiple <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small>
directories and classes of directories.
(Unfortunately, many versions of <code class="code">inetd</code> have very small
limits on the number of arguments and/or the total length
of the command.  The usual solution to this problem is
to have <code class="code">inetd</code> run a shell script which then invokes
<small class="sc">CVS</small> with the necessary arguments.)
</p>
<p>If your <code class="code">inetd</code> wants a symbolic service
name instead of a raw port number, then put this in
<samp class="file">/etc/services</samp>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvspserver      2401/tcp
</pre></div>

<p>and put <code class="code">cvspserver</code> instead of <code class="code">2401</code> in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>.
</p>
<p>If your system uses <code class="code">xinetd</code> instead of <code class="code">inetd</code>,
the procedure is slightly different.
Create a file called <samp class="file">/etc/xinetd.d/cvspserver</samp> containing the following:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">service cvspserver
{
   port        = 2401
   socket_type = stream
   protocol    = tcp
   wait        = no
   user        = root
   passenv     = PATH
   server      = /usr/local/bin/cvs
   server_args = -f --allow-root=/usr/cvsroot pserver
}
</pre></div>

<p>(If <code class="code">cvspserver</code> is defined in <samp class="file">/etc/services</samp>, you can omit
the <code class="code">port</code> line.)
</p>
<p>Once the above is taken care of, restart your
<code class="code">inetd</code>, or do whatever is necessary to force it
to reread its initialization files.
</p>
<p>If you are having trouble setting this up, see
<a class="ref" href="#Connection">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS-passwd-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-passwd-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<p>Because the client stores and transmits passwords in
cleartext (almost&mdash;see <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-security">Security considerations with password authentication</a>, for details), a separate <small class="sc">CVS</small> password
file is generally used, so people don&rsquo;t compromise
their regular passwords when they access the
repository.  This file is
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/passwd</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Intro-administrative-files">The administrative files</a>).  It uses a colon-separated
format, similar to <samp class="file">/etc/passwd</samp> on Unix systems,
except that it has fewer fields: <small class="sc">CVS</small> username,
optional password, and an optional system username for
<small class="sc">CVS</small> to run as if authentication succeeds.  Here is
an example <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file with five entries:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">anonymous:
bach:ULtgRLXo7NRxs
spwang:1sOp854gDF3DY
melissa:tGX1fS8sun6rY:pubcvs
qproj:XR4EZcEs0szik:pubcvs
</pre></div>

<p>(The passwords are encrypted according to the standard
Unix <code class="code">crypt()</code> function, so it is possible to
paste in passwords directly from regular Unix
<samp class="file">/etc/passwd</samp> files.)
</p>
<p>The first line in the example will grant access to any
<small class="sc">CVS</small> client attempting to authenticate as user
<code class="code">anonymous</code>, no matter what password they use,
including an empty password.  (This is typical for
sites granting anonymous read-only access; for
information on how to do the &quot;read-only&quot; part, see
<a class="ref" href="#Read_002donly-access">Read-only repository access</a>.)
</p>
<p>The second and third lines will grant access to
<code class="code">bach</code> and <code class="code">spwang</code> if they supply their
respective plaintext passwords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-User-aliases"></a>
<p>The fourth line will grant access to <code class="code">melissa</code>, if
she supplies the correct password, but her <small class="sc">CVS</small>
operations will actually run on the server side under
the system user <code class="code">pubcvs</code>.  Thus, there need not be
any system user named <code class="code">melissa</code>, but there
<em class="emph">must</em> be one named <code class="code">pubcvs</code>.
</p>
<p>The fifth line shows that system user identities can be
shared: any client who successfully authenticates as
<code class="code">qproj</code> will actually run as <code class="code">pubcvs</code>, just
as <code class="code">melissa</code> does.  That way you could create a
single, shared system user for each project in your
repository, and give each developer their own line in
the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/passwd</samp> file.  The <small class="sc">CVS</small>
username on each line would be different, but the
system username would be the same.  The reason to have
different <small class="sc">CVS</small> usernames is that <small class="sc">CVS</small> will log their
actions under those names: when <code class="code">melissa</code> commits
a change to a project, the checkin is recorded in the
project&rsquo;s history under the name <code class="code">melissa</code>, not
<code class="code">pubcvs</code>.  And the reason to have them share a
system username is so that you can arrange permissions
in the relevant area of the repository such that only
that account has write-permission there.
</p>
<p>If the system-user field is present, all
password-authenticated <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands run as that
user; if no system user is specified, <small class="sc">CVS</small> simply
takes the <small class="sc">CVS</small> username as the system username and
runs commands as that user.  In either case, if there
is no such user on the system, then the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
operation will fail (regardless of whether the client
supplied a valid password).
</p>
<p>The password and system-user fields can both be omitted
(and if the system-user field is omitted, then also
omit the colon that would have separated it from the
encrypted password).  For example, this would be a
valid <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/passwd</samp> file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">anonymous::pubcvs
fish:rKa5jzULzmhOo:kfogel
sussman:1sOp854gDF3DY
</pre></div>

<p>When the password field is omitted or empty, then the
client&rsquo;s authentication attempt will succeed with any
password, including the empty string.  However, the
colon after the <small class="sc">CVS</small> username is always necessary,
even if the password is empty.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can also fall back to use system authentication.
When authenticating a password, the server first checks
for the user in the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/passwd</samp>
file.  If it finds the user, it will use that entry for
authentication as described above.  But if it does not
find the user, or if the <small class="sc">CVS</small> <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file
does not exist, then the server can try to authenticate
the username and password using the operating system&rsquo;s
user-lookup routines (this &quot;fallback&quot; behavior can be
disabled by setting <code class="code">SystemAuth=no</code> in the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> <samp class="file">config</samp> file, see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>
<p>The default fallback behavior is to look in 
<samp class="file">/etc/passwd</samp> for this system user unless your
system has PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules)
and your <small class="sc">CVS</small> server executable was configured to
use it at compile time (using <code class="code">./configure --enable-pam</code> - see the
INSTALL file for more).  In this case, PAM will be consulted instead.
This means that <small class="sc">CVS</small> can be configured to use any password
authentication source PAM can be configured to use (possibilities
include a simple UNIX password, NIS, LDAP, and others) in its
global configuration file (usually <samp class="file">/etc/pam.conf</samp>
or possibly <samp class="file">/etc/pam.d/cvs</samp>).  See your PAM documentation
for more details on PAM configuration.
</p>
<p>Note that PAM is an experimental feature in <small class="sc">CVS</small> and feedback is
encouraged.  Please send a mail to one of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> mailing lists
(<code class="code">info-cvs@nongnu.org</code> or <code class="code">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</code>) if you use the 
<small class="sc">CVS</small> PAM support.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: Using PAM gives the system administrator much more 
flexibility about how <small class="sc">CVS</small> users are authenticated but 
no more security than other methods.  See below for more.</em> 
</p>
<p>CVS needs an &quot;auth&quot;, &quot;account&quot; and &quot;session&quot; module in the 
PAM configuration file. A typical PAM configuration 
would therefore have the following lines 
in <samp class="file">/etc/pam.conf</samp> to emulate the standard <small class="sc">CVS</small> 
system <samp class="file">/etc/passwd</samp> authentication:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs	auth	    required	pam_unix.so
cvs	account	    required	pam_unix.so
cvs	session	    required	pam_unix.so
</pre></div>

<p>The the equivalent <samp class="file">/etc/pam.d/cvs</samp> would contain
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">auth	    required	pam_unix.so
account	    required	pam_unix.so
session	    required	pam_unix.so
</pre></div>

<p>Some systems require a full path to the module so that
<samp class="file">pam_unix.so</samp> (Linux) would become something like 
<samp class="file">/usr/lib/security/$ISA/pam_unix.so.1</samp> (Sun Solaris).
See the <samp class="file">contrib/pam</samp> subdirectory of the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
source distribution for further example configurations.
</p>
<p>The PAM service name given above as &quot;cvs&quot; is just
the service name in the default configuration and can be
set using
<code class="code">./configure --with-hardcoded-pam-service-name=&lt;pam-service-name&gt;</code>
before compiling.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> can also be configured to use whatever
name it is invoked as as its PAM service name using
<code class="code">./configure --without-hardcoded-pam-service-name</code>, but this
feature should not be used if you may not have control of the name
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will be invoked as.
</p>
<p>Be aware, also, that falling back to system
authentication might be a security risk: <small class="sc">CVS</small>
operations would then be authenticated with that user&rsquo;s
regular login password, and the password flies across
the network in plaintext.  See <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-security">Security considerations with password authentication</a> for more on this.
This may be more of a problem with PAM authentication
because it is likely that the source of the system 
password is some central authentication service like
LDAP which is also used to authenticate other services.
</p>
<p>On the other hand, PAM makes it very easy to change your password
regularly.  If they are given the option of a one-password system for
all of their activities, users are often more willing to change their
password on a regular basis.
</p>
<p>In the non-PAM configuration where the password is stored in the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/passwd</samp> file, it is difficult to change passwords on a
regular basis since only administrative users (or in some cases
processes that act as an administrative user) are typically given
access to modify this file.  Either there needs to be some
hand-crafted web page or set-uid program to update the file, or the
update needs to be done by submitting a request to an administrator to
perform the duty by hand.  In the first case, having to remember to
update a separate password on a periodic basis can be difficult.  In
the second case, the manual nature of the change will typically mean
that the password will not be changed unless it is absolutely
necessary.
</p>
<p>Note that PAM administrators should probably avoid configuring
one-time-passwords (OTP) for <small class="sc">CVS</small> authentication/authorization.  If
OTPs are desired, the administrator may wish to encourage the use of
one of the other Client/Server access methods.  See the section on
see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a> for a list of other methods.
</p>
<p>Right now, the only way to put a password in the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file is to paste it there from
somewhere else.  Someday, there may be a <code class="code">cvs
passwd</code> command.
</p>
<p>Unlike many of the files in <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp>, it
is normal to edit the <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file in-place,
rather than via <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  This is because of the
possible security risks of having the <samp class="file">passwd</samp>
file checked out to people&rsquo;s working copies.  If you do
want to include the <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file in checkouts of
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp>, see <a class="ref" href="#checkoutlist">The checkoutlist file</a>.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsubsection-level-extent" id="Password-authentication-client">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Password-authentication-security" accesskey="n" rel="next">Security considerations with password authentication</a>, Previous: <a href="#Password-authentication-server" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>, Up: <a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="u" rel="up">Direct connection with password authentication</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsubsection" id="Using-the-client-with-password-authentication"><span>2.9.4.2 Using the client with password authentication<a class="copiable-link" href="#Using-the-client-with-password-authentication"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Login-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Password-client_002c-using"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Authenticated-client_002c-using"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pserver-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<p>To run a <small class="sc">CVS</small> command on a remote repository via
the password-authenticating server, one specifies the
<code class="code">pserver</code> protocol, optional username, repository host, an
optional port number, and path to the repository.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :pserver:faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout someproj
</pre></div>

<p>or
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">CVSROOT=:pserver:bach@faun.example.org:2401/usr/local/cvsroot
cvs checkout someproj
</pre></div>

<p>However, unless you&rsquo;re connecting to a public-access
repository (i.e., one where that username doesn&rsquo;t
require a password), you&rsquo;ll need to supply a password or <em class="dfn">log in</em> first.
Logging in verifies your password with the repository and stores it in a file.
It&rsquo;s done with the <code class="code">login</code> command, which will
prompt you interactively for the password if you didn&rsquo;t supply one as part of
<var class="var">$CVSROOT</var>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :pserver:bach@faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot login
CVS password:
</pre></div>

<p>or
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :pserver:bach:p4ss30rd@faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot login
</pre></div>

<p>After you enter the password, <small class="sc">CVS</small> verifies it with
the server.  If the verification succeeds, then that
combination of username, host, repository, and password
is permanently recorded, so future transactions with
that repository won&rsquo;t require you to run <code class="code">cvs
login</code>.  (If verification fails, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will exit
complaining that the password was incorrect, and
nothing will be recorded.)
</p>
<p>The records are stored, by default, in the file
<samp class="file">$HOME/.cvspass</samp>.  That file&rsquo;s format is
human-readable, and to a degree human-editable, but
note that the passwords are not stored in
cleartext&mdash;they are trivially encoded to protect them
from &quot;innocent&quot; compromise (i.e., inadvertent viewing
by a system administrator or other non-malicious
person).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_005fPASSFILE_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<p>You can change the default location of this file by
setting the <code class="code">CVS_PASSFILE</code> environment variable.
If you use this variable, make sure you set it
<em class="emph">before</em> <code class="code">cvs login</code> is run.  If you were to
set it after running <code class="code">cvs login</code>, then later
<small class="sc">CVS</small> commands would be unable to look up the
password for transmission to the server.
</p>  
<p>Once you have logged in, all <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands using
that remote repository and username will authenticate
with the stored password.  So, for example
</p>  
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :pserver:bach@faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout foo
</pre></div>

<p>should just work (unless the password changes on the
server side, in which case you&rsquo;ll have to re-run
<code class="code">cvs login</code>).
</p>
<p>Note that if the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:pserver:</samp>&rsquo; were not present in
the repository specification, <small class="sc">CVS</small> would assume it
should use <code class="code">rsh</code> to connect with the server
instead (see <a class="pxref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>).
</p>
<p>Of course, once you have a working copy checked out and
are running <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands from within it, there is
no longer any need to specify the repository
explicitly, because <small class="sc">CVS</small> can deduce the repository
from the working copy&rsquo;s <samp class="file">CVS</samp> subdirectory.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Logout-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<p>The password for a given remote repository can be
removed from the <code class="code">CVS_PASSFILE</code> by using the
<code class="code">cvs logout</code> command.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsubsection-level-extent" id="Password-authentication-security">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Password-authentication-client" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Using the client with password authentication</a>, Up: <a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="u" rel="up">Direct connection with password authentication</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsubsection" id="Security-considerations-with-password-authentication"><span>2.9.4.3 Security considerations with password authentication<a class="copiable-link" href="#Security-considerations-with-password-authentication"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Security_002c-of-pserver"></a>
<p>The passwords are stored on the client side in a
trivial encoding of the cleartext, and transmitted in
the same encoding.  The encoding is done only to
prevent inadvertent password compromises (i.e., a
system administrator accidentally looking at the file),
and will not prevent even a naive attacker from gaining
the password.
</p>
<p>The separate <small class="sc">CVS</small> password file (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>) allows people
to use a different password for repository access than
for login access.  On the other hand, once a user has
non-read-only
access to the repository, she can execute programs on
the server system through a variety of means.  Thus, repository
access implies fairly broad system access as well.  It
might be possible to modify <small class="sc">CVS</small> to prevent that,
but no one has done so as of this writing.
</p>
<p>Note that because the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp> directory
contains <samp class="file">passwd</samp> and other files which are used
to check security, you must control the permissions on
this directory as tightly as the permissions on
<samp class="file">/etc</samp>.  The same applies to the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT</samp>
directory itself and any directory
above it in the tree.  Anyone who has write access to
such a directory will have the ability to become any
user on the system.  Note that these permissions are
typically tighter than you would use if you are not
using pserver.
</p>
<p>In summary, anyone who gets the password gets
repository access (which may imply some measure of general system
access as well).  The password is available to anyone
who can sniff network packets or read a protected
(i.e., user read-only) file.  If you want real
security, get Kerberos.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="GSSAPI-authenticated">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Kerberos-authenticated" accesskey="n" rel="next">Direct connection with Kerberos</a>, Previous: <a href="#Password-authenticated" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Direct connection with password authentication</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Direct-connection-with-GSSAPI"><span>2.9.5 Direct connection with GSSAPI<a class="copiable-link" href="#Direct-connection-with-GSSAPI"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-GSSAPI"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Security_002c-GSSAPI"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-gserver-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Kerberos_002c-using-gserver-method"></a>
<p>GSSAPI is a generic interface to network security
systems such as Kerberos 5.
If you have a working GSSAPI library, you can have
<small class="sc">CVS</small> connect via a direct <small class="sc">TCP</small> connection,
authenticating with GSSAPI.
</p>
<p>To do this, <small class="sc">CVS</small> needs to be compiled with GSSAPI
support; when configuring <small class="sc">CVS</small> it tries to detect
whether GSSAPI libraries using Kerberos version 5 are
present.  You can also use the <samp class="file">--with-gssapi</samp>
flag to configure.
</p>
<p>The connection is authenticated using GSSAPI, but the
message stream is <em class="emph">not</em> authenticated by default.
You must use the <code class="code">-a</code> global option to request
stream authentication.
</p>
<p>The data transmitted is <em class="emph">not</em> encrypted by
default.  Encryption support must be compiled into both
the client and the server; use the
<samp class="file">--enable-encrypt</samp> configure option to turn it on.
You must then use the <code class="code">-x</code> global option to
request encryption.
</p>
<p>GSSAPI connections are handled on the server side by
the same server which handles the password
authentication server; see <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>.  If you are using a GSSAPI mechanism such as
Kerberos which provides for strong authentication, you
will probably want to disable the ability to
authenticate via cleartext passwords.  To do so, create
an empty <samp class="file">CVSROOT/passwd</samp> password file, and set
<code class="code">SystemAuth=no</code> in the config file
(see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>
<p>The GSSAPI server uses a principal name of
cvs/<var class="var">hostname</var>, where <var class="var">hostname</var> is the
canonical name of the server host.  You will have to
set this up as required by your GSSAPI mechanism.
</p>
<p>To connect using GSSAPI, use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:gserver:</samp>&rsquo; method.  For
example,
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :gserver:faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout foo
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Kerberos-authenticated">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Connecting-via-fork" accesskey="n" rel="next">Connecting with fork</a>, Previous: <a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Direct connection with GSSAPI</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Direct-connection-with-Kerberos"><span>2.9.6 Direct connection with Kerberos<a class="copiable-link" href="#Direct-connection-with-Kerberos"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Kerberos_002c-using-kserver-method"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Security_002c-Kerberos"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-kserver-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<p>The easiest way to use Kerberos is to use the Kerberos
<code class="code">rsh</code>, as described in <a class="ref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>.
The main disadvantage of using rsh is that all the data
needs to pass through additional programs, so it may be
slower.  So if you have Kerberos installed you can
connect via a direct <small class="sc">TCP</small> connection,
authenticating with Kerberos.
</p>
<p>This section concerns the Kerberos network security
system, version 4.  Kerberos version 5 is supported via
the GSSAPI generic network security interface, as
described in the previous section.
</p>
<p>To do this, <small class="sc">CVS</small> needs to be compiled with Kerberos
support; when configuring <small class="sc">CVS</small> it tries to detect
whether Kerberos is present or you can use the
<samp class="file">--with-krb4</samp> flag to configure.
</p>
<p>The data transmitted is <em class="emph">not</em> encrypted by
default.  Encryption support must be compiled into both
the client and server; use the
<samp class="file">--enable-encryption</samp> configure option to turn it
on.  You must then use the <code class="code">-x</code> global option to
request encryption.
</p>
<p>The CVS client will attempt to connect to port 1999 by default.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-kinit"></a>
<p>When you want to use <small class="sc">CVS</small>, get a ticket in the
usual way (generally <code class="code">kinit</code>); it must be a ticket
which allows you to log into the server machine.  Then
you are ready to go:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :kserver:faun.example.org:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout foo
</pre></div>

<p>Previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> would fall back to a
connection via rsh; this version will not do so.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Connecting-via-fork">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Write-proxies" accesskey="n" rel="next">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a>, Previous: <a href="#Kerberos-authenticated" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Direct connection with Kerberos</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Connecting-with-fork"><span>2.9.7 Connecting with fork<a class="copiable-link" href="#Connecting-with-fork"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-fork_002c-access-method"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-fork-method_002c-setting-up"></a>
<p>This access method allows you to connect to a
repository on your local disk via the remote protocol.
In other words it does pretty much the same thing as
<code class="code">:local:</code>, but various quirks, bugs and the like are
those of the remote <small class="sc">CVS</small> rather than the local
<small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>For day-to-day operations you might prefer either
<code class="code">:local:</code> or <code class="code">:fork:</code>, depending on your
preferences.  Of course <code class="code">:fork:</code> comes in
particularly handy in testing or
debugging <code class="code">cvs</code> and the remote protocol.
Specifically, we avoid all of the network-related
setup/configuration, timeouts, and authentication
inherent in the other remote access methods but still
create a connection which uses the remote protocol.
</p>
<p>To connect using the <code class="code">fork</code> method, use
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">:fork:</samp>&rsquo; and the pathname to your local
repository.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -d :fork:/usr/local/cvsroot checkout foo
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_005fSERVER_002c-and-fork-method"></a>
<p>As with <code class="code">:ext:</code>, the server is called &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs</samp>&rsquo;
by default, or the value of the <code class="code">CVS_SERVER</code>
environment variable.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Write-proxies">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Connecting-via-fork" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Connecting with fork</a>, Up: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="u" rel="up">Remote repositories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Distributing-load-across-several-CVS-servers"><span>2.9.8 Distributing load across several CVS servers<a class="copiable-link" href="#Distributing-load-across-several-CVS-servers"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-PrimaryServer_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Primary-server"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Secondary-server"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxy_002c-write"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-write-proxy"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can be configured to distribute usage across several <small class="sc">CVS</small>
servers.  This is accomplished by means of one or more <em class="dfn">write proxies</em>, or
<em class="dfn">secondary servers</em>, for a single <em class="dfn">primary server</em>.
</p>
<p>When a <small class="sc">CVS</small> client accesses a secondary server and only sends read
requests, then the secondary server handles the entire request.  If the client
sends any write requests, however, the secondary server asks the client to
redirect its write request to the primary server, if the client supports
redirect requests, and otherwise becomes a transparent proxy for the primary
server, which actually handles the write request.
</p>
<p>In this manner, any number of read-only secondary servers may be configured as
write proxies for the primary server, effectively distributing the load from
all read operations between the secondary servers and restricting the load on
the primary server to write operations and pushing changes to the secondaries.
</p>
<p>Primary servers will not automatically push changes to secondaries.  This must
be configured via <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>, <samp class="file">postadmin</samp>, <samp class="file">posttag</samp>, &amp;
<samp class="file">postwatch</samp> scripts (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>) like the following:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ALL	rsync -gopr -essh ./ secondary:/cvsroot/%p &amp;
</pre></div>

<p>You would probably actually want to lock directories for write on the secondary
and for read on the primary before running the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rsync</samp>&rsquo; in the above
example, but describing such a setup is beyond the scope of this document.
</p>
<p>A secondary advantage of a write proxy setup is that users pointing at the
secondary server can still execute fast read operations while on a network that
connects to the primary over a slow link or even one where the link to the
primary is periodically broken.  Only write operations will require the network
link to the primary.
</p>
<p>To configure write proxies, the primary must be specified with the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">PrimaryServer</samp>&rsquo; option in <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).  For the
transparent proxy mode to work, all secondary servers must also be running the
same version of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server, or at least one that provides the same
list of supported requests to the client as the primary server.  This is not
necessary for redirection.
</p>
<p>Once a primary server is configured, secondary servers may be configured by:
</p>
<ol class="enumerate">
<li> Duplicating the primary repository at the new location.
</li><li> Setting up the <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>, <samp class="file">postadmin</samp>, <samp class="file">posttag</samp>, and
<samp class="file">postwatch</samp> files on the primary to propagate writes to the new secondary.
</li><li> Configure remote access to the secondary(ies) as you would configure access
to any other CVS server (see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>).
</li><li> Ensuring that <code class="code">--allow-root=<var class="var">secondary-cvsroot</var></code> is passed to
<strong class="strong">all</strong> incovations of the secondary server if the path to the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
repository directory is different on the two servers and you wish to support
clients that do not handle the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Redirect</samp>&rsquo; resopnse (CVS 1.12.9 and earlier
clients do not handle the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Redirect</samp>&rsquo; response).

<p>Please note, again, that writethrough proxy suport requires
<code class="code">--allow-root=<var class="var">secondary-cvsroot</var></code> to be specified for <strong class="strong">all</strong>
incovations of the secondary server, not just &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pserver</samp>&rsquo; invocations.
This may require a wrapper script for the <small class="sc">CVS</small> executable
on your server machine.
</p></li></ol>


<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Read_002donly-access">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Server-temporary-directory" accesskey="n" rel="next">Temporary directories for the server</a>, Previous: <a href="#Remote-repositories" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Remote repositories</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Read_002donly-repository-access"><span>2.10 Read-only repository access<a class="copiable-link" href="#Read_002donly-repository-access"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Read_002donly-repository-access"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-readers-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-writers-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>

<p>It is possible to grant read-only repository
access to people using the password-authenticated
server (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authenticated">Direct connection with password authentication</a>).  (The
other access methods do not have explicit support for
read-only users because those methods all assume login
access to the repository machine anyway, and therefore
the user can do whatever local file permissions allow
her to do.)
</p>
<p>A user who has read-only access can do only
those <small class="sc">CVS</small> operations which do not modify the
repository, except for certain &ldquo;administrative&rdquo; files
(such as lock files and the history file).  It may be
desirable to use this feature in conjunction with
user-aliasing (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>).
</p>
<p>Unlike with previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, read-only
users should be able merely to read the repository, and
not to execute programs on the server or otherwise gain
unexpected levels of access.  Or to be more accurate,
the <em class="emph">known</em> holes have been plugged.  Because this
feature is new and has not received a comprehensive
security audit, you should use whatever level of
caution seems warranted given your attitude concerning
security.
</p>
<p>There are two ways to specify read-only access
for a user: by inclusion, and by exclusion.
</p>
<p>&quot;Inclusion&quot; means listing that user
specifically in the <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/readers</samp>
file, which is simply a newline-separated list of
users.  Here is a sample <samp class="file">readers</samp> file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">melissa
splotnik
jrandom
</pre></div>

<p>(Don&rsquo;t forget the newline after the last user.)
</p>
<p>&quot;Exclusion&quot; means explicitly listing everyone
who has <em class="emph">write</em> access&mdash;if the file
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/writers
</pre></div>

<p>exists, then only
those users listed in it have write access, and
everyone else has read-only access (of course, even the
read-only users still need to be listed in the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> <samp class="file">passwd</samp> file).  The
<samp class="file">writers</samp> file has the same format as the
<samp class="file">readers</samp> file.
</p>
<p>Note: if your <small class="sc">CVS</small> <samp class="file">passwd</samp>
file maps cvs users onto system users (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>), make sure you deny or grant
read-only access using the <em class="emph">cvs</em> usernames, not
the system usernames.  That is, the <samp class="file">readers</samp> and
<samp class="file">writers</samp> files contain cvs usernames, which may
or may not be the same as system usernames.
</p>
<p>Here is a complete description of the server&rsquo;s
behavior in deciding whether to grant read-only or
read-write access:
</p>
<p>If <samp class="file">readers</samp> exists, and this user is
listed in it, then she gets read-only access.  Or if
<samp class="file">writers</samp> exists, and this user is NOT listed in
it, then she also gets read-only access (this is true
even if <samp class="file">readers</samp> exists but she is not listed
there).  Otherwise, she gets full read-write access.
</p>
<p>Of course there is a conflict if the user is
listed in both files.  This is resolved in the more
conservative way, it being better to protect the
repository too much than too little: such a user gets
read-only access.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Server-temporary-directory">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Read_002donly-access" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Read-only repository access</a>, Up: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Temporary-directories-for-the-server"><span>2.11 Temporary directories for the server<a class="copiable-link" href="#Temporary-directories-for-the-server"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Temporary-directories_002c-and-server"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Server_002c-temporary-directories"></a>

<p>While running, the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server creates temporary
directories.  They are named
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs-serv<var class="var">pid</var>
</pre></div>

<p>where <var class="var">pid</var> is the process identification number of
the server.
They are located in the directory specified by 
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo; global option (see <a class="pxref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>), 
the <code class="code">TMPDIR</code> environment variable (see <a class="pxref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>), 
or, failing that, <samp class="file">/tmp</samp>.
</p>
<p>In most cases the server will remove the temporary
directory when it is done, whether it finishes normally
or abnormally.  However, there are a few cases in which
the server does not or cannot remove the temporary
directory, for example:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>If the server aborts due to an internal server error,
it may preserve the directory to aid in debugging

</li><li>If the server is killed in a way that it has no way of
cleaning up (most notably, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">kill -KILL</samp>&rsquo; on unix).

</li><li>If the system shuts down without an orderly shutdown,
which tells the server to clean up.
</li></ul>

<p>In cases such as this, you will need to manually remove
the <samp class="file">cvs-serv<var class="var">pid</var></samp> directories.  As long as
there is no server running with process identification
number <var class="var">pid</var>, it is safe to do so.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Starting-a-new-project">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="n" rel="next">Revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Repository" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The Repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Starting-a-project-with-CVS"><span>3 Starting a project with CVS<a class="copiable-link" href="#Starting-a-project-with-CVS"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Starting-a-project-with-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Creating-a-project"></a>

<p>Because renaming files and moving them between
directories is somewhat inconvenient, the first thing
you do when you start a new project should be to think
through your file organization.  It is not impossible
to rename or move files, but it does increase the
potential for confusion and <small class="sc">CVS</small> does have some
quirks particularly in the area of renaming
directories.  See <a class="xref" href="#Moving-files">Moving and renaming files</a>.
</p>
<p>What to do next depends on the situation at hand.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Setting-up-the-files" accesskey="1">Setting up the files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Defining-the-module" accesskey="2">Defining the module</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Setting-up-the-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Defining-the-module" accesskey="n" rel="next">Defining the module</a>, Up: <a href="#Starting-a-new-project" accesskey="u" rel="up">Starting a project with CVS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Setting-up-the-files-1"><span>3.1 Setting up the files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Setting-up-the-files-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>The first step is to create the files inside the repository.  This can
be done in a couple of different ways.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#From-files" accesskey="1">Creating a directory tree from a number of files</a></li>
<li><a href="#From-other-version-control-systems" accesskey="2">Creating Files From Other Version Control Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="#From-scratch" accesskey="3">Creating a directory tree from scratch</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="From-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#From-other-version-control-systems" accesskey="n" rel="next">Creating Files From Other Version Control Systems</a>, Up: <a href="#Setting-up-the-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Setting up the files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Creating-a-directory-tree-from-a-number-of-files"><span>3.1.1 Creating a directory tree from a number of files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-a-directory-tree-from-a-number-of-files"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Importing-files"></a>

<p>When you begin using <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you will probably already have several
projects that can be
put under <small class="sc">CVS</small> control.  In these cases the easiest way is to use the
<code class="code">import</code> command.  An example is probably the easiest way to
explain how to use it.  If the files you want to install in
<small class="sc">CVS</small> reside in <samp class="file"><var class="var">wdir</var></samp>, and you want them to appear in the
repository as <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/yoyodyne/<var class="var">rdir</var></samp>, you can do this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd <var class="var">wdir</var>
$ cvs import -m &quot;Imported sources&quot; yoyodyne/<var class="var">rdir</var> yoyo start
</pre></div>

<p>Unless you supply a log message with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo;
flag, <small class="sc">CVS</small> starts an editor and prompts for a
message.  The string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yoyo</samp>&rsquo; is a <em class="dfn">vendor tag</em>,
and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">start</samp>&rsquo; is a <em class="dfn">release tag</em>.  They may fill
no purpose in this context, but since <small class="sc">CVS</small> requires
them they must be present.  See <a class="xref" href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking third-party sources</a>, for
more information about them.
</p>
<p>You can now verify that it worked, and remove your
original source directory.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..
$ cvs checkout yoyodyne/<var class="var">rdir</var>       # <span class="r">Explanation below</span>
$ diff -r <var class="var">wdir</var> yoyodyne/<var class="var">rdir</var>
$ rm -r <var class="var">wdir</var>
</pre></div>

<p>Erasing the original sources is a good idea, to make sure that you do
not accidentally edit them in <var class="var">wdir</var>, bypassing <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
Of course, it would be wise to make sure that you have
a backup of the sources before you remove them.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">checkout</code> command can either take a module
name as argument (as it has done in all previous
examples) or a path name relative to <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>,
as it did in the example above.
</p>
<p>It is a good idea to check that the permissions
<small class="sc">CVS</small> sets on the directories inside <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>
are reasonable, and that they belong to the proper
groups.  See <a class="xref" href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a>.
</p>
<p>If some of the files you want to import are binary, you
may want to use the wrappers features to specify which
files are binary and which are not.  See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="From-other-version-control-systems">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#From-scratch" accesskey="n" rel="next">Creating a directory tree from scratch</a>, Previous: <a href="#From-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Creating a directory tree from a number of files</a>, Up: <a href="#Setting-up-the-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Setting up the files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Creating-Files-From-Other-Version-Control-Systems"><span>3.1.2 Creating Files From Other Version Control Systems<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-Files-From-Other-Version-Control-Systems"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Importing-files_002c-from-other-version-control-systems"></a>

<p>If you have a project which you are maintaining with
another version control system, such as <small class="sc">RCS</small>, you
may wish to put the files from that project into
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, and preserve the revision history of the
files.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-RCS_002c-importing-files-from"></a><span>From RCS<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RCS_002c-importing-files-from"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>If you have been using <small class="sc">RCS</small>, find the <small class="sc">RCS</small>
files&mdash;usually a file named <samp class="file">foo.c</samp> will have its
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file in <samp class="file">RCS/foo.c,v</samp> (but it could be
other places; consult the <small class="sc">RCS</small> documentation for
details).  Then create the appropriate directories in
<small class="sc">CVS</small> if they do not already exist.  Then copy the
files into the appropriate directories in the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
repository (the name in the repository must be the name
of the source file with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,v</samp>&rsquo; added; the files go
directly in the appropriate directory of the repository,
not in an <samp class="file">RCS</samp> subdirectory).  This is one of the
few times when it is a good idea to access the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
repository directly, rather than using <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands.  Then you are ready to check out a new
working directory.
</p>
<p>The <small class="sc">RCS</small> file should not be locked when you move it
into <small class="sc">CVS</small>; if it is, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will have trouble
letting you operate on it.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>From another version control system</dt>
<dd><p>Many version control systems have the ability to export
<small class="sc">RCS</small> files in the standard format.  If yours does,
export the <small class="sc">RCS</small> files and then follow the above
instructions.
</p>
<p>Failing that, probably your best bet is to write a
script that will check out the files one revision at a
time using the command line interface to the other
system, and then check the revisions into <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
The <samp class="file">sccs2rcs</samp> script mentioned below may be a
useful example to follow.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-SCCS_002c-importing-files-from"></a><span>From SCCS<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-SCCS_002c-importing-files-from"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>There is a script in the <samp class="file">contrib</samp> directory of
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source distribution called <samp class="file">sccs2rcs</samp>
which converts <small class="sc">SCCS</small> files to <small class="sc">RCS</small> files.
Note: you must run it on a machine which has both
<small class="sc">SCCS</small> and <small class="sc">RCS</small> installed, and like everything
else in contrib it is unsupported (your mileage may
vary).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-PVCS_002c-importing-files-from"></a><span>From PVCS<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-PVCS_002c-importing-files-from"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>There is a script in the <samp class="file">contrib</samp> directory of
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source distribution called <samp class="file">pvcs_to_rcs</samp>
which converts <small class="sc">PVCS</small> archives to <small class="sc">RCS</small> files.
You must run it on a machine which has both
<small class="sc">PVCS</small> and <small class="sc">RCS</small> installed, and like everything
else in contrib it is unsupported (your mileage may
vary).  See the comments in the script for details.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="From-scratch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#From-other-version-control-systems" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Creating Files From Other Version Control Systems</a>, Up: <a href="#Setting-up-the-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Setting up the files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Creating-a-directory-tree-from-scratch"><span>3.1.3 Creating a directory tree from scratch<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-a-directory-tree-from-scratch"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>For a new project, the easiest thing to do is probably
to create an empty directory structure, like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ mkdir tc
$ mkdir tc/man
$ mkdir tc/testing
</pre></div>

<p>After that, you use the <code class="code">import</code> command to create
the corresponding (empty) directory structure inside
the repository:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd tc
$ cvs import -m &quot;Created directory structure&quot; yoyodyne/<var class="var">dir</var> yoyo start
</pre></div>

<p>This will add yoyodyne/<var class="var">dir</var> as a directory under
<code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>.
</p>
<p>Use <code class="code">checkout</code> to get the new project.  Then, use <code class="code">add</code>
to add files (and new directories) as needed.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..
$ cvs co yoyodyne/<var class="var">dir</var>
</pre></div>

<p>Check that the permissions <small class="sc">CVS</small> sets on the
directories inside <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> are reasonable.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Defining-the-module">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Setting-up-the-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Setting up the files</a>, Up: <a href="#Starting-a-new-project" accesskey="u" rel="up">Starting a project with CVS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Defining-the-module-1"><span>3.2 Defining the module<a class="copiable-link" href="#Defining-the-module-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Defining-a-module"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Editing-the-modules-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Module_002c-defining"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Modules-file_002c-changing"></a>

<p>The next step is to define the module in the
<samp class="file">modules</samp> file.  This is not strictly necessary,
but modules can be convenient in grouping together
related files and directories.
</p>
<p>In simple cases these steps are sufficient to define a module.
</p>
<ol class="enumerate">
<li> Get a working copy of the modules file.

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout CVSROOT/modules
$ cd CVSROOT
</pre></div>

</li><li> Edit the file and insert a line that defines the module.  See <a class="xref" href="#Intro-administrative-files">The administrative files</a>, for an introduction.  See <a class="xref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>, for a full
description of the modules file.  You can use the
following line to define the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo;:

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">tc   yoyodyne/tc
</pre></div>

</li><li> Commit your changes to the modules file.

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -m &quot;Added the tc module.&quot; modules
</pre></div>

</li><li> Release the modules module.

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..
$ cvs release -d CVSROOT
</pre></div>
</li></ol>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Revisions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="n" rel="next">Branching and merging</a>, Previous: <a href="#Starting-a-new-project" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Starting a project with CVS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Revisions-1"><span>4 Revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Revisions-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<p>For many uses of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, one doesn&rsquo;t need to worry
too much about revision numbers; <small class="sc">CVS</small> assigns
numbers such as <code class="code">1.1</code>, <code class="code">1.2</code>, and so on, and
that is all one needs to know.  However, some people
prefer to have more knowledge and control concerning
how <small class="sc">CVS</small> assigns revision numbers.
</p>
<p>If one wants to keep track of a set of revisions
involving more than one file, such as which revisions
went into a particular release, one uses a <em class="dfn">tag</em>,
which is a symbolic revision which can be assigned to a
numeric revision in each file.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Revision-numbers" accesskey="1">Revision numbers</a></li>
<li><a href="#Versions-revisions-releases" accesskey="2">Versions, revisions and releases</a></li>
<li><a href="#Assigning-revisions" accesskey="3">Assigning revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Tags" accesskey="4">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Tagging-the-working-directory" accesskey="5">Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a></li>
<li><a href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag" accesskey="6">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a></li>
<li><a href="#Modifying-tags" accesskey="7">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a></li>
<li><a href="#Tagging-add_002fremove" accesskey="8">Tagging and adding and removing files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Sticky-tags" accesskey="9">Sticky tags</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Revision-numbers">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Versions-revisions-releases" accesskey="n" rel="next">Versions, revisions and releases</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Revision-numbers-1"><span>4.1 Revision numbers<a class="copiable-link" href="#Revision-numbers-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revision-numbers"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revision-tree"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Linear-development"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Number_002c-revision_002d"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Decimal-revision-number"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch-number"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Number_002c-branch"></a>

<p>Each version of a file has a unique <em class="dfn">revision
number</em>.  Revision numbers look like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.1</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.2</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.3.2.2</samp>&rsquo; or even &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.3.2.2.4.5</samp>&rsquo;.
A revision number always has an even number of
period-separated decimal integers.  By default revision
1.1 is the first revision of a file.  Each successive
revision is given a new number by increasing the
rightmost number by one.  The following figure displays
a few revisions, with newer revisions to the right.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">       +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
       ! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !----! 1.5 !
       +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
</pre></div>

<p>It is also possible to end up with numbers containing
more than one period, for example &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.3.2.2</samp>&rsquo;.  Such
revisions represent revisions on branches
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>); such revision numbers
are explained in detail in <a class="ref" href="#Branches-and-revisions">Branches and revisions</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Versions-revisions-releases">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Assigning-revisions" accesskey="n" rel="next">Assigning revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Revision-numbers" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Revision numbers</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Versions_002c-revisions-and-releases"><span>4.2 Versions, revisions and releases<a class="copiable-link" href="#Versions_002c-revisions-and-releases"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revisions_002c-versions-and-releases"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Versions_002c-revisions-and-releases"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Releases_002c-revisions-and-versions"></a>

<p>A file can have several versions, as described above.
Likewise, a software product can have several versions.
A software product is often given a version number such
as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">4.1.1</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Versions in the first sense are called <em class="dfn">revisions</em>
in this document, and versions in the second sense are
called <em class="dfn">releases</em>.  To avoid confusion, the word
<em class="dfn">version</em> is almost never used in this document.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Assigning-revisions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Tags" accesskey="n" rel="next">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Versions-revisions-releases" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Versions, revisions and releases</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Assigning-revisions-1"><span>4.3 Assigning revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Assigning-revisions-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>By default, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will assign numeric revisions by
leaving the first number the same and incrementing the
second number.  For example, <code class="code">1.1</code>, <code class="code">1.2</code>,
<code class="code">1.3</code>, etc.
</p>
<p>When adding a new file, the second number will always
be one and the first number will equal the highest
first number of any file in that directory.  For
example, the current directory contains files whose
highest numbered revisions are <code class="code">1.7</code>, <code class="code">3.1</code>,
and <code class="code">4.12</code>, then an added file will be given the
numeric revision <code class="code">4.1</code>.
(When using client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small>,
only files that are actually sent to the server are considered.)
</p>
<p>Normally there is no reason to care
about the revision numbers&mdash;it is easier to treat them
as internal numbers that <small class="sc">CVS</small> maintains, and tags
provide a better way to distinguish between things like
release 1 versus release 2 of your product
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>).  However, if you want to set the
numeric revisions, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">cvs
commit</code> can do that.  The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option implies the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; option, in the sense that it causes the
files to be committed even if they are not modified.
</p>
<p>For example, to bring all your files up to
revision 3.0 (including those that haven&rsquo;t changed),
you might invoke:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -r 3.0
</pre></div>

<p>Note that the number you specify with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; must be
larger than any existing revision number.  That is, if
revision 3.0 exists, you cannot &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit
-r 1.3</samp>&rsquo;.  If you want to maintain several releases in
parallel, you need to use a branch (see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Tags">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Tagging-the-working-directory" accesskey="n" rel="next">Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a>, Previous: <a href="#Assigning-revisions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Assigning revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Tags_002d_002dSymbolic-revisions"><span>4.4 Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Tags_002d_002dSymbolic-revisions"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags"></a>

<p>The revision numbers live a life of their own.  They
need not have anything at all to do with the release
numbers of your software product.  Depending
on how you use <small class="sc">CVS</small> the revision numbers might change several times
between two releases.  As an example, some of the
source files that make up <small class="sc">RCS</small> 5.6 have the following
revision numbers:
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-RCS-revision-numbers"></a>
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ci.c            5.21
co.c            5.9
ident.c         5.3
rcs.c           5.12
rcsbase.h       5.11
rcsdiff.c       5.10
rcsedit.c       5.11
rcsfcmp.c       5.9
rcsgen.c        5.10
rcslex.c        5.11
rcsmap.c        5.2
rcsutil.c       5.10
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-introduction"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-symbolic-name"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Symbolic-name-_0028tag_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Name_002c-symbolic-_0028tag_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-HEAD_002c-as-reserved-tag-name"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-BASE_002c-as-reserved-tag-name"></a>
<p>You can use the <code class="code">tag</code> command to give a symbolic name to a
certain revision of a file.  You can use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-v</samp>&rsquo; flag to the
<code class="code">status</code> command to see all tags that a file has, and
which revision numbers they represent.  Tag names must
start with an uppercase or lowercase letter and can
contain uppercase and lowercase letters, digits,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">_</samp>&rsquo;.  The two tag names <code class="code">BASE</code>
and <code class="code">HEAD</code> are reserved for use by <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  It
is expected that future names which are special to
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will be specially named, for example by
starting with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo;, rather than being named analogously to
<code class="code">BASE</code> and <code class="code">HEAD</code>, to avoid conflicts with
actual tag names.
</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll want to choose some convention for naming tags,
based on information such as the name of the program
and the version number of the release.  For example,
one might take the name of the program, immediately
followed by the version number with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo; changed to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo;, so that <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 would be tagged with the name
<code class="code">cvs1-9</code>.  If you choose a consistent convention,
then you won&rsquo;t constantly be guessing whether a tag is
<code class="code">cvs-1-9</code> or <code class="code">cvs1_9</code> or what.  You might
even want to consider enforcing your convention in the
<samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#taginfo">Taginfo</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Adding-a-tag"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-example"></a>
<p>The following example shows how you can add a tag to a
file.  The commands must be issued inside your working
directory.  That is, you should issue the
command in the directory where <samp class="file">backend.c</samp>
resides.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs tag rel-0-4 backend.c
T backend.c
$ cvs status -v backend.c
===================================================================
File: backend.c         Status: Up-to-date

    Version:            1.4     Tue Dec  1 14:39:01 1992
    RCS Version:        1.4     /u/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/backend.c,v
    Sticky Tag:         (none)
    Sticky Date:        (none)
    Sticky Options:     (none)

    Existing Tags:
        rel-0-4                     (revision: 1.4)

</pre></div>

<p>For a complete summary of the syntax of <code class="code">cvs tag</code>,
including the various options, see <a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>.
</p>
<p>There is seldom reason to tag a file in isolation.  A more common use is
to tag all the files that constitute a module with the same tag at
strategic points in the development life-cycle, such as when a release
is made.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs tag rel-1-0 .
cvs tag: Tagging .
T Makefile
T backend.c
T driver.c
T frontend.c
T parser.c
</pre></div>

<p>(When you give <small class="sc">CVS</small> a directory as argument, it generally applies the
operation to all the files in that directory, and (recursively), to any
subdirectories that it may contain.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.)
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Retrieving-an-old-revision-using-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-retrieving-old-revisions"></a>
<p>The <code class="code">checkout</code> command has a flag, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;, that lets you check out
a certain revision of a module.  This flag makes it easy to
retrieve the sources that make up release 1.0 of the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo; at
any time in the future:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -r rel-1-0 tc
</pre></div>

<p>This is useful, for instance, if someone claims that there is a bug in
that release, but you cannot find the bug in the current working copy.
</p>
<p>You can also check out a module as it was on any branch at any given date.
See <a class="xref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.  When specifying &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; to
any of these commands, you will need beware of sticky
tags; see <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>.
</p>
<p>When you tag more than one file with the same tag you
can think about the tag as &quot;a curve drawn through a
matrix of filename vs. revision number.&quot;  Say we have 5
files with the following revisions:
</p>
<div class="example">
<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">        file1   file2   file3   file4   file5

        1.1     1.1     1.1     1.1  /--1.1*      &lt;-*-  TAG
        1.2*-   1.2     1.2    -1.2*-
        1.3  \- 1.3*-   1.3   / 1.3
        1.4          \  1.4  /  1.4
                      \-1.5*-   1.5
                        1.6
</pre></div></div>

<p>At some time in the past, the <code class="code">*</code> versions were tagged.
You can think of the tag as a handle attached to the curve
drawn through the tagged revisions.  When you pull on
the handle, you get all the tagged revisions.  Another
way to look at it is that you &quot;sight&quot; through a set of
revisions that is &quot;flat&quot; along the tagged revisions,
like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">        file1   file2   file3   file4   file5

                        1.1
                        1.2
                1.1     1.3                       _
        1.1     1.2     1.4     1.1              /
        1.2*----1.3*----1.5*----1.2*----1.1*    (--- &lt;--- Look here
        1.3             1.6     1.3              \_
        1.4                     1.4
                                1.5
</pre></div></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Tagging-the-working-directory">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag" accesskey="n" rel="next">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>, Previous: <a href="#Tags" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Specifying-what-to-tag-from-the-working-directory"><span>4.5 Specifying what to tag from the working directory<a class="copiable-link" href="#Specifying-what-to-tag-from-the-working-directory"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<p>The example in the previous section demonstrates one of
the most common ways to choose which revisions to tag.
Namely, running the <code class="code">cvs tag</code> command without
arguments causes <small class="sc">CVS</small> to select the revisions which
are checked out in the current working directory.  For
example, if the copy of <samp class="file">backend.c</samp> in working
directory was checked out from revision 1.4, then
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will tag revision 1.4.  Note that the tag is
applied immediately to revision 1.4 in the repository;
tagging is not like modifying a file, or other
operations in which one first modifies the working
directory and then runs <code class="code">cvs commit</code> to transfer
that modification to the repository.
</p>
<p>One potentially surprising aspect of the fact that
<code class="code">cvs tag</code> operates on the repository is that you
are tagging the checked-in revisions, which may differ
from locally modified files in your working directory.
If you want to avoid doing this by mistake, specify the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-c</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">cvs tag</code>.  If there are any
locally modified files, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will abort with an
error before it tags any files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs tag -c rel-0-4
cvs tag: backend.c is locally modified
cvs [tag aborted]: correct the above errors first!
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Tagging-by-date_002ftag">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Modifying-tags" accesskey="n" rel="next">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>, Previous: <a href="#Tagging-the-working-directory" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Specifying-what-to-tag-by-date-or-revision"><span>4.6 Specifying what to tag by date or revision<a class="copiable-link" href="#Specifying-what-to-tag-by-date-or-revision"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rtag-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<p>The <code class="code">cvs rtag</code> command tags the repository as of a
certain date or time (or can be used to tag the latest
revision).  <code class="code">rtag</code> works directly on the
repository contents (it requires no prior checkout and
does not look for a working directory).
</p>
<p>The following options specify which date or revision to
tag.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete
description of them.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only useful with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;
flags.  If no matching revision is found, use the most
recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag the revision already tagged with <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>The <code class="code">cvs tag</code> command also allows one to specify
files by revision or date, using the same &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; options.  However, this
feature is probably not what you want.  The reason is
that <code class="code">cvs tag</code> chooses which files to tag based on
the files that exist in the working directory, rather
than the files which existed as of the given tag/date.
Therefore, you are generally better off using <code class="code">cvs
rtag</code>.  The exceptions might be cases like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs tag -r 1.4 stable backend.c
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Modifying-tags">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Tagging-add_002fremove" accesskey="n" rel="next">Tagging and adding and removing files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Deleting_002c-moving_002c-and-renaming-tags"><span>4.7 Deleting, moving, and renaming tags<a class="copiable-link" href="#Deleting_002c-moving_002c-and-renaming-tags"> &para;</a></span></h3>


<p>Normally one does not modify tags.  They exist in order
to record the history of the repository and so deleting
them or changing their meaning would, generally, not be
what you want.
</p>
<p>However, there might be cases in which one uses a tag
temporarily or accidentally puts one in the wrong
place.  Therefore, one might delete, move, or rename a
tag.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: the commands in this section are
dangerous; they permanently discard historical
information and it can be difficult or impossible to
recover from errors.  If you are a <small class="sc">CVS</small>
administrator, you may consider restricting these
commands with the <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#taginfo">Taginfo</a>).</em>
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Deleting-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Deleting-branch-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-branch-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-deleting"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch-tags_002c-deleting"></a>
<p>To delete a tag, specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; option to either
<code class="code">cvs tag</code> or <code class="code">cvs rtag</code>.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs rtag -d rel-0-4 tc
</pre></div>

<p>deletes the non-branch tag <code class="code">rel-0-4</code> from the module <code class="code">tc</code>.
In the event that branch tags are encountered within the repository
with the given name, a warning message will be issued and the branch 
tag will not be deleted.  If you are absolutely certain you know what
you are doing, the <code class="code">-B</code> option may be specified to allow deletion
of branch tags.  In that case, any non-branch tags encountered will
trigger warnings and will not be deleted.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: Moving branch tags is very dangerous!  If you think
you need the <code class="code">-B</code> option, think again and ask your <small class="sc">CVS</small>
administrator about it (if that isn&rsquo;t you).  There is almost certainly
another way to accomplish what you want to accomplish.</em>
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Moving-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Moving-branch-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-moving"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch-tags_002c-moving"></a>
<p>When we say <em class="dfn">move</em> a tag, we mean to make the same
name point to different revisions.  For example, the
<code class="code">stable</code> tag may currently point to revision 1.4
of <samp class="file">backend.c</samp> and perhaps we want to make it
point to revision 1.6.  To move a non-branch tag, specify the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-F</samp>&rsquo; option to either <code class="code">cvs tag</code> or <code class="code">cvs
rtag</code>.  For example, the task just mentioned might be
accomplished as:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs tag -r 1.6 -F stable backend.c
</pre></div>

<p>If any branch tags are encountered in the repository 
with the given name, a warning is issued and the branch
tag is not disturbed.  If you are absolutely certain you
wish to move the branch tag, the <code class="code">-B</code> option may be specified.
In that case, non-branch tags encountered with the given
name are ignored with a warning message.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: Moving branch tags is very dangerous!  If you think you
need the <code class="code">-B</code> option, think again and ask your <small class="sc">CVS</small>
administrator about it (if that isn&rsquo;t you).  There is almost certainly
another way to accomplish what you want to accomplish.</em>
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Renaming-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-renaming"></a>
<p>When we say <em class="dfn">rename</em> a tag, we mean to make a
different name point to the same revisions as the old
tag.  For example, one may have misspelled the tag name
and want to correct it (hopefully before others are
relying on the old spelling).  To rename a tag, first
create a new tag using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option to
<code class="code">cvs rtag</code>, and then delete the old name.  (Caution:
this method will not work with branch tags.) 
This leaves the new tag on exactly the 
same files as the old tag.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs rtag -r old-name-0-4 rel-0-4 tc
cvs rtag -d old-name-0-4 tc
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Tagging-add_002fremove">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Sticky-tags" accesskey="n" rel="next">Sticky tags</a>, Previous: <a href="#Modifying-tags" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Tagging-and-adding-and-removing-files"><span>4.8 Tagging and adding and removing files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Tagging-and-adding-and-removing-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>The subject of exactly how tagging interacts with
adding and removing files is somewhat obscure; for the
most part <small class="sc">CVS</small> will keep track of whether files
exist or not without too much fussing.  By default,
tags are applied to only files which have a revision
corresponding to what is being tagged.  Files which did
not exist yet, or which were already removed, simply
omit the tag, and <small class="sc">CVS</small> knows to treat the absence
of a tag as meaning that the file didn&rsquo;t exist as of
that tag.
</p>
<p>However, this can lose a small amount of information.
For example, suppose a file was added and then removed.
Then, if the tag is missing for that file, there is no
way to know whether the tag refers to the time before
the file was added, or the time after it was removed.
If you specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">cvs rtag</code>,
then <small class="sc">CVS</small> tags the files which have been removed,
and thereby avoids this problem.  For example, one
might specify <code class="code">-r HEAD</code> to tag the head.
</p>
<p>On the subject of adding and removing files, the
<code class="code">cvs rtag</code> command has a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-a</samp>&rsquo; option which
means to clear the tag from removed files that would
not otherwise be tagged.  For example, one might
specify this option in conjunction with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-F</samp>&rsquo; when
moving a tag.  If one moved a tag without &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-a</samp>&rsquo;,
then the tag in the removed files might still refer to
the old revision, rather than reflecting the fact that
the file had been removed.  I don&rsquo;t think this is
necessary if &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; is specified, as noted above.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Sticky-tags">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Tagging-add_002fremove" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Tagging and adding and removing files</a>, Up: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Sticky-tags-1"><span>4.9 Sticky tags<a class="copiable-link" href="#Sticky-tags-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Sticky-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-sticky"></a>


<p>Sometimes a working copy&rsquo;s revision has extra data
associated with it, for example it might be on a branch
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>), or restricted to
versions prior to a certain date by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">checkout -D</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">update -D</samp>&rsquo;.  Because this data persists &ndash;
that is, it applies to subsequent commands in the
working copy &ndash; we refer to it as <em class="dfn">sticky</em>.
</p>
<p>Most of the time, stickiness is an obscure aspect of
<small class="sc">CVS</small> that you don&rsquo;t need to think about.  However,
even if you don&rsquo;t want to use the feature, you may need
to know <em class="emph">something</em> about sticky tags (for
example, how to avoid them!).
</p>
<p>You can use the <code class="code">status</code> command to see if any
sticky tags or dates are set:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs status driver.c
===================================================================
File: driver.c          Status: Up-to-date

    Version:            1.7.2.1 Sat Dec  5 19:35:03 1992
    RCS Version:        1.7.2.1 /u/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/driver.c,v
    Sticky Tag:         rel-1-0-patches (branch: 1.7.2)
    Sticky Date:        (none)
    Sticky Options:     (none)

</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Resetting-sticky-tags"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Sticky-tags_002c-resetting"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Deleting-sticky-tags"></a>
<p>The sticky tags will remain on your working files until
you delete them with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update -A</samp>&rsquo;.  The
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-A</samp>&rsquo; option merges local changes into the version of the
file from the head of the trunk, removing any sticky tags,
dates, or options.  See <a class="ref" href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a> for more on the operation
of <code class="code">cvs update</code>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Sticky-date"></a>
<p>The most common use of sticky tags is to identify which
branch one is working on, as described in
<a class="ref" href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a>.  However, non-branch
sticky tags have uses as well.  For example,
suppose that you want to avoid updating your working
directory, to isolate yourself from possibly
destabilizing changes other people are making.  You
can, of course, just refrain from running <code class="code">cvs
update</code>.  But if you want to avoid updating only a
portion of a larger tree, then sticky tags can help.
If you check out a certain revision (such as 1.4) it
will become sticky.  Subsequent <code class="code">cvs update</code>
commands will
not retrieve the latest revision until you reset the
tag with <code class="code">cvs update -A</code>.  Likewise, use of the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">update</code> or <code class="code">checkout</code>
sets a <em class="dfn">sticky date</em>, which, similarly, causes that
date to be used for future retrievals.
</p>
<p>People often want to retrieve an old version of
a file without setting a sticky tag.  This can
be done with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-p</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">checkout</code> or
<code class="code">update</code>, which sends the contents of the file to
standard output.  For example:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update -p -r 1.1 file1 &gt;file1
===================================================================
Checking out file1
RCS:  /tmp/cvs-sanity/cvsroot/first-dir/Attic/file1,v
VERS: 1.1
***************
$
</pre></div>

<p>However, this isn&rsquo;t the easiest way, if you are asking
how to undo a previous checkin (in this example, put
<samp class="file">file1</samp> back to the way it was as of revision
1.1).  In that case you are better off using the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">update</code>; for further
discussion see <a class="ref" href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging differences between any two revisions</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Branching-and-merging">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Recursive-behavior" accesskey="n" rel="next">Recursive behavior</a>, Previous: <a href="#Revisions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Branching-and-merging-1"><span>5 Branching and merging<a class="copiable-link" href="#Branching-and-merging-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branching"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merging"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Copying-changes"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Main-trunk-and-branches"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revision-tree_002c-making-branches"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branches_002c-copying-changes-between"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Changes_002c-copying-between-branches"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Modifications_002c-copying-between-branches"></a>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> allows you to isolate changes onto a separate
line of development, known as a <em class="dfn">branch</em>.  When you
change files on a branch, those changes do not appear
on the main trunk or other branches.
</p>
<p>Later you can move changes from one branch to another
branch (or the main trunk) by <em class="dfn">merging</em>.  Merging
involves first running <code class="code">cvs update -j</code>, to merge
the changes into the working directory.
You can then commit that revision, and thus effectively
copy the changes onto another branch.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Branches-motivation" accesskey="1">What branches are good for</a></li>
<li><a href="#Creating-a-branch" accesskey="2">Creating a branch</a></li>
<li><a href="#Accessing-branches" accesskey="3">Accessing branches</a></li>
<li><a href="#Branches-and-revisions" accesskey="4">Branches and revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Magic-branch-numbers" accesskey="5">Magic branch numbers</a></li>
<li><a href="#Merging-a-branch" accesskey="6">Merging an entire branch</a></li>
<li><a href="#Merging-more-than-once" accesskey="7">Merging from a branch several times</a></li>
<li><a href="#Merging-two-revisions" accesskey="8">Merging differences between any two revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Merging-adds-and-removals" accesskey="9">Merging can add or remove files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Branches-motivation">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Creating-a-branch" accesskey="n" rel="next">Creating a branch</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="What-branches-are-good-for"><span>5.1 What branches are good for<a class="copiable-link" href="#What-branches-are-good-for"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branches-motivation"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-What-branches-are-good-for"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Motivation-for-branches"></a>

<p>Suppose that release 1.0 of tc has been made.  You are continuing to
develop tc, planning to create release 1.1 in a couple of months.  After a
while your customers start to complain about a fatal bug.  You check
out release 1.0 (see <a class="pxref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>) and find the bug
(which turns out to have a trivial fix).  However, the current revision
of the sources are in a state of flux and are not expected to be stable
for at least another month.  There is no way to make a
bug fix release based on the newest sources.
</p>
<p>The thing to do in a situation like this is to create a <em class="dfn">branch</em> on
the revision trees for all the files that make up
release 1.0 of tc.  You can then make
modifications to the branch without disturbing the main trunk.  When the
modifications are finished you can elect to either incorporate them on
the main trunk, or leave them on the branch.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Creating-a-branch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Accessing-branches" accesskey="n" rel="next">Accessing branches</a>, Previous: <a href="#Branches-motivation" accesskey="p" rel="prev">What branches are good for</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Creating-a-branch-1"><span>5.2 Creating a branch<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-a-branch-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Creating-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-creating-a"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-creating-a-branch-using"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rtag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-creating-a-branch-using"></a>

<p>You can create a branch with <code class="code">tag -b</code>; for
example, assuming you&rsquo;re in a working copy:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs tag -b rel-1-0-patches
</pre></div>


<p>This splits off a branch based on the current revisions
in the working copy, assigning that branch the name
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0-patches</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>It is important to understand that branches get created
in the repository, not in the working copy.  Creating a
branch based on current revisions, as the above example
does, will <em class="emph">not</em> automatically switch the working
copy to be on the new branch.  For information on how
to do that, see <a class="ref" href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a>.
</p>
<p>You can also create a branch without reference to any
working copy, by using <code class="code">rtag</code>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs rtag -b -r rel-1-0 rel-1-0-patches tc
</pre></div>

<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r rel-1-0</samp>&rsquo; says that this branch should be
rooted at the revision that
corresponds to the tag &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0</samp>&rsquo;.  It need not
be the most recent revision &ndash; it&rsquo;s often useful to
split a branch off an old revision (for example, when
fixing a bug in a past release otherwise known to be
stable).
</p>
<p>As with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tag</samp>&rsquo;, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; flag tells
<code class="code">rtag</code> to create a branch (rather than just a
symbolic revision name).  Note that the numeric
revision number that matches &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0</samp>&rsquo; will
probably be different from file to file.
</p>
<p>So, the full effect of the command is to create a new
branch &ndash; named &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0-patches</samp>&rsquo; &ndash; in module
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo;, rooted in the revision tree at the point tagged
by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Accessing-branches">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Branches-and-revisions" accesskey="n" rel="next">Branches and revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Creating-a-branch" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Creating a branch</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Accessing-branches-1"><span>5.3 Accessing branches<a class="copiable-link" href="#Accessing-branches-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Check-out-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Retrieve-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Access-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Identifying-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-check-out"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-retrieving"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-accessing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-identifying"></a>

<p>You can retrieve a branch in one of two ways: by
checking it out fresh from the repository, or by
switching an existing working copy over to the branch.
</p>
<p>To check out a branch from the repository, invoke
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">checkout</samp>&rsquo; with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; flag, followed by
the tag name of the branch (see <a class="pxref" href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a>):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -r rel-1-0-patches tc
</pre></div>

<p>Or, if you already have a working copy, you can switch
it to a given branch with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">update -r</samp>&rsquo;:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update -r rel-1-0-patches tc
</pre></div>

<p>or equivalently:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd tc
$ cvs update -r rel-1-0-patches
</pre></div>

<p>It does not matter if the working copy was originally
on the main trunk or on some other branch &ndash; the above
command will switch it to the named branch.  And
similarly to a regular &lsquo;<samp class="samp">update</samp>&rsquo; command,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">update -r</samp>&rsquo; merges any changes you have made,
notifying you of conflicts where they occur.
</p>
<p>Once you have a working copy tied to a particular
branch, it remains there until you tell it otherwise.
This means that changes checked in from the working
copy will add new revisions on that branch, while
leaving the main trunk and other branches unaffected.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branches_002c-sticky"></a>
<p>To find out what branch a working copy is on, you can
use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">status</samp>&rsquo; command.  In its output, look for
the field named &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Sticky tag</samp>&rsquo; (see <a class="pxref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>)
&ndash; that&rsquo;s <small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s way of telling you the branch, if
any, of the current working files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs status -v driver.c backend.c
===================================================================
File: driver.c          Status: Up-to-date

    Version:            1.7     Sat Dec  5 18:25:54 1992
    RCS Version:        1.7     /u/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/driver.c,v
    Sticky Tag:         rel-1-0-patches (branch: 1.7.2)
    Sticky Date:        (none)
    Sticky Options:     (none)

    Existing Tags:
        rel-1-0-patches             (branch: 1.7.2)
        rel-1-0                     (revision: 1.7)

===================================================================
File: backend.c         Status: Up-to-date

    Version:            1.4     Tue Dec  1 14:39:01 1992
    RCS Version:        1.4     /u/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/backend.c,v
    Sticky Tag:         rel-1-0-patches (branch: 1.4.2)
    Sticky Date:        (none)
    Sticky Options:     (none)

    Existing Tags:
        rel-1-0-patches             (branch: 1.4.2)
        rel-1-0                     (revision: 1.4)
        rel-0-4                     (revision: 1.4)

</pre></div>

<p>Don&rsquo;t be confused by the fact that the branch numbers
for each file are different (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.7.2</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">1.4.2</samp>&rsquo; respectively).  The branch tag is the
same, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">rel-1-0-patches</samp>&rsquo;, and the files are
indeed on the same branch.  The numbers simply reflect
the point in each file&rsquo;s revision history at which the
branch was made.  In the above example, one can deduce
that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">driver.c</samp>&rsquo; had been through more changes than
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">backend.c</samp>&rsquo; before this branch was created.
</p>
<p>See <a class="ref" href="#Branches-and-revisions">Branches and revisions</a> for details about how
branch numbers are constructed.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Branches-and-revisions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Magic-branch-numbers" accesskey="n" rel="next">Magic branch numbers</a>, Previous: <a href="#Accessing-branches" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Accessing branches</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Branches-and-revisions-1"><span>5.4 Branches and revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Branches-and-revisions-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch-number-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Number_002c-branch-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revision-numbers-_0028branches_0029"></a>

<p>Ordinarily, a file&rsquo;s revision history is a linear
series of increments (see <a class="pxref" href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a>):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">       +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
       ! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !----! 1.5 !
       +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
</pre></div>

<p>However, <small class="sc">CVS</small> is not limited to linear development.  The
<em class="dfn">revision tree</em> can be split into <em class="dfn">branches</em>,
where each branch is a self-maintained line of
development.  Changes made on one branch can easily be
moved back to the main trunk.
</p>
<p>Each branch has a <em class="dfn">branch number</em>, consisting of an
odd number of period-separated decimal integers.  The
branch number is created by appending an integer to the
revision number where the corresponding branch forked
off.  Having branch numbers allows more than one branch
to be forked off from a certain revision.
</p>
<p>All revisions on a branch have revision numbers formed
by appending an ordinal number to the branch number.
The following figure illustrates branching with an
example.
</p>
<div class="example">
<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">                                                      +-------------+
                           Branch 1.2.2.3.2 -&gt;        ! 1.2.2.3.2.1 !
                                                    / +-------------+
                                                   /
                                                  /
                 +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
Branch 1.2.2 -&gt; _! 1.2.2.1 !----! 1.2.2.2 !----! 1.2.2.3 !
               / +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
              /
             /
+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !----! 1.5 !  &lt;- The main trunk
+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
                !
                !
                !   +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
Branch 1.2.4 -&gt; +---! 1.2.4.1 !----! 1.2.4.2 !----! 1.2.4.3 !
                    +---------+    +---------+    +---------+

</pre></div></div>



<p>The exact details of how the branch number is
constructed is not something you normally need to be
concerned about, but here is how it works: When
<small class="sc">CVS</small> creates a branch number it picks the first
unused even integer, starting with 2.  So when you want
to create a branch from revision 6.4 it will be
numbered 6.4.2.  All branch numbers ending in a zero
(such as 6.4.0) are used internally by <small class="sc">CVS</small>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Magic-branch-numbers">Magic branch numbers</a>).  The branch 1.1.1 has a
special meaning.  See <a class="xref" href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking third-party sources</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Magic-branch-numbers">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Merging-a-branch" accesskey="n" rel="next">Merging an entire branch</a>, Previous: <a href="#Branches-and-revisions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Branches and revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Magic-branch-numbers-1"><span>5.5 Magic branch numbers<a class="copiable-link" href="#Magic-branch-numbers-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>


<p>This section describes a <small class="sc">CVS</small> feature called
<em class="dfn">magic branches</em>.  For most purposes, you need not
worry about magic branches; <small class="sc">CVS</small> handles them for
you.  However, they are visible to you in certain
circumstances, so it may be useful to have some idea of
how it works.
</p>
<p>Externally, branch numbers consist of an odd number of
dot-separated decimal integers.  See <a class="xref" href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a>.  That is not the whole truth, however.  For
efficiency reasons <small class="sc">CVS</small> sometimes inserts an extra 0
in the second rightmost position (1.2.4 becomes
1.2.0.4, 8.9.10.11.12 becomes 8.9.10.11.0.12 and so
on).
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> does a pretty good job at hiding these so
called magic branches, but in a few places the hiding
is incomplete:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>The magic branch number appears in the output from
<code class="code">cvs log</code>.

</li><li>You cannot specify a symbolic branch name to <code class="code">cvs
admin</code>.

</li></ul>

<p>You can use the <code class="code">admin</code> command to reassign a
symbolic name to a branch the way <small class="sc">RCS</small> expects it
to be.  If <code class="code">R4patches</code> is assigned to the branch
1.4.2 (magic branch number 1.4.0.2) in file
<samp class="file">numbers.c</samp> you can do this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs admin -NR4patches:1.4.2 numbers.c
</pre></div>

<p>It only works if at least one revision is already
committed on the branch.  Be very careful so that you
do not assign the tag to the wrong number.  (There is
no way to see how the tag was assigned yesterday).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Merging-a-branch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Merging-more-than-once" accesskey="n" rel="next">Merging from a branch several times</a>, Previous: <a href="#Magic-branch-numbers" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Magic branch numbers</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Merging-an-entire-branch"><span>5.6 Merging an entire branch<a class="copiable-link" href="#Merging-an-entire-branch"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merging-a-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dj-_0028merging-branches_0029"></a>

<p>You can merge changes made on a branch into your working copy by giving
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">branchname</var></samp>&rsquo; flag to the <code class="code">update</code> subcommand.  With one
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">branchname</var></samp>&rsquo; option it merges the changes made between the
greatest common ancestor (GCA) of the branch and the destination revision (in
the simple case below the GCA is the point where the branch forked) and the
newest revision on that branch into your working copy.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Join"></a>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; stands for &ldquo;join&rdquo;.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch-merge-example"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Example_002c-branch-merge"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merge_002c-branch-example"></a>
<p>Consider this revision tree:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !      &lt;- The main trunk
+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
                !
                !
                !   +---------+    +---------+
Branch R1fix -&gt; +---! 1.2.2.1 !----! 1.2.2.2 !
                    +---------+    +---------+
</pre></div>

<p>The branch 1.2.2 has been given the tag (symbolic name) &lsquo;<samp class="samp">R1fix</samp>&rsquo;.  The
following example assumes that the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">mod</samp>&rsquo; contains only one
file, <samp class="file">m.c</samp>.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout mod               # <span class="r">Retrieve the latest revision, 1.4</span>

$ cvs update -j R1fix m.c        # <span class="r">Merge all changes made on the branch,</span>
                                 # <span class="r">i.e. the changes between revision 1.2</span>
                                 # <span class="r">and 1.2.2.2, into your working copy</span>
                                 # <span class="r">of the file.</span>

$ cvs commit -m &quot;Included R1fix&quot; # <span class="r">Create revision 1.5.</span>
</pre></div>

<p>A conflict can result from a merge operation.  If that
happens, you should resolve it before committing the
new revision.  See <a class="xref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>.
</p>
<p>If your source files contain keywords (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>),
you might be getting more conflicts than strictly necessary.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a>, for information on how to avoid this.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">checkout</code> command also supports the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">branchname</var></samp>&rsquo; flag.  The
same effect as above could be achieved with this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -j R1fix mod
$ cvs commit -m &quot;Included R1fix&quot;
</pre></div>

<p>It should be noted that <code class="code">update -j <var class="var">tagname</var></code> will also work but may
not produce the desired result.  See <a class="xref" href="#Merging-adds-and-removals">Merging can add or remove files</a>, for more.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Merging-more-than-once">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Merging-two-revisions" accesskey="n" rel="next">Merging differences between any two revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Merging-a-branch" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Merging an entire branch</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Merging-from-a-branch-several-times"><span>5.7 Merging from a branch several times<a class="copiable-link" href="#Merging-from-a-branch-several-times"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Continuing our example, the revision tree now looks
like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !----! 1.5 !   &lt;- The main trunk
+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
                !                           *
                !                          *
                !   +---------+    +---------+
Branch R1fix -&gt; +---! 1.2.2.1 !----! 1.2.2.2 !
                    +---------+    +---------+
</pre></div>

<p>where the starred line represents the merge from the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">R1fix</samp>&rsquo; branch to the main trunk, as just
discussed.
</p>
<p>Now suppose that development continues on the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">R1fix</samp>&rsquo; branch:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !----! 1.3 !----! 1.4 !----! 1.5 !   &lt;- The main trunk
+-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+    +-----+
                !                           *
                !                          *
                !   +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
Branch R1fix -&gt; +---! 1.2.2.1 !----! 1.2.2.2 !----! 1.2.2.3 !
                    +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
</pre></div>

<p>and then you want to merge those new changes onto the
main trunk.  If you just use the <code class="code">cvs update -j
R1fix m.c</code> command again, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will attempt to
merge again the changes which you have already merged,
which can have undesirable side effects.
</p>
<p>So instead you need to specify that you only want to
merge the changes on the branch which have not yet been
merged into the trunk.  To do that you specify two
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; options, and <small class="sc">CVS</small> merges the changes from
the first revision to the second revision.  For
example, in this case the simplest way would be
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update -j 1.2.2.2 -j R1fix m.c    # <span class="r">Merge changes from 1.2.2.2 to the</span>
                                      # <span class="r">head of the R1fix branch</span>
</pre></div>

<p>The problem with this is that you need to specify the
1.2.2.2 revision manually.  A slightly better approach
might be to use the date the last merge was done:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update -j R1fix:yesterday -j R1fix m.c
</pre></div>

<p>Better yet, tag the R1fix branch after every merge into
the trunk, and then use that tag for subsequent merges:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update -j merged_from_R1fix_to_trunk -j R1fix m.c
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Merging-two-revisions">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Merging-adds-and-removals" accesskey="n" rel="next">Merging can add or remove files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Merging-more-than-once" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Merging from a branch several times</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Merging-differences-between-any-two-revisions"><span>5.8 Merging differences between any two revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Merging-differences-between-any-two-revisions"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merging-two-revisions"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revisions_002c-merging-differences-between"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Differences_002c-merging"></a>

<p>With two &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">revision</var></samp>&rsquo; flags, the <code class="code">update</code>
(and <code class="code">checkout</code>) command can merge the differences
between any two revisions into your working file.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Undoing-a-change"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-a-change"></a>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update -j 1.5 -j 1.3 backend.c
</pre></div>

<p>will undo all changes made between revision
1.3 and 1.5.  Note the order of the revisions!
</p>
<p>If you try to use this option when operating on
multiple files, remember that the numeric revisions will
probably be very different between the various files.
You almost always use symbolic
tags rather than revision numbers when operating on
multiple files.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Restoring-old-version-of-removed-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Resurrecting-old-version-of-dead-file"></a>
<p>Specifying two &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; options can also undo file
removals or additions.  For example, suppose you have
a file
named <samp class="file">file1</samp> which existed as revision 1.1, and
you then removed it (thus adding a dead revision 1.2).
Now suppose you want to add it again, with the same
contents it had previously.  Here is how to do it:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update -j 1.2 -j 1.1 file1
U file1
$ cvs commit -m test
Checking in file1;
/tmp/cvs-sanity/cvsroot/first-dir/file1,v  &lt;--  file1
new revision: 1.3; previous revision: 1.2
done
$
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Merging-adds-and-removals">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Merging-and-keywords" accesskey="n" rel="next">Merging and keywords</a>, Previous: <a href="#Merging-two-revisions" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Merging differences between any two revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Merging-can-add-or-remove-files"><span>5.9 Merging can add or remove files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Merging-can-add-or-remove-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>If the changes which you are merging involve removing
or adding some files, <code class="code">update -j</code> will reflect
such additions or removals.
</p>
<p>For example:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update -A
touch a b c
cvs add a b c ; cvs ci -m &quot;added&quot; a b c
cvs tag -b branchtag
cvs update -r branchtag
touch d ; cvs add d
rm a ; cvs rm a
cvs ci -m &quot;added d, removed a&quot;
cvs update -A
cvs update -jbranchtag
</pre></div>

<p>After these commands are executed and a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit</samp>&rsquo; is done,
file <samp class="file">a</samp> will be removed and file <samp class="file">d</samp> added in the main branch.
</p>
<p>Note that using a single static tag (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">tagname</var></samp>&rsquo;)
rather than a dynamic tag (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">branchname</var></samp>&rsquo;) to merge
changes from a branch will usually not remove files which were removed on the
branch since <small class="sc">CVS</small> does not automatically add static tags to dead revisions.
The exception to this rule occurs when
a static tag has been attached to a dead revision manually.  Use the branch tag
to merge all changes from the branch or use two static tags as merge endpoints
to be sure that all intended changes are propagated in the merge.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Merging-and-keywords">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Merging-adds-and-removals" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Merging can add or remove files</a>, Up: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="u" rel="up">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Merging-and-keywords-1"><span>5.10 Merging and keywords<a class="copiable-link" href="#Merging-and-keywords-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merging_002c-and-keyword-substitution"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keyword-substitution_002c-and-merging"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dj-_0028merging-branches_0029_002c-and-keyword-substitution"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dkk_002c-to-avoid-conflicts-during-a-merge"></a>

<p>If you merge files containing keywords (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>), you will normally get numerous
conflicts during the merge, because the keywords are
expanded differently in the revisions which you are
merging.
</p>
<p>Therefore, you will often want to specify the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo; (see <a class="pxref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>) switch to the
merge command line.  By substituting just the name of
the keyword, not the expanded value of that keyword,
this option ensures that the revisions which you are
merging will be the same as each other, and avoid
spurious conflicts.
</p>
<p>For example, suppose you have a file like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">       +---------+
      _! 1.1.2.1 !   &lt;-  br1
     / +---------+
    /
   /
+-----+    +-----+
! 1.1 !----! 1.2 !
+-----+    +-----+
</pre></div>

<p>and your working directory is currently on the trunk
(revision 1.2).  Then you might get the following
results from a merge:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cat file1
key $<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.2 $
. . .
$ cvs update -j br1
U file1
RCS file: /cvsroot/first-dir/file1,v
retrieving revision 1.1
retrieving revision 1.1.2.1
Merging differences between 1.1 and 1.1.2.1 into file1
rcsmerge: warning: conflicts during merge
$ cat file1
&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; file1
key $<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.2 $
=======
key $<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.1.2.1 $
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 1.1.2.1
. . .
</pre></div>

<p>What happened was that the merge tried to merge the
differences between 1.1 and 1.1.2.1 into your working
directory.  So, since the keyword changed from
<code class="code">Revision: 1.1</code> to <code class="code">Revision: 1.1.2.1</code>,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> tried to merge that change into your working
directory, which conflicted with the fact that your
working directory had contained <code class="code">Revision: 1.2</code>.
</p>
<p>Here is what happens if you had used &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo;:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cat file1
key $<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.2 $
. . .
$ cvs update -kk -j br1
U file1
RCS file: /cvsroot/first-dir/file1,v
retrieving revision 1.1
retrieving revision 1.1.2.1
Merging differences between 1.1 and 1.1.2.1 into file1
$ cat file1
key $<i class="i"></i>Revision$
. . .
</pre></div>

<p>What is going on here is that revision 1.1 and 1.1.2.1
both expand as plain <code class="code">Revision</code>, and therefore
merging the changes between them into the working
directory need not change anything.  Therefore, there
is no conflict.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: In versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> prior to 1.12.2, there was a
major problem with using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo; on merges.  Namely, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo;
overrode any default keyword expansion mode set in the archive file in
the repository.  This could, unfortunately for some users, cause data
corruption in binary files (with a default keyword expansion mode set
to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo;).  Therefore, when a repository contained binary files,
conflicts had to be dealt with manually rather than using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo; in
a merge command.</em>
</p>
<p>In <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.2 and later, the keyword expansion mode
provided on the command line to any <small class="sc">CVS</small> command no longer
overrides the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; keyword expansion mode setting for binary
files, though it will still override other default keyword expansion
modes.  You can now safely merge using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo; to avoid spurious conflicts
on lines containing RCS keywords, even when your repository contains
binary files.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Recursive-behavior">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="n" rel="next">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Branching-and-merging" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Branching and merging</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Recursive-behavior-1"><span>6 Recursive behavior<a class="copiable-link" href="#Recursive-behavior-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Recursive-_0028directory-descending_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Directory_002c-descending"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Descending-directories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Subdirectories"></a>

<p>Almost all of the subcommands of <small class="sc">CVS</small> work
recursively when you specify a directory as an
argument.  For instance, consider this directory
structure:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">      <code class="code">$HOME</code>
        |
        +--<code class="t">tc</code>
        |   |
            +--<code class="t">CVS</code>
            |      (internal <span class="sc">CVS</span> files)
            +--<code class="t">Makefile</code>
            +--<code class="t">backend.c</code>
            +--<code class="t">driver.c</code>
            +--<code class="t">frontend.c</code>
            +--<code class="t">parser.c</code>
            +--<code class="t">man</code>
            |    |
            |    +--<code class="t">CVS</code>
            |    |  (internal <span class="sc">CVS</span> files)
            |    +--<code class="t">tc.1</code>
            |
            +--<code class="t">testing</code>
                 |
                 +--<code class="t">CVS</code>
                 |  (internal <span class="sc">CVS</span> files)
                 +--<code class="t">testpgm.t</code>
                 +--<code class="t">test2.t</code>
</pre></div>

<p>If <samp class="file">tc</samp> is the current working directory, the
following is true:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update testing</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update testing/testpgm.t testing/test2.t
</pre></div>

</li><li>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update testing man</samp>&rsquo; updates all files in the
subdirectories

</li><li>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update .</samp>&rsquo; or just &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update</samp>&rsquo; updates
all files in the <code class="code">tc</code> directory
</li></ul>

<p>If no arguments are given to <code class="code">update</code> it will
update all files in the current working directory and
all its subdirectories.  In other words, <samp class="file">.</samp> is a
default argument to <code class="code">update</code>.  This is also true
for most of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> subcommands, not only the
<code class="code">update</code> command.
</p>
<p>The recursive behavior of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> subcommands can be
turned off with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; option.
Conversely, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-R</samp>&rsquo; option can be used to force recursion if
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; is specified in <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a>).
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update -l         # <span class="r">Don&rsquo;t update files in subdirectories</span>
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Adding-and-removing">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#History-browsing" accesskey="n" rel="next">History browsing</a>, Previous: <a href="#Recursive-behavior" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Recursive behavior</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Adding_002c-removing_002c-and-renaming-files-and-directories"><span>7 Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Adding_002c-removing_002c-and-renaming-files-and-directories"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<p>In the course of a project, one will often add new
files.  Likewise with removing or renaming, or with
directories.  The general concept to keep in mind in
all these cases is that instead of making an
irreversible change you want <small class="sc">CVS</small> to record the
fact that a change has taken place, just as with
modifying an existing file.  The exact mechanisms to do
this in <small class="sc">CVS</small> vary depending on the situation.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Adding-files" accesskey="1">Adding files to a directory</a></li>
<li><a href="#Removing-files" accesskey="2">Removing files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Removing-directories" accesskey="3">Removing directories</a></li>
<li><a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="4">Moving and renaming files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Moving-directories" accesskey="5">Moving and renaming directories</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Adding-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Removing-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Removing files</a>, Up: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="u" rel="up">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Adding-files-to-a-directory"><span>7.1 Adding files to a directory<a class="copiable-link" href="#Adding-files-to-a-directory"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Adding-files"></a>

<p>To add a new file to a directory, follow these steps.
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>You must have a working copy of the directory.
See <a class="xref" href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a>.

</li><li>Create the new file inside your working copy of the directory.

</li><li>Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs add <var class="var">filename</var></samp>&rsquo; to tell <small class="sc">CVS</small> that you
want to version control the file.  If the file contains
binary data, specify &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; (see <a class="pxref" href="#Binary-files">Handling binary files</a>).

</li><li>Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit <var class="var">filename</var></samp>&rsquo; to actually check
in the file into the repository.  Other developers
cannot see the file until you perform this step.
</li></ul>

<p>You can also use the <code class="code">add</code> command to add a new
directory.
</p>
<p>Unlike most other commands, the <code class="code">add</code> command is
not recursive.  You have to expcicitly name files and
directories that you wish to add to the repository.
However, each directory will need to be added
separately before you will be able to add new files
to those directories.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ mkdir -p foo/bar
$ cp ~/myfile foo/bar/myfile
$ cvs add foo foo/bar
$ cvs add foo/bar/myfile
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-add-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-add"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs add</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-k</code> kflag] [<code class="code">-m</code> message] files &hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-add"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Schedule <var class="var">files</var> to be added to the repository.
The files or directories specified with <code class="code">add</code> must
already exist in the current directory.  To add a whole
new directory hierarchy to the source repository (for
example, files received from a third-party vendor), use
the <code class="code">import</code> command instead.  See <a class="xref" href="#import">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a>.
</p>
<p>The added files are not placed in the source repository
until you use <code class="code">commit</code> to make the change
permanent.  Doing an <code class="code">add</code> on a file that was
removed with the <code class="code">remove</code> command will undo the
effect of the <code class="code">remove</code>, unless a <code class="code">commit</code>
command intervened.  See <a class="xref" href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a>, for an
example.
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option specifies the default way that
this file will be checked out; for more information see
<a class="ref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>.
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; option specifies a description for the
file.  This description appears in the history log (if
it is enabled, see <a class="pxref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>).  It will also be
saved in the version history inside the repository when
the file is committed.  The <code class="code">log</code> command displays
this description.  The description can be changed using
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">admin -t</samp>&rsquo;.  See <a class="xref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>.  If you omit the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m <var class="var">description</var></samp>&rsquo; flag, an empty string will
be used.  You will not be prompted for a description.
</p></dd></dl>

<p>For example, the following commands add the file
<samp class="file">backend.c</samp> to the repository:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs add backend.c
$ cvs commit -m &quot;Early version. Not yet compilable.&quot; backend.c
</pre></div>

<p>When you add a file it is added only on the branch
which you are working on (see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>).  You can
later merge the additions to another branch if you want
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Merging-adds-and-removals">Merging can add or remove files</a>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Removing-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Removing-directories" accesskey="n" rel="next">Removing directories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Adding-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Adding files to a directory</a>, Up: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="u" rel="up">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Removing-files-1"><span>7.2 Removing files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Removing-files-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Deleting-files"></a>

<p>Directories change.  New files are added, and old files
disappear.  Still, you want to be able to retrieve an
exact copy of old releases.
</p>
<p>Here is what you can do to remove a file,
but remain able to retrieve old revisions:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Make sure that you have not made any uncommitted
modifications to the file.  See <a class="xref" href="#Viewing-differences">Viewing differences</a>,
for one way to do that.  You can also use the
<code class="code">status</code> or <code class="code">update</code> command.  If you remove
the file without committing your changes, you will of
course not be able to retrieve the file as it was
immediately before you deleted it.

</li><li>Remove the file from your working copy of the directory.
You can for instance use <code class="code">rm</code>.

</li><li>Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs remove <var class="var">filename</var></samp>&rsquo; to tell <small class="sc">CVS</small> that
you really want to delete the file.

</li><li>Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit <var class="var">filename</var></samp>&rsquo; to actually
perform the removal of the file from the repository.
</li></ul>

<p>When you commit the removal of the file, <small class="sc">CVS</small>
records the fact that the file no longer exists.  It is
possible for a file to exist on only some branches and
not on others, or to re-add another file with the same
name later.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will correctly create or not create
the file, based on the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; options
specified to <code class="code">checkout</code> or <code class="code">update</code>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Remove-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-remove"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs remove</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[options] files &hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-remove"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Schedule file(s) to be removed from the repository
(files which have not already been removed from the
working directory are not processed).  This command
does not actually remove the file from the repository
until you commit the removal.  For a full list of
options, see <a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>.
</p></dd></dl>

<p>Here is an example of removing several files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd test
$ rm *.c
$ cvs remove
cvs remove: Removing .
cvs remove: scheduling a.c for removal
cvs remove: scheduling b.c for removal
cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove these files permanently
$ cvs ci -m &quot;Removed unneeded files&quot;
cvs commit: Examining .
cvs commit: Committing .
</pre></div>

<p>As a convenience you can remove the file and <code class="code">cvs
remove</code> it in one step, by specifying the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo;
option.  For example, the above example could also be
done like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd test
$ cvs remove -f *.c
cvs remove: scheduling a.c for removal
cvs remove: scheduling b.c for removal
cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove these files permanently
$ cvs ci -m &quot;Removed unneeded files&quot;
cvs commit: Examining .
cvs commit: Committing .
</pre></div>

<p>If you execute <code class="code">remove</code> for a file, and then
change your mind before you commit, you can undo the
<code class="code">remove</code> with an <code class="code">add</code> command.
</p>

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ ls
CVS   ja.h  oj.c
$ rm oj.c
$ cvs remove oj.c
cvs remove: scheduling oj.c for removal
cvs remove: use 'cvs commit' to remove this file permanently
$ cvs add oj.c
U oj.c
cvs add: oj.c, version 1.1.1.1, resurrected
</pre></div>

<p>If you realise your mistake before you run the
<code class="code">remove</code> command you can use <code class="code">update</code> to
resurrect the file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ rm oj.c
$ cvs update oj.c
cvs update: warning: oj.c was lost
U oj.c
</pre></div>

<p>When you remove a file it is removed only on the branch
which you are working on (see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>).  You can
later merge the removals to another branch if you want
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Merging-adds-and-removals">Merging can add or remove files</a>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Removing-directories">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Moving and renaming files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Removing-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Removing files</a>, Up: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="u" rel="up">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Removing-directories-1"><span>7.3 Removing directories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Removing-directories-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Removing-directories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Directories_002c-removing"></a>

<p>In concept, removing directories is somewhat similar to
removing files&mdash;you want the directory to not exist in
your current working directories, but you also want to
be able to retrieve old releases in which the directory
existed.
</p>
<p>The way that you remove a directory is to remove all
the files in it.  You don&rsquo;t remove the directory
itself; there is no way to do that.
Instead you specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo; option to
<code class="code">cvs update</code> or <code class="code">cvs checkout</code>,
which will cause <small class="sc">CVS</small> to remove empty
directories from working directories.
(Note that <code class="code">cvs export</code> always removes empty directories.)
Probably the
best way to do this is to always specify &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;; if
you want an empty directory then put a dummy file (for
example <samp class="file">.keepme</samp>) in it to prevent &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo; from
removing it.
</p>
<p>Note that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo; is implied by the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo;
options of <code class="code">checkout</code>.  This way,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will be able to correctly create the directory
or not depending on whether the particular version you
are checking out contains any files in that directory.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Moving-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Moving-directories" accesskey="n" rel="next">Moving and renaming directories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Removing-directories" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Removing directories</a>, Up: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="u" rel="up">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Moving-and-renaming-files"><span>7.4 Moving and renaming files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Moving-and-renaming-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Moving-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Renaming-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Files_002c-moving"></a>

<p>Moving files to a different directory or renaming them
is not difficult, but some of the ways in which this
works may be non-obvious.  (Moving or renaming a
directory is even harder.  See <a class="xref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.).
</p>
<p>The examples below assume that the file <var class="var">old</var> is renamed to
<var class="var">new</var>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Outside" accesskey="1">The Normal way to Rename</a></li>
<li><a href="#Inside" accesskey="2">Moving the history file</a></li>
<li><a href="#Rename-by-copying" accesskey="3">Copying the history file</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Outside">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Inside" accesskey="n" rel="next">Moving the history file</a>, Up: <a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Moving and renaming files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="The-Normal-way-to-Rename"><span>7.4.1 The Normal way to Rename<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-Normal-way-to-Rename"> &para;</a></span></h4>


<p>The normal way to move a file is to copy <var class="var">old</var> to
<var class="var">new</var>, and then issue the normal <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands
to remove <var class="var">old</var> from the repository, and add
<var class="var">new</var> to it.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ mv <var class="var">old</var> <var class="var">new</var>
$ cvs remove <var class="var">old</var>
$ cvs add <var class="var">new</var>
$ cvs commit -m &quot;Renamed <var class="var">old</var> to <var class="var">new</var>&quot; <var class="var">old</var> <var class="var">new</var>
</pre></div>

<p>This is the simplest way to move a file, it is not
error-prone, and it preserves the history of what was
done.  Note that to access the history of the file you
must specify the old or the new name, depending on what
portion of the history you are accessing.  For example,
<code class="code">cvs log <var class="var">old</var></code> will give the log up until the
time of the rename.
</p>
<p>When <var class="var">new</var> is committed its revision numbers will
start again, usually at 1.1, so if that bothers you,
use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r <var class="var">tag</var></samp>&rsquo; option to commit.  For more
information see <a class="ref" href="#Assigning-revisions">Assigning revisions</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Inside">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Rename-by-copying" accesskey="n" rel="next">Copying the history file</a>, Previous: <a href="#Outside" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The Normal way to Rename</a>, Up: <a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Moving and renaming files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Moving-the-history-file"><span>7.4.2 Moving the history file<a class="copiable-link" href="#Moving-the-history-file"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>This method is more dangerous, since it involves moving
files inside the repository.  Read this entire section
before trying it out!
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd $CVSROOT/<var class="var">dir</var>
$ mv <var class="var">old</var>,v <var class="var">new</var>,v
</pre></div>

<p>Advantages:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>The log of changes is maintained intact.

</li><li>The revision numbers are not affected.
</li></ul>

<p>Disadvantages:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Old releases cannot easily be fetched from the
repository.  (The file will show up as <var class="var">new</var> even
in revisions from the time before it was renamed).

</li><li>There is no log information of when the file was renamed.

</li><li>Nasty things might happen if someone accesses the history file
while you are moving it.  Make sure no one else runs any of the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands while you move it.
</li></ul>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Rename-by-copying">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Inside" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Moving the history file</a>, Up: <a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Moving and renaming files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Copying-the-history-file"><span>7.4.3 Copying the history file<a class="copiable-link" href="#Copying-the-history-file"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>This way also involves direct modifications to the
repository.  It is safe, but not without drawbacks.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"># <span class="r">Copy the <span class="sc">RCS</span> file inside the repository</span>
$ cd $CVSROOT/<var class="var">dir</var>
$ cp <var class="var">old</var>,v <var class="var">new</var>,v
# <span class="r">Remove the old file</span>
$ cd ~/<var class="var">dir</var>
$ rm <var class="var">old</var>
$ cvs remove <var class="var">old</var>
$ cvs commit <var class="var">old</var>
# <span class="r">Remove all tags from <var class="var">new</var></span>
$ cvs update <var class="var">new</var>
$ cvs log <var class="var">new</var>             # <span class="r">Remember the non-branch tag names</span>
$ cvs tag -d <var class="var">tag1</var> <var class="var">new</var>
$ cvs tag -d <var class="var">tag2</var> <var class="var">new</var>
...
</pre></div>

<p>By removing the tags you will be able to check out old
revisions.
</p>
<p>Advantages:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Checking out old revisions works correctly, as long as
you use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r <var class="var">tag</var></samp>&rsquo; and not &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D <var class="var">date</var></samp>&rsquo;
to retrieve the revisions.

</li><li>The log of changes is maintained intact.

</li><li>The revision numbers are not affected.
</li></ul>

<p>Disadvantages:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>You cannot easily see the history of the file across the rename.

</li></ul>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Moving-directories">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Moving-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Moving and renaming files</a>, Up: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="u" rel="up">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Moving-and-renaming-directories"><span>7.5 Moving and renaming directories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Moving-and-renaming-directories"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Moving-directories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Renaming-directories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Directories_002c-moving"></a>

<p>The normal way to rename or move a directory is to
rename or move each file within it as described in
<a class="ref" href="#Outside">The Normal way to Rename</a>.  Then check out with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;
option, as described in <a class="ref" href="#Removing-directories">Removing directories</a>.
</p>
<p>If you really want to hack the repository to rename or
delete a directory in the repository, you can do it
like this:
</p>
<ol class="enumerate">
<li> Inform everyone who has a checked out copy of the directory that the
directory will be renamed.  They should commit all their changes in all their
copies of the project containing the directory to be removed, and remove
all their working copies of said project, before you take the steps below.

</li><li> Rename the directory inside the repository.

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd $CVSROOT/<var class="var">parent-dir</var>
$ mv <var class="var">old-dir</var> <var class="var">new-dir</var>
</pre></div>

</li><li> Fix the <small class="sc">CVS</small> administrative files, if necessary (for
instance if you renamed an entire module).

</li><li> Tell everyone that they can check out again and continue
working.

</li></ol>

<p>If someone had a working copy the <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands will
cease to work for him, until he removes the directory
that disappeared inside the repository.
</p>
<p>It is almost always better to move the files in the
directory instead of moving the directory.  If you move the
directory you are unlikely to be able to retrieve old
releases correctly, since they probably depend on the
name of the directories.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="History-browsing">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Binary-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Handling binary files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Adding-and-removing" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="History-browsing-1"><span>8 History browsing<a class="copiable-link" href="#History-browsing-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-History-browsing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Traceability"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Isolation"></a>


<p>Once you have used <small class="sc">CVS</small> to store a version control
history&mdash;what files have changed when, how, and by
whom, there are a variety of mechanisms for looking
through the history.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#log-messages" accesskey="1">Log messages</a></li>
<li><a href="#history-database" accesskey="2">The history database</a></li>
<li><a href="#user_002ddefined-logging" accesskey="3">User-defined logging</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="log-messages">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#history-database" accesskey="n" rel="next">The history database</a>, Up: <a href="#History-browsing" accesskey="u" rel="up">History browsing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Log-messages"><span>8.1 Log messages<a class="copiable-link" href="#Log-messages"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Whenever you commit a file you specify a log message.
</p>
<p>To look through the log messages which have been
specified for every revision which has been committed,
use the <code class="code">cvs log</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="history-database">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#user_002ddefined-logging" accesskey="n" rel="next">User-defined logging</a>, Previous: <a href="#log-messages" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Log messages</a>, Up: <a href="#History-browsing" accesskey="u" rel="up">History browsing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="The-history-database"><span>8.2 The history database<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-history-database"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>You can use the history file (see <a class="pxref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>) to
log various <small class="sc">CVS</small> actions.  To retrieve the
information from the history file, use the <code class="code">cvs
history</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>).
</p>
<p>Note: you can control what is logged to this file by using the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">LogHistory</samp>&rsquo; keyword in the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file
(see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="user_002ddefined-logging">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#history-database" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The history database</a>, Up: <a href="#History-browsing" accesskey="u" rel="up">History browsing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="User_002ddefined-logging"><span>8.3 User-defined logging<a class="copiable-link" href="#User_002ddefined-logging"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>You can customise <small class="sc">CVS</small> to log various kinds of
actions, in whatever manner you choose.  These
mechanisms operate by executing a script at various
times.  The script might append a message to a file
listing the information and the programmer who created
it, or send mail to a group of developers, or, perhaps,
post a message to a particular newsgroup.  To log
commits, use the <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#loginfo">Loginfo</a>), and
to log tagging operations, use the <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file
(see <a class="pxref" href="#taginfo">Taginfo</a>).
</p>
<p>To log commits, checkouts, exports, and tags,
respectively, you can also use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-i</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-e</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo; options in the
modules file.  For a more flexible way of giving
notifications to various users, which requires less in
the way of keeping centralised scripts up to date, use
the <code class="code">cvs watch add</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#Getting-Notified">Telling CVS to notify you</a>); this command is useful even if you are not
using <code class="code">cvs watch on</code>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Binary-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="n" rel="next">Multiple developers</a>, Previous: <a href="#History-browsing" accesskey="p" rel="prev">History browsing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Handling-binary-files"><span>9 Handling binary files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Handling-binary-files"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Binary-files"></a>

<p>The most common use for <small class="sc">CVS</small> is to store text
files.  With text files, <small class="sc">CVS</small> can merge revisions,
display the differences between revisions in a
human-visible fashion, and other such operations.
However, if you are willing to give up a few of these
abilities, <small class="sc">CVS</small> can store binary files.  For
example, one might store a web site in <small class="sc">CVS</small>
including both text files and binary images.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Binary-why" accesskey="1">The issues with binary files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Binary-howto" accesskey="2">How to store binary files</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Binary-why">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Binary-howto" accesskey="n" rel="next">How to store binary files</a>, Up: <a href="#Binary-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Handling binary files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="The-issues-with-binary-files"><span>9.1 The issues with binary files<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-issues-with-binary-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>While the need to manage binary files may seem obvious
if the files that you customarily work with are binary,
putting them into version control does present some
additional issues.
</p>
<p>One basic function of version control is to show the
differences between two revisions.  For example, if
someone else checked in a new version of a file, you
may wish to look at what they changed and determine
whether their changes are good.  For text files,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> provides this functionality via the <code class="code">cvs
diff</code> command.  For binary files, it may be possible to
extract the two revisions and then compare them with a
tool external to <small class="sc">CVS</small> (for example, word processing
software often has such a feature).  If there is no
such tool, one must track changes via other mechanisms,
such as urging people to write good log messages, and
hoping that the changes they actually made were the
changes that they intended to make.
</p>
<p>Another ability of a version control system is the
ability to merge two revisions.  For <small class="sc">CVS</small> this
happens in two contexts.  The first is when users make
changes in separate working directories
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a>).  The second is when one
merges explicitly with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">update -j</samp>&rsquo; command
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>).
</p>
<p>In the case of text
files, <small class="sc">CVS</small> can merge changes made independently,
and signal a conflict if the changes conflict.  With
binary files, the best that <small class="sc">CVS</small> can do is present
the two different copies of the file, and leave it to
the user to resolve the conflict.  The user may choose
one copy or the other, or may run an external merge
tool which knows about that particular file format, if
one exists.
Note that having the user merge relies primarily on the
user to not accidentally omit some changes, and thus is
potentially error prone.
</p>
<p>If this process is thought to be undesirable, the best
choice may be to avoid merging.  To avoid the merges
that result from separate working directories, see the
discussion of reserved checkouts (file locking) in
<a class="ref" href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a>.  To avoid the merges
resulting from branches, restrict use of branches.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Binary-howto">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Binary-why" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The issues with binary files</a>, Up: <a href="#Binary-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Handling binary files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="How-to-store-binary-files"><span>9.2 How to store binary files<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-to-store-binary-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>There are two issues with using <small class="sc">CVS</small> to store
binary files.  The first is that <small class="sc">CVS</small> by default
converts line endings between the canonical form in
which they are stored in the repository (linefeed
only), and the form appropriate to the operating system
in use on the client (for example, carriage return
followed by line feed for Windows NT).
</p>
<p>The second is that a binary file might happen to
contain data which looks like a keyword (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>), so keyword expansion must be turned
off.
</p>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; option available with some <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands insures that neither line ending conversion
nor keyword expansion will be done.
</p>
<p>Here is an example of how you can create a new file
using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; flag:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ echo '$<i class="i"></i>Id$' &gt; kotest
$ cvs add -kb -m&quot;A test file&quot; kotest
$ cvs ci -m&quot;First checkin; contains a keyword&quot; kotest
</pre></div>

<p>If a file accidentally gets added without &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo;,
one can use the <code class="code">cvs admin</code> command to recover.
For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ echo '$<i class="i"></i>Id$' &gt; kotest
$ cvs add -m&quot;A test file&quot; kotest
$ cvs ci -m&quot;First checkin; contains a keyword&quot; kotest
$ cvs admin -kb kotest
$ cvs update -A kotest
# <span class="r">For non-unix systems:</span>
# <span class="r">Copy in a good copy of the file from outside CVS</span>
$ cvs commit -m &quot;make it binary&quot; kotest
</pre></div>

<p>When you check in the file <samp class="file">kotest</samp> the file is
not preserved as a binary file, because you did not
check it in as a binary file.  The <code class="code">cvs
admin -kb</code> command sets the default keyword
substitution method for this file, but it does not
alter the working copy of the file that you have.  If you need to
cope with line endings (that is, you are using
<small class="sc">CVS</small> on a non-unix system), then you need to
check in a new copy of the file, as shown by the
<code class="code">cvs commit</code> command above.
On unix, the <code class="code">cvs update -A</code> command suffices.
(Note that you can use <code class="code">cvs log</code> to determine the default keyword
substitution method for a file and <code class="code">cvs status</code> to determine
the keyword substitution method for a working copy.)
</p>
<p>However, in using <code class="code">cvs admin -k</code> to change the
keyword expansion, be aware that the keyword expansion
mode is not version controlled.  This means that, for
example, that if you have a text file in old releases,
and a binary file with the same name in new releases,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> provides no way to check out the file in text
or binary mode depending on what version you are
checking out.  There is no good workaround for this
problem.
</p>
<p>You can also set a default for whether <code class="code">cvs add</code>
and <code class="code">cvs import</code> treat a file as binary based on
its name; for example you could say that files who
names end in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.exe</samp>&rsquo; are binary.  See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
There is currently no way to have <small class="sc">CVS</small> detect
whether a file is binary based on its contents.  The
main difficulty with designing such a feature is that
it is not clear how to distinguish between binary and
non-binary files, and the rules to apply would vary
considerably with the operating system.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Multiple-developers">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Revision-management" accesskey="n" rel="next">Revision management</a>, Previous: <a href="#Binary-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Handling binary files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Multiple-developers-1"><span>10 Multiple developers<a class="copiable-link" href="#Multiple-developers-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Multiple-developers"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Team-of-developers"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-File-locking"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Locking-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Working-copy"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reserved-checkouts"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Unreserved-checkouts"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-RCS_002dstyle-locking"></a>

<p>When more than one person works on a software project
things often get complicated.  Often, two people try to
edit the same file simultaneously.  One solution, known
as <em class="dfn">file locking</em> or <em class="dfn">reserved checkouts</em>, is
to allow only one person to edit each file at a time.
This is the only solution with some version control
systems, including <small class="sc">RCS</small> and <small class="sc">SCCS</small>.  Currently
the usual way to get reserved checkouts with <small class="sc">CVS</small>
is the <code class="code">cvs admin -l</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a>).  This is not as nicely integrated into
<small class="sc">CVS</small> as the watch features, described below, but it
seems that most people with a need for reserved
checkouts find it adequate.
</p>
<p>As of <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.10, another technique for getting most of the
effect of reserved checkouts is to enable advisory locks.  To enable advisory
locks, have all developers put &quot;edit -c&quot;, &quot;commit -c&quot; in their
.cvsrc file, and turn on watches in the repository.  This
prevents them from doing a <code class="code">cvs edit</code> if anyone is
already editing the file.  It also may
be possible to use plain watches together with suitable
procedures (not enforced by software), to avoid having
two people edit at the same time.
</p>
<p>The default model with <small class="sc">CVS</small> is known as
<em class="dfn">unreserved checkouts</em>.  In this model, developers
can edit their own <em class="dfn">working copy</em> of a file
simultaneously.  The first person that commits his
changes has no automatic way of knowing that another
has started to edit it.  Others will get an error
message when they try to commit the file.  They must
then use <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands to bring their working copy
up to date with the repository revision.  This process
is almost automatic.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> also supports mechanisms which facilitate
various kinds of communication, without actually
enforcing rules like reserved checkouts do.
</p>
<p>The rest of this chapter describes how these various
models work, and some of the issues involved in
choosing between them.
</p>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#File-status" accesskey="1">File status</a></li>
<li><a href="#Updating-a-file" accesskey="2">Bringing a file up to date</a></li>
<li><a href="#Conflicts-example" accesskey="3">Conflicts example</a></li>
<li><a href="#Informing-others" accesskey="4">Informing others about commits</a></li>
<li><a href="#Concurrency" accesskey="5">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a></li>
<li><a href="#Watches" accesskey="6">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Choosing-a-model" accesskey="7">Choosing between reserved or unreserved checkouts</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="File-status">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Updating-a-file" accesskey="n" rel="next">Bringing a file up to date</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="File-status-1"><span>10.1 File status<a class="copiable-link" href="#File-status-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-File-status"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Status-of-a-file"></a>

<p>Based on what operations you have performed on a
checked out file, and what operations others have
performed to that file in the repository, one can
classify a file in a number of states.  The states, as
reported by the <code class="code">status</code> command, are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-Up_002dto_002ddate"></a><span>Up-to-date<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Up_002dto_002ddate"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The file is identical with the latest revision in the
repository for the branch in use.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Locally-Modified"></a><span>Locally Modified<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Locally-Modified"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>You have edited the file, and not yet committed your changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Locally-Added"></a><span>Locally Added<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Locally-Added"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>You have added the file with <code class="code">add</code>, and not yet
committed your changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Locally-Removed"></a><span>Locally Removed<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Locally-Removed"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>You have removed the file with <code class="code">remove</code>, and not yet
committed your changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Needs-Checkout"></a><span>Needs Checkout<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Needs-Checkout"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Someone else has committed a newer revision to the
repository.  The name is slightly misleading; you will
ordinarily use <code class="code">update</code> rather than
<code class="code">checkout</code> to get that newer revision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Needs-Patch"></a><span>Needs Patch<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Needs-Patch"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Like Needs Checkout, but the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server will send
a patch rather than the entire file.  Sending a patch or
sending an entire file accomplishes the same thing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Needs-Merge"></a><span>Needs Merge<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Needs-Merge"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Someone else has committed a newer revision to the repository, and you
have also made modifications to the file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Unresolved-Conflict"></a><span>Unresolved Conflict<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Unresolved-Conflict"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A file with the same name as this new file has been added to the repository
from a second workspace.  This file will need to be moved out of the way
to allow an <code class="code">update</code> to complete.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-File-had-conflicts-on-merge"></a><span>File had conflicts on merge<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-File-had-conflicts-on-merge"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This is like Locally Modified, except that a previous
<code class="code">update</code> command gave a conflict.  If you have not
already done so, you need to
resolve the conflict as described in <a class="ref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Unknown"></a><span>Unknown<a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Unknown"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p><small class="sc">CVS</small> doesn&rsquo;t know anything about this file.  For
example, you have created a new file and have not run
<code class="code">add</code>.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>To help clarify the file status, <code class="code">status</code> also
reports the <code class="code">Working revision</code> which is the
revision that the file in the working directory derives
from, and the <code class="code">Repository revision</code> which is the
latest revision in the repository for the branch in
use.
The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Commit Identifier</samp>&rsquo; reflects the unique commitid
of the <code class="code">commit</code>.
</p>
<p>The options to <code class="code">status</code> are listed in
<a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>.  For information on its <code class="code">Sticky tag</code>
and <code class="code">Sticky date</code> output, see <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>.
For information on its <code class="code">Sticky options</code> output,
see the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option in <a class="ref" href="#update-options">update options</a>.
</p>
<p>You can think of the <code class="code">status</code> and <code class="code">update</code>
commands as somewhat complementary.  You use
<code class="code">update</code> to bring your files up to date, and you
can use <code class="code">status</code> to give you some idea of what an
<code class="code">update</code> would do (of course, the state of the
repository might change before you actually run
<code class="code">update</code>).  In fact, if you want a command to
display file status in a more brief format than is
displayed by the <code class="code">status</code> command, you can invoke
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-update_002c-to-display-file-status"></a>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs -n -q update
</pre></div>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo; option means to not actually do the
update, but merely to display statuses; the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-q</samp>&rsquo;
option avoids printing the name of each directory.  For
more information on the <code class="code">update</code> command, and
these options, see <a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Updating-a-file">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Conflicts-example" accesskey="n" rel="next">Conflicts example</a>, Previous: <a href="#File-status" accesskey="p" rel="prev">File status</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Bringing-a-file-up-to-date"><span>10.2 Bringing a file up to date<a class="copiable-link" href="#Bringing-a-file-up-to-date"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Bringing-a-file-up-to-date"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Updating-a-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merging-a-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Update_002c-introduction"></a>

<p>When you want to update or merge a file, use the <code class="code">cvs update -d</code>
command.  For files that are not up to date this is roughly equivalent
to a <code class="code">checkout</code> command: the newest revision of the file is
extracted from the repository and put in your working directory.  The
<code class="code">-d</code> option, not necessary with <code class="code">checkout</code>, tells <small class="sc">CVS</small>
that you wish it to create directories added by other developers.
</p>
<p>Your modifications to a file are never lost when you
use <code class="code">update</code>.  If no newer revision exists,
running <code class="code">update</code> has no effect.  If you have
edited the file, and a newer revision is available,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will merge all changes into your working copy.
</p>
<p>For instance, imagine that you checked out revision 1.4 and started
editing it.  In the meantime someone else committed revision 1.5, and
shortly after that revision 1.6.  If you run <code class="code">update</code> on the file
now, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will incorporate all changes between revision 1.4 and 1.6 into
your file.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overlap"></a>
<p>If any of the changes between 1.4 and 1.6 were made too
close to any of the changes you have made, an
<em class="dfn">overlap</em> occurs.  In such cases a warning is
printed, and the resulting file includes both
versions of the lines that overlap, delimited by
special markers.
See <a class="xref" href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>, for a complete description of the
<code class="code">update</code> command.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Conflicts-example">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Informing-others" accesskey="n" rel="next">Informing others about commits</a>, Previous: <a href="#Updating-a-file" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Bringing a file up to date</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Conflicts-example-1"><span>10.3 Conflicts example<a class="copiable-link" href="#Conflicts-example-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Merge_002c-an-example"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Example-of-merge"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-driver_002ec-_0028merge-example_0029"></a>

<p>Suppose revision 1.4 of <samp class="file">driver.c</samp> contains this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;

void main()
{
    parse();
    if (nerr == 0)
        gencode();
    else
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;No code generated.\n&quot;);
    exit(nerr == 0 ? 0 : 1);
}
</pre></div>

<p>Revision 1.6 of <samp class="file">driver.c</samp> contains this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;

int main(int argc,
         char **argv)
{
    parse();
    if (argc != 1)
    {
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;tc: No args expected.\n&quot;);
        exit(1);
    }
    if (nerr == 0)
        gencode();
    else
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;No code generated.\n&quot;);
    exit(!!nerr);
}
</pre></div>

<p>Your working copy of <samp class="file">driver.c</samp>, based on revision
1.4, contains this before you run &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update</samp>&rsquo;:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#include &lt;stdlib.h&gt;
#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;

void main()
{
    init_scanner();
    parse();
    if (nerr == 0)
        gencode();
    else
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;No code generated.\n&quot;);
    exit(nerr == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
}
</pre></div>

<p>You run &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update</samp>&rsquo;:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs update driver.c
RCS file: /usr/local/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/driver.c,v
retrieving revision 1.4
retrieving revision 1.6
Merging differences between 1.4 and 1.6 into driver.c
rcsmerge warning: overlaps during merge
cvs update: conflicts found in driver.c
C driver.c
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Conflicts-_0028merge-example_0029"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> tells you that there were some conflicts.
Your original working file is saved unmodified in
<samp class="file">.#driver.c.1.4</samp>.  The new version of
<samp class="file">driver.c</samp> contains this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#include &lt;stdlib.h&gt;
#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;

int main(int argc,
         char **argv)
{
    init_scanner();
    parse();
    if (argc != 1)
    {
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;tc: No args expected.\n&quot;);
        exit(1);
    }
    if (nerr == 0)
        gencode();
    else
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;No code generated.\n&quot;);
&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; driver.c
    exit(nerr == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
=======
    exit(!!nerr);
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 1.6
}
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Markers_002c-conflict"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Conflict-markers"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d"></a>

<p>Note how all non-overlapping modifications are incorporated in your working
copy, and that the overlapping section is clearly marked with
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">=======</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Resolving-a-conflict"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Conflict-resolution"></a>
<p>You resolve the conflict by editing the file, removing the markers and
the erroneous line.  Suppose you end up with this file:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#include &lt;stdlib.h&gt;
#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;

int main(int argc,
         char **argv)
{
    init_scanner();
    parse();
    if (argc != 1)
    {
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;tc: No args expected.\n&quot;);
        exit(1);
    }
    if (nerr == 0)
        gencode();
    else
        fprintf(stderr, &quot;No code generated.\n&quot;);
    exit(nerr == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
}
</pre></div>

<p>You can now go ahead and commit this as revision 1.7.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -m &quot;Initialise scanner. Use symbolic exit values.&quot; driver.c
Checking in driver.c;
/usr/local/cvsroot/yoyodyne/tc/driver.c,v  &lt;--  driver.c
new revision: 1.7; previous revision: 1.6
done
</pre></div>

<p>For your protection, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will refuse to check in a
file if a conflict occurred and you have not resolved
the conflict.  Currently to resolve a conflict, you
must change the timestamp on the file.  In previous
versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you also needed to
insure that the file contains no conflict markers.
Because
your file may legitimately contain conflict markers (that
is, occurrences of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; </samp>&rsquo; at the start of a
line that don&rsquo;t mark a conflict), the current
version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> will print a warning and proceed to
check in the file.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-emerge"></a>
<p>If you use release 1.04 or later of pcl-cvs (a <small class="sc">GNU</small>
Emacs front-end for <small class="sc">CVS</small>) you can use an Emacs
package called emerge to help you resolve conflicts.
See the documentation for pcl-cvs.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Informing-others">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Concurrency" accesskey="n" rel="next">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Conflicts-example" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Conflicts example</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Informing-others-about-commits"><span>10.4 Informing others about commits<a class="copiable-link" href="#Informing-others-about-commits"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Informing-others"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Spreading-information"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Mail_002c-automatic-mail-on-commit"></a>

<p>It is often useful to inform others when you commit a
new revision of a file.  The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-i</samp>&rsquo; option of the
<samp class="file">modules</samp> file, or the <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file, can be
used to automate this process.  See <a class="xref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#loginfo">Loginfo</a>.  You can use these features of <small class="sc">CVS</small>
to, for instance, instruct <small class="sc">CVS</small> to mail a
message to all developers, or post a message to a local
newsgroup.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Concurrency">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="n" rel="next">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Informing-others" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Informing others about commits</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Several-developers-simultaneously-attempting-to-run-CVS"><span>10.5 Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS<a class="copiable-link" href="#Several-developers-simultaneously-attempting-to-run-CVS"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-introduction"></a>
<p>If several developers try to run <small class="sc">CVS</small> at the same
time, one may get the following message:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">[11:43:23] waiting for bach's lock in /usr/local/cvsroot/foo
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-removing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002ewfl_002c-removing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0023cvs_002elock_002c-removing"></a>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> will try again every 30 seconds, and either
continue with the operation or print the message again,
if it still needs to wait.  If a lock seems to stick
around for an undue amount of time, find the person
holding the lock and ask them about the cvs command
they are running.  If they aren&rsquo;t running a cvs
command, look in the repository directory mentioned in
the message and remove files which they own whose names
start with <samp class="file">#cvs.rfl</samp>,
<samp class="file">#cvs.wfl</samp>, or <samp class="file">#cvs.lock</samp>.
</p>
<p>Note that these locks are to protect <small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s
internal data structures and have no relationship to
the word <em class="dfn">lock</em> in the sense used by
<small class="sc">RCS</small>&mdash;which refers to reserved checkouts
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a>).
</p>
<p>Any number of people can be reading from a given
repository at a time; only when someone is writing do
the locks prevent other people from reading or writing.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Atomic-transactions_002c-lack-of"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Transactions_002c-atomic_002c-lack-of"></a>
<p>One might hope for the following property:
</p>
<blockquote class="quotation">
<p>If someone commits some changes in one cvs command,
then an update by someone else will either get all the
changes, or none of them.
</p></blockquote>

<p>but <small class="sc">CVS</small> does <em class="emph">not</em> have this property.  For
example, given the files
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">a/one.c
a/two.c
b/three.c
b/four.c
</pre></div>

<p>if someone runs
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs ci a/two.c b/three.c
</pre></div>

<p>and someone else runs <code class="code">cvs update</code> at the same
time, the person running <code class="code">update</code> might get only
the change to <samp class="file">b/three.c</samp> and not the change to
<samp class="file">a/two.c</samp>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Watches">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Choosing-a-model" accesskey="n" rel="next">Choosing between reserved or unreserved checkouts</a>, Previous: <a href="#Concurrency" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Mechanisms-to-track-who-is-editing-files"><span>10.6 Mechanisms to track who is editing files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Mechanisms-to-track-who-is-editing-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Watches"></a>

<p>For many groups, use of <small class="sc">CVS</small> in its default mode is
perfectly satisfactory.  Users may sometimes go to
check in a modification only to find that another
modification has intervened, but they deal with it and
proceed with their check in.  Other groups prefer to be
able to know who is editing what files, so that if two
people try to edit the same file they can choose to
talk about who is doing what when rather than be
surprised at check in time.  The features in this
section allow such coordination, while retaining the
ability of two developers to edit the same file at the
same time.
</p>
<p>For maximum benefit developers should use <code class="code">cvs
edit</code> (not <code class="code">chmod</code>) to make files read-write to
edit them, and <code class="code">cvs release</code> (not <code class="code">rm</code>) to
discard a working directory which is no longer in use,
but <small class="sc">CVS</small> is not able to enforce this behavior.
</p>
<p>If a development team wants stronger enforcement of
watches and all team members are using a <small class="sc">CVS</small> client version 1.12.10 or
greater to access a <small class="sc">CVS</small> server version 1.12.10 or greater, they can
enable advisory locks.  To enable advisory locks, have all developers
put &quot;edit -c&quot; and &quot;commit -c&quot; into all .cvsrc files,
and make files default to read only by turning on watches
or putting &quot;cvs -r&quot; into all .cvsrc files.
This prevents multiple people from editing a file at
the same time (unless explicitly overriden with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo;).
</p>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Setting-a-watch" accesskey="1">Telling CVS to watch certain files</a></li>
<li><a href="#Getting-Notified" accesskey="2">Telling CVS to notify you</a></li>
<li><a href="#Editing-files" accesskey="3">How to edit a file which is being watched</a></li>
<li><a href="#Watch-information" accesskey="4">Information about who is watching and editing</a></li>
<li><a href="#Watches-Compatibility" accesskey="5">Using watches with old versions of CVS</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Setting-a-watch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Getting-Notified" accesskey="n" rel="next">Telling CVS to notify you</a>, Up: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="u" rel="up">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Telling-CVS-to-watch-certain-files"><span>10.6.1 Telling CVS to watch certain files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Telling-CVS-to-watch-certain-files"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>To enable the watch features, you first specify that
certain files are to be watched.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-watch-on-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-watch-on"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs watch on</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-watch-on"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-watches"></a>
<p>Specify that developers should run <code class="code">cvs edit</code>
before editing <var class="var">files</var>.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will create working
copies of <var class="var">files</var> read-only, to remind developers
to run the <code class="code">cvs edit</code> command before working on
them.
</p>
<p>If <var class="var">files</var> includes the name of a directory, <small class="sc">CVS</small>
arranges to watch all files added to the corresponding
repository directory, and sets a default for files
added in the future; this allows the user to set
notification policies on a per-directory basis.  The
contents of the directory are processed recursively,
unless the <code class="code">-l</code> option is given.
The <code class="code">-R</code> option can be used to force recursion if the <code class="code">-l</code>
option is set in <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a>).
</p>
<p>If <var class="var">files</var> is omitted, it defaults to the current directory.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-watch-off-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
</dd></dl>

<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-watch-off"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs watch off</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-watch-off"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Do not create <var class="var">files</var> read-only on checkout; thus,
developers will not be reminded to use <code class="code">cvs edit</code>
and <code class="code">cvs unedit</code>.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and options are processed as for <code class="code">cvs
watch on</code>.
</p>
</dd></dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Getting-Notified">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Editing-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>, Previous: <a href="#Setting-a-watch" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Telling CVS to watch certain files</a>, Up: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="u" rel="up">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Telling-CVS-to-notify-you"><span>10.6.2 Telling CVS to notify you<a class="copiable-link" href="#Telling-CVS-to-notify-you"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>You can tell <small class="sc">CVS</small> that you want to receive
notifications about various actions taken on a file.
You can do this without using <code class="code">cvs watch on</code> for
the file, but generally you will want to use <code class="code">cvs
watch on</code>, to remind developers to use the <code class="code">cvs edit</code>
command.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-watch-add-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-watch-add"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs watch add</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<code class="code">-a</code> <var class="var">action</var>]&hellip; [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-watch-add"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Add the current user to the list of people to receive notification of
work done on <var class="var">files</var>.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">-a</code> option specifies what kinds of events <small class="sc">CVS</small> should notify
the user about.  <var class="var">action</var> is one of the following:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">edit</code></dt>
<dd><p>Another user has applied the <code class="code">cvs edit</code> command (described
below) to a watched file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">commit</code></dt>
<dd><p>Another user has committed changes to one of the named <var class="var">files</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">unedit</code></dt>
<dd><p>Another user has abandoned editing a file (other than by committing changes).
They can do this in several ways, by:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>applying the <code class="code">cvs unedit</code> command (described below) to the file

</li><li>applying the <code class="code">cvs release</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#release">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>) to the file&rsquo;s parent directory
(or recursively to a directory more than one level up)

</li><li>deleting the file and allowing <code class="code">cvs update</code> to recreate it

</li></ul>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">all</code></dt>
<dd><p>All of the above.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">none</code></dt>
<dd><p>None of the above.  (This is useful with <code class="code">cvs edit</code>,
described below.)
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The <code class="code">-a</code> option may appear more than once, or not at all.  If
omitted, the action defaults to <code class="code">all</code>.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and options are processed as for
<code class="code">cvs watch on</code>.
</p>
</dd></dl>


<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-watch-remove-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-watch-remove"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs watch remove</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<code class="code">-a</code> <var class="var">action</var>]&hellip; [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-watch-remove"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Remove a notification request established using <code class="code">cvs watch add</code>;
the arguments are the same.  If the <code class="code">-a</code> option is present, only
watches for the specified actions are removed.
</p>
</dd></dl>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-notify-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<p>When the conditions exist for notification, <small class="sc">CVS</small>
calls the <samp class="file">notify</samp> administrative file.  Edit
<samp class="file">notify</samp> as one edits the other administrative
files (see <a class="pxref" href="#Intro-administrative-files">The administrative files</a>).  This
file follows the usual conventions for administrative
files (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>), where each line is a regular
expression followed by a command to execute.  The
command should contain a single occurrence of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%s</samp>&rsquo;
which will be replaced by the user to notify; the rest
of the information regarding the notification will be
supplied to the command on standard input.  The
standard thing to put in the <code class="code">notify</code> file is the
single line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ALL mail %s -s &quot;CVS notification&quot;
</pre></div>

<p>This causes users to be notified by electronic mail.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-users-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<p>Note that if you set this up in the straightforward
way, users receive notifications on the server machine.
One could of course write a <samp class="file">notify</samp> script which
directed notifications elsewhere, but to make this
easy, <small class="sc">CVS</small> allows you to associate a notification
address for each user.  To do so create a file
<samp class="file">users</samp> in <samp class="file">CVSROOT</samp> with a line for each
user in the format <var class="var">user</var>:<var class="var">value</var>.  Then
instead of passing the name of the user to be notified
to <samp class="file">notify</samp>, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will pass the <var class="var">value</var>
(normally an email address on some other machine).
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> does not notify you for your own changes.
Currently this check is done based on whether the user
name of the person taking the action which triggers
notification matches the user name of the person
getting notification.  In fact, in general, the watches
features only track one edit by each user.  It probably
would be more useful if watches tracked each working
directory separately, so this behavior might be worth
changing.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Editing-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Watch-information" accesskey="n" rel="next">Information about who is watching and editing</a>, Previous: <a href="#Getting-Notified" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Telling CVS to notify you</a>, Up: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="u" rel="up">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="How-to-edit-a-file-which-is-being-watched"><span>10.6.3 How to edit a file which is being watched<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-to-edit-a-file-which-is-being-watched"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Checkout_002c-as-term-for-getting-ready-to-edit"></a>
<p>Since a file which is being watched is checked out
read-only, you cannot simply edit it.  To make it
read-write, and inform others that you are planning to
edit it, use the <code class="code">cvs edit</code> command.  Some systems
call this a <em class="dfn">checkout</em>, but <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses that term
for obtaining a copy of the sources (see <a class="pxref" href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a>), an operation which those systems call a
<em class="dfn">get</em> or a <em class="dfn">fetch</em>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-edit-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-edit"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs edit</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<code class="code">-a</code> <var class="var">action</var>]&hellip; [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-edit"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Prepare to edit the working files <var class="var">files</var>.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> makes the
<var class="var">files</var> read-write, and notifies users who have requested
<code class="code">edit</code> notification for any of <var class="var">files</var>.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">cvs edit</code> command accepts the same options as the
<code class="code">cvs watch add</code> command, and establishes a temporary watch for the
user on <var class="var">files</var>; <small class="sc">CVS</small> will remove the watch when <var class="var">files</var> are
<code class="code">unedit</code>ed or <code class="code">commit</code>ted.  If the user does not wish to
receive notifications, she should specify <code class="code">-a none</code>.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and the options are processed as for the <code class="code">cvs
watch</code> commands.
</p>
<p>There are two additional options that <code class="code">cvs edit</code> understands as of
<small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server versions 1.12.10 but <code class="code">cvs watch</code> does not.
The first is <code class="code">-c</code>, which causes <code class="code">cvs edit</code> to fail if anyone else
is editing the file.  This is probably only useful when &lsquo;<samp class="samp">edit -c</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">commit -c</samp>&rsquo; are specified in all developers&rsquo; <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> files.  This
behavior may be overriden this via the <code class="code">-f</code> option, which overrides
<code class="code">-c</code> and allows multiple edits to succeed.
</p>

</dd></dl>

<p>Normally when you are done with a set of changes, you
use the <code class="code">cvs commit</code> command, which checks in your
changes and returns the watched files to their usual
read-only state.  But if you instead decide to abandon
your changes, or not to make any changes, you can use
the <code class="code">cvs unedit</code> command.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-unedit-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Abandoning-work"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reverting-to-repository-version"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-unedit"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs unedit</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-unedit"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Abandon work on the working files <var class="var">files</var>, and revert them to the
repository versions on which they are based.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> makes those
<var class="var">files</var> read-only for which users have requested notification using
<code class="code">cvs watch on</code>.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> notifies users who have requested <code class="code">unedit</code>
notification for any of <var class="var">files</var>.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and options are processed as for the
<code class="code">cvs watch</code> commands.
</p>
<p>If watches are not in use, the <code class="code">unedit</code> command
probably does not work, and the way to revert to the
repository version is with the command <code class="code">cvs update -C file</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>).
The meaning is
not precisely the same; the latter may also
bring in some changes which have been made in the
repository since the last time you updated.
</p></dd></dl>

<p>When using client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you can use the
<code class="code">cvs edit</code> and <code class="code">cvs unedit</code> commands even if
<small class="sc">CVS</small> is unable to successfully communicate with the
server; the notifications will be sent upon the next
successful <small class="sc">CVS</small> command.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Watch-information">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Watches-Compatibility" accesskey="n" rel="next">Using watches with old versions of CVS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Editing-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>, Up: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="u" rel="up">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Information-about-who-is-watching-and-editing"><span>10.6.4 Information about who is watching and editing<a class="copiable-link" href="#Information-about-who-is-watching-and-editing"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-watchers-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-watchers"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs watchers</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-watchers"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>List the users currently watching changes to <var class="var">files</var>.  The report
includes the files being watched, and the mail address of each watcher.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and options are processed as for the
<code class="code">cvs watch</code> commands.
</p>
</dd></dl>


<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-editors-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<dl class="first-deffn">
<dt class="deffn" id="index-cvs-editors"><span class="category-def">Command: </span><span><strong class="def-name">cvs editors</strong> <var class="def-var-arguments">[<code class="code">-lR</code>] [<var class="var">files</var>]&hellip;</var><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-cvs-editors"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>List the users currently working on <var class="var">files</var>.  The report
includes the mail address of each user, the time when the user began
working with the file, and the host and path of the working directory
containing the file.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">files</var> and options are processed as for the
<code class="code">cvs watch</code> commands.
</p>
</dd></dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Watches-Compatibility">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Watch-information" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Information about who is watching and editing</a>, Up: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="u" rel="up">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="subsection" id="Using-watches-with-old-versions-of-CVS"><span>10.6.5 Using watches with old versions of CVS<a class="copiable-link" href="#Using-watches-with-old-versions-of-CVS"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS-1_002e6_002c-and-watches"></a>
<p>If you use the watch features on a repository, it
creates <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directories in the repository and
stores the information about watches in that directory.
If you attempt to use <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.6 or earlier with the
repository, you get an error message such as the
following (all on one line):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs update: cannot open CVS/Entries for reading:
No such file or directory
</pre></div>

<p>and your operation will likely be aborted.  To use the
watch features, you must upgrade all copies of <small class="sc">CVS</small>
which use that repository in local or server mode.  If
you cannot upgrade, use the <code class="code">watch off</code> and
<code class="code">watch remove</code> commands to remove all watches, and
that will restore the repository to a state which
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.6 can cope with.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Choosing-a-model">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Watches" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>, Up: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="u" rel="up">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Choosing-between-reserved-or-unreserved-checkouts"><span>10.7 Choosing between reserved or unreserved checkouts<a class="copiable-link" href="#Choosing-between-reserved-or-unreserved-checkouts"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Choosing_002c-reserved-or-unreserved-checkouts"></a>

<p>Reserved and unreserved checkouts each have pros and
cons.  Let it be said that a lot of this is a matter of
opinion or what works given different groups&rsquo; working
styles, but here is a brief description of some of the
issues.  There are many ways to organise a team of
developers.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> does not try to enforce a certain
organization.  It is a tool that can be used in several
ways.
</p>
<p>Reserved checkouts can be very counter-productive.  If
two persons want to edit different parts of a file,
there may be no reason to prevent either of them from
doing so.  Also, it is common for someone to take out a
lock on a file, because they are planning to edit it,
but then forget to release the lock.
</p>
<p>People, especially people who are familiar with
reserved checkouts, often wonder how often conflicts
occur if unreserved checkouts are used, and how
difficult they are to resolve.  The experience with
many groups is that they occur rarely and usually are
relatively straightforward to resolve.
</p>
<p>The rarity of serious conflicts may be surprising, until one realises
that they occur only when two developers disagree on the proper design
for a given section of code; such a disagreement suggests that the
team has not been communicating properly in the first place.  In order
to collaborate under <em class="emph">any</em> source management regimen, developers
must agree on the general design of the system; given this agreement,
overlapping changes are usually straightforward to merge.
</p>
<p>In some cases unreserved checkouts are clearly
inappropriate.  If no merge tool exists for the kind of
file you are managing (for example word processor files
or files edited by Computer Aided Design programs), and
it is not desirable to change to a program which uses a
mergeable data format, then resolving conflicts is
going to be unpleasant enough that you generally will
be better off to simply avoid the conflicts instead, by
using reserved checkouts.
</p>
<p>The watches features described above in <a class="ref" href="#Watches">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>
can be considered to be an intermediate model between
reserved checkouts and unreserved checkouts.  When you
go to edit a file, it is possible to find out who else
is editing it.  And rather than having the system
simply forbid both people editing the file, it can tell
you what the situation is and let you figure out
whether it is a problem in that particular case or not.
Therefore, for some groups watches can be
considered the best of both the reserved checkout and unreserved
checkout worlds.
</p>
<p>As of <small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server versions 1.12.10, you may also enable
advisory locks by putting &lsquo;<samp class="samp">edit -c</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">commit -c</samp>&rsquo; in all
developers&rsquo; <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> files.  After this is done, <code class="code">cvs edit</code>
will fail if there are any other editors, and <code class="code">cvs commit</code> will
fail if the committer has not registered to edit the file via <code class="code">cvs edit</code>.
This is most effective in conjunction with files checked out read-only by
default, which may be enabled by turning on watches in the repository or by
putting &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -r</samp>&rsquo; in all <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> files.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Revision-management">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="n" rel="next">Keyword substitution</a>, Previous: <a href="#Multiple-developers" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Multiple developers</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Revision-management-1"><span>11 Revision management<a class="copiable-link" href="#Revision-management-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Revision-management"></a>


<p>If you have read this far, you probably have a pretty
good grasp on what <small class="sc">CVS</small> can do for you.  This
chapter talks a little about things that you still have
to decide.
</p>
<p>If you are doing development on your own using <small class="sc">CVS</small>
you could probably skip this chapter.  The questions
this chapter takes up become more important when more
than one person is working in a repository.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#When-to-commit" accesskey="1">When to commit?</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="When-to-commit">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#Revision-management" accesskey="u" rel="up">Revision management</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="When-to-commit_003f"><span>11.1 When to commit?<a class="copiable-link" href="#When-to-commit_003f"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-When-to-commit"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Committing_002c-when-to"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Policy"></a>

<p>Your group should decide which policy to use regarding
commits.  Several policies are possible, and as your
experience with <small class="sc">CVS</small> grows you will probably find
out what works for you.
</p>
<p>If you commit files too quickly you might commit files
that do not even compile.  If your partner updates his
working sources to include your buggy file, he will be
unable to compile the code.  On the other hand, other
persons will not be able to benefit from the
improvements you make to the code if you commit very
seldom, and conflicts will probably be more common.
</p>
<p>It is common to only commit files after making sure
that they can be compiled.  Some sites require that the
files pass a test suite.  Policies like this can be
enforced using the commitinfo file
(see <a class="pxref" href="#commitinfo">Commitinfo</a>), but you should think twice before
you enforce such a convention.  By making the
development environment too controlled it might become
too regimented and thus counter-productive to the real
goal, which is to get software written.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Keyword-substitution">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="n" rel="next">Tracking third-party sources</a>, Previous: <a href="#Revision-management" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Revision management</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Keyword-substitution-1"><span>12 Keyword substitution<a class="copiable-link" href="#Keyword-substitution-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keyword-substitution"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keyword-expansion"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Identifying-files"></a>


<p>As long as you edit source files inside a working
directory you can always find out the state of
your files via &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs status</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs log</samp>&rsquo;.
But as soon as you export the files from your
development environment it becomes harder to identify
which revisions they are.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can use a mechanism known as <em class="dfn">keyword
substitution</em> (or <em class="dfn">keyword expansion</em>) to help
identifying the files.  Embedded strings of the form
<code class="code">$<var class="var">keyword</var>$</code> and
<code class="code">$<var class="var">keyword</var>:&hellip;$</code> in a file are replaced
with strings of the form
<code class="code">$<var class="var">keyword</var>:<var class="var">value</var>$</code> whenever you obtain
a new revision of the file.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Keyword-list" accesskey="1">Keyword List</a></li>
<li><a href="#Using-keywords" accesskey="2">Using keywords</a></li>
<li><a href="#Avoiding-substitution" accesskey="3">Avoiding substitution</a></li>
<li><a href="#Substitution-modes" accesskey="4">Substitution modes</a></li>
<li><a href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion" accesskey="5">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a></li>
<li><a href="#Log-keyword" accesskey="6">Problems with the $<i class="i"></i>Log$ keyword.</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Keyword-list">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Using-keywords" accesskey="n" rel="next">Using keywords</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Keyword-List"><span>12.1 Keyword List<a class="copiable-link" href="#Keyword-List"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keyword-List"></a>


<p>This is a list of the keywords:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-Author-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Author$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Author-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The login name of the user who checked in the revision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVSHeader-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSHeader-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A standard header (similar to $<i class="i"></i>Header$, but with
the CVS root stripped off). It contains the relative
pathname of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file to the CVS root, the
revision number, the date (UTC), the author, the state,
and the locker (if locked). Files will normally never
be locked when you use <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>Note that this keyword has only been recently
introduced to <small class="sc">CVS</small> and may cause problems with
existing installations if $<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader$ is already
in the files for a different purpose. This keyword may
be excluded using the <code class="code">KeywordExpand=eCVSHeader</code>
in the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file. 
See <a class="ref" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a> for more details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Date-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Date$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Date-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The date and time (UTC) the revision was checked in.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Mdocdate-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Mdocdate$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Mdocdate-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The date (UTC) the revision was checked in, in a format suitable
for the Berkeley mdoc macro processing.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$Mdocdate: January 30 2021 $
</pre></div>

</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Header-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Header$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Header-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A standard header containing the full pathname of the
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file, the revision number, the date (UTC), the
author, the state, and the locker (if locked).  Files
will normally never be locked when you use <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Id-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Id$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Id-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Same as <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Header$</code>, except that the <small class="sc">RCS</small>
filename is without a path.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Name-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Name$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Name-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Tag name used to check out this file.  The keyword is
expanded only if one checks out with an explicit tag
name.  For example, when running the command <code class="code">cvs
co -r first</code>, the keyword expands to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Name: first</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Locker-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Locker$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Locker-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The login name of the user who locked the revision
(empty if not locked, which is the normal case unless
<code class="code">cvs admin -l</code> is in use).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-MaxCommentLeaderLength"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-UseArchiveCommentLeader"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior"></a>
<a id="index-Log-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Log-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The log message supplied during commit, preceded by a
header containing the <small class="sc">RCS</small> filename, the revision
number, the author, and the date (UTC).  Existing log
messages are <em class="emph">not</em> replaced.  Instead, the new log
message is inserted after <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log:&hellip;$</code>.
By default, each new line is prefixed with the same string which
precedes the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keyword, unless it exceeds the
<code class="code">MaxCommentLeaderLength</code> set in <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp>.
</p>
<p>For example, if the file contains:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">  /* Here is what people have been up to:
   *
   * $<i class="i"></i>Log: frob.c,v $
   * Revision 1.1  1997/01/03 14:23:51  joe
   * Add the superfrobnicate option
   *
   */
</pre></div>

<p>then additional lines which are added when expanding
the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keyword will be preceded by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">   * </samp>&rsquo;.
Unlike previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> and <small class="sc">RCS</small>, the
<em class="dfn">comment leader</em> from the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file is not used.
The <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keyword is useful for
accumulating a complete change log in a source file,
but for several reasons it can be problematic.
</p>
<p>If the prefix of the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keyword turns out to be
longer than the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> setting <code class="code">MaxCommentLeaderLength</code>,
CVS will skip expansion of this
keyword unless <code class="code">UseArchiveCommentLeader</code> is also set in
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> and a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">comment leader</samp>&rsquo; is set in the RCS archive
file, in which case the comment leader will be used instead.  For more on
setting the comment leader in the RCS archive file, See <a class="xref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>.  For more
on configuring the default <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> substitution
behavior, See <a class="xref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>.
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#Log-keyword">Problems with the $<i class="i"></i>Log$ keyword.</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-RCSfile-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>RCSfile$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RCSfile-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The name of the RCS file without a path.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Revision-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Revision-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The revision number assigned to the revision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Source-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Source$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Source-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The full pathname of the RCS file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-State-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>State$</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-State-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The state assigned to the revision.  States can be
assigned with <code class="code">cvs admin -s</code>&mdash;see <a class="ref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Local-keyword"></a><span><code class="code">Local keyword</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Local-keyword"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The <code class="code">LocalKeyword</code> option in the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file
may be used to specify a local keyword which is to be
used as an alias for one of the keywords: $<i class="i"></i>Id$,
$<i class="i"></i>Header$, or $<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader$. For
example, if the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file contains
a line with <code class="code">LocalKeyword=MYBSD=CVSHeader</code>, then a
file with the local keyword $<i class="i"></i>MYBSD$ will be
expanded as if it were a $<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader$ keyword. If
the src/frob.c file contained this keyword, it might
look something like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">  /*
   * $<i class="i"></i>MYBSD: src/frob.c,v 1.1 2003/05/04 09:27:45 john Exp $ 
   */
</pre></div>

<p>Many repositories make use of a such a &ldquo;local
keyword&rdquo; feature. An old patch to <small class="sc">CVS</small> provided
the <code class="code">LocalKeyword</code> feature using a <code class="code">tag=</code>
option and called this the &ldquo;custom tag&rdquo; or &ldquo;local
tag&rdquo; feature. It was used in conjunction with the
what they called the <code class="code">tagexpand=</code> option. In
<small class="sc">CVS</small> this other option is known as the
<code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> option. 
See <a class="ref" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a> for more
details.
</p>
<p>Examples from popular projects include:
$<i class="i"></i>FreeBSD$, $<i class="i"></i>NetBSD$,
$<i class="i"></i>OpenBSD$, $<i class="i"></i>XFree86$,
$<i class="i"></i>Xorg$.
</p>
<p>The advantage of this is that you can include your
local version information in a file using this local
keyword without disrupting the upstream version
information (which may be a different local keyword or
a standard keyword). Allowing bug reports and the like
to more properly identify the source of the original
bug to the third-party and reducing the number of
conflicts that arise during an import of a new version.
</p>
<p>All keyword expansion except the local keyword may be
disabled using the <code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> option in
the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file&mdash;see 
<a class="ref" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a> for more details.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Using-keywords">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Avoiding-substitution" accesskey="n" rel="next">Avoiding substitution</a>, Previous: <a href="#Keyword-list" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Keyword List</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Using-keywords-1"><span>12.2 Using keywords<a class="copiable-link" href="#Using-keywords-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>To include a keyword string you simply include the
relevant text string, such as <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Id$</code>, inside the
file, and commit the file.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will automatically (Or,
more accurately, as part of the update run that
automatically happens after a commit.)
expand the string as part of the commit operation.
</p>
<p>It is common to embed the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Id$</code> string in
the source files so that it gets passed through to
generated files.  For example, if you are managing
computer program source code, you might include a
variable which is initialised to contain that string.
Or some C compilers may provide a <code class="code">#pragma ident</code>
directive.  Or a document management system might
provide a way to pass a string through to generated
files.
</p>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ident-_0028shell-command_0029"></a>
<p>The <code class="code">ident</code> command (which is part of the <small class="sc">RCS</small>
package) can be used to extract keywords and their
values from a file.  This can be handy for text files,
but it is even more useful for extracting keywords from
binary files.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ ident samp.c
samp.c:
     $<i class="i"></i>Id: samp.c,v 1.5 1993/10/19 14:57:32 ceder Exp $
$ gcc samp.c
$ ident a.out
a.out:
     $<i class="i"></i>Id: samp.c,v 1.5 1993/10/19 14:57:32 ceder Exp $
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-What-_0028shell-command_0029"></a>
<p>S<small class="sc">CCS</small> is another popular revision control system.
It has a command, <code class="code">what</code>, which is very similar to
<code class="code">ident</code> and used for the same purpose.  Many sites
without <small class="sc">RCS</small> have <small class="sc">SCCS</small>.  Since <code class="code">what</code>
looks for the character sequence <code class="code">@(#)</code> it is
easy to include keywords that are detected by either
command.  Simply prefix the keyword with the
magic <small class="sc">SCCS</small> phrase, like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">static char *id=&quot;@(#) $<i class="i"></i>Id: ab.c,v 1.5 1993/10/19 14:57:32 ceder Exp $&quot;;
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Avoiding-substitution">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Substitution-modes" accesskey="n" rel="next">Substitution modes</a>, Previous: <a href="#Using-keywords" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Using keywords</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Avoiding-substitution-1"><span>12.3 Avoiding substitution<a class="copiable-link" href="#Avoiding-substitution-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Keyword substitution has its disadvantages.  Sometimes
you might want the literal text string
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">$<i class="i"></i>Author$</samp>&rsquo; to appear inside a file without
<small class="sc">CVS</small> interpreting it as a keyword and expanding it
into something like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$<i class="i"></i>Author: ceder $</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>There is unfortunately no way to selectively turn off
keyword substitution.  You can use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-ko</samp>&rsquo;
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>) to turn off keyword
substitution entirely.
</p>
<p>In many cases you can avoid using keywords in
the source, even though they appear in the final
product.  For example, the source for this manual
contains &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$@asis{}Author$</samp>&rsquo; whenever the text
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">$<i class="i"></i>Author$</samp>&rsquo; should appear.  In <code class="code">nroff</code>
and <code class="code">troff</code> you can embed the null-character
<code class="code">\&amp;</code> inside the keyword for a similar effect.
</p>
<p>It is also possible to specify an explicit list of
keywords to include or exclude using the
<code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> option in the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file&ndash;see <a class="ref" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a>
for more details. This feature is intended primarily
for use with the <code class="code">LocalKeyword</code> option&ndash;see
<a class="ref" href="#Keyword-list">Keyword List</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Substitution-modes">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion" accesskey="n" rel="next">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a>, Previous: <a href="#Avoiding-substitution" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Avoiding substitution</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Substitution-modes-1"><span>12.4 Substitution modes<a class="copiable-link" href="#Substitution-modes-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keyword-substitution_002c-changing-modes"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dk-_0028keyword-substitution_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Kflag"></a>

<p>Each file has a stored default substitution mode, and
each working directory copy of a file also has a
substitution mode.  The former is set by the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo;
option to <code class="code">cvs add</code> and <code class="code">cvs admin</code>; the
latter is set by the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-A</samp>&rsquo; options to <code class="code">cvs
checkout</code> or <code class="code">cvs update</code>.
<code class="code">cvs diff</code> and <code class="code">cvs rdiff</code> also
have &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; options.
For some examples,
see <a class="ref" href="#Binary-files">Handling binary files</a>, and <a class="ref" href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a>.
</p>
<p>The modes available are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kkv</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Generate keyword strings using the default form, e.g.
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 5.7 $</code> for the <code class="code">Revision</code>
keyword.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kkvl</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kkv</samp>&rsquo;, except that a locker&rsquo;s name is always
inserted if the given revision is currently locked.
The locker&rsquo;s name is only relevant if <code class="code">cvs admin
-l</code> is in use.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Generate only keyword names in keyword strings; omit
their values.  For example, for the <code class="code">Revision</code>
keyword, generate the string <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision$</code>
instead of <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 5.7 $</code>.  This option
is useful to ignore differences due to keyword
substitution when comparing different revisions of a
file (see <a class="pxref" href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-ko</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Generate the old keyword string, present in the working
file just before it was checked in.  For example, for
the <code class="code">Revision</code> keyword, generate the string
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.1 $</code> instead of
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 5.7 $</code> if that is how the
string appeared when the file was checked in.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-ko</samp>&rsquo;, but also inhibit conversion of line
endings between the canonical form in which they are
stored in the repository (linefeed only), and the form
appropriate to the operating system in use on the
client.  For systems, like unix, which use linefeed
only to terminate lines, this is very similar to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-ko</samp>&rsquo;.  For more information on binary files, see
<a class="ref" href="#Binary-files">Handling binary files</a>.  In <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.2 and later
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo;, as set by <code class="code">cvs add</code>, <code class="code">cvs admin</code>, or
<code class="code">cvs import</code> may not be overridden by a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option
specified on the command line.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kv</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Generate only keyword values for keyword strings.  For
example, for the <code class="code">Revision</code> keyword, generate the string
<code class="code">5.7</code> instead of <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 5.7 $</code>.
This can help generate files in programming languages
where it is hard to strip keyword delimiters like
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Revision: $</code> from a string.  However,
further keyword substitution cannot be performed once
the keyword names are removed, so this option should be
used with care.
</p>
<p>One often would like to use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kv</samp>&rsquo; with <code class="code">cvs
export</code>&mdash;see <a class="pxref" href="#export">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a>.  But be aware that doesn&rsquo;t
handle an export containing binary files correctly.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Configuring-keyword-expansion">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Log-keyword" accesskey="n" rel="next">Problems with the $<i class="i"></i>Log$ keyword.</a>, Previous: <a href="#Substitution-modes" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Substitution modes</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Configuring-Keyword-Expansion"><span>12.5 Configuring Keyword Expansion<a class="copiable-link" href="#Configuring-Keyword-Expansion"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Configuring-keyword-expansion"></a>

<p>In a repository that includes third-party software on
vendor branches, it is sometimes helpful to configure
CVS to use a local keyword instead of the standard
$<i class="i"></i>Id$ or $<i class="i"></i>Header$ keywords. Examples from
real projects include $<i class="i"></i>Xorg$, $<i class="i"></i>XFree86$,
$<i class="i"></i>FreeBSD$, $<i class="i"></i>NetBSD$,
$<i class="i"></i>OpenBSD$, and even $<i class="i"></i>dotat$.
The advantage of this is that
you can include your local version information in a
file using this local keyword (sometimes called a
&ldquo;custom tag&rdquo; or a &ldquo;local tag&rdquo;) without disrupting
the upstream version information (which may be a
different local keyword or a standard keyword). In
these cases, it is typically desirable to disable the
expansion of all keywords except the configured local
keyword.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> option in the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file is intended to allow for the
either the explicit exclusion of a keyword or list of
keywords, or for the explicit inclusion of a keyword or
a list of keywords. This list may include the
<code class="code">LocalKeyword</code> that has been configured.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> option is followed by
<code class="code">=</code> and the next character may either be <code class="code">i</code>
to start an inclusion list or <code class="code">e</code> to start an
exclusion list. If the following lines were added to
the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">        # Add a &quot;MyBSD&quot; keyword and restrict keyword
        # expansion
        LocalKeyword=MyBSD=CVSHeader
        KeywordExpand=iMyBSD
</pre></div>

<p>then only the $<i class="i"></i>MyBSD$ keyword would be expanded.
A list may be used. The this example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">        # Add a &quot;MyBSD&quot; keyword and restrict keyword expansion
        # to the MyBSD, Name, Date and Mdocdate keywords.
        LocalKeyword=MyBSD=CVSHeader
        KeywordExpand=iMyBSD,Name,Date,Mdocdate
</pre></div>

<p>would allow $<i class="i"></i>MyBSD$, $<i class="i"></i>Name$,
$<i class="i"></i>Mdocdate and
$<i class="i"></i>Date$ to be expanded.
</p>
<p>It is also possible to configure an exclusion list
using the following:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">        # Do not expand the non-RCS keyword CVSHeader
        KeywordExpand=eCVSHeader
</pre></div>

<p>This allows <small class="sc">CVS</small> to ignore the recently introduced
$<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader$ keyword and retain all of the
others. The exclusion entry could also contain the
standard RCS keyword list, but this could be confusing
to users that expect RCS keywords to be expanded, so
care should be taken to properly set user expectations
for a repository that is configured in that manner.
</p>
<p>If there is a desire to not have any RCS keywords
expanded and not use the <code class="code">-ko</code> flags everywhere,
an administrator may disable all keyword expansion
using the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">	# Do not expand any RCS keywords
	KeywordExpand=i
</pre></div>

<p>this could be confusing to users that expect RCS
keywords like $<i class="i"></i>Id$ to be expanded properly,
so care should be taken to properly set user
expectations for a repository so configured.
</p>
<p>It should be noted that a patch to provide both the
<code class="code">KeywordExpand</code> and <code class="code">LocalKeyword</code> features
has been around a long time. However, that patch
implemented these features using <code class="code">tag=</code> and
<code class="code">tagexpand=</code> keywords and those keywords are NOT
recognised.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Log-keyword">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a>, Up: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="u" rel="up">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Problems-with-the-_0024Log_0024-keyword_002e"><span>12.6 Problems with the $<i class="i"></i>Log$ keyword.<a class="copiable-link" href="#Problems-with-the-_0024Log_0024-keyword_002e"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>The <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keyword is somewhat
controversial.  As long as you are working on your
development system the information is easily accessible
even if you do not use the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code>
keyword&mdash;just do a <code class="code">cvs log</code>.  Once you export
the file the history information might be useless
anyhow.
</p>
<p>A more serious concern is that <small class="sc">CVS</small> is not good at
handling <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> entries when a branch is
merged onto the main trunk.  Conflicts often result
from the merging operation.
</p>
<p>People also tend to &quot;fix&quot; the log entries in the file
(correcting spelling mistakes and maybe even factual
errors).  If that is done the information from
<code class="code">cvs log</code> will not be consistent with the
information inside the file.  This may or may not be a
problem in real life.
</p>
<p>It has been suggested that the <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code>
keyword should be inserted <em class="emph">last</em> in the file, and
not in the files header, if it is to be used at all.
That way the long list of change messages will not
interfere with everyday source file browsing.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Tracking-sources">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Builds" accesskey="n" rel="next">How your build system interacts with CVS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Keyword-substitution" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Keyword substitution</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Tracking-third_002dparty-sources"><span>13 Tracking third-party sources<a class="copiable-link" href="#Tracking-third_002dparty-sources"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Third_002dparty-sources"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tracking-sources"></a>

<p>If you modify a program to better fit your site, you
probably want to include your modifications when the next
release of the program arrives.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> can help you with
this task.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Vendor"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Vendor-branch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Branch_002c-vendor_002d"></a>
<p>In the terminology used in <small class="sc">CVS</small>, the supplier of the
program is called a <em class="dfn">vendor</em>.  The unmodified
distribution from the vendor is checked in on its own
branch, the <em class="dfn">vendor branch</em>.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> reserves branch
1.1.1 for this use.
</p>
<p>When you modify the source and commit it, your revision
will end up on the main trunk.  When a new release is
made by the vendor, you commit it on the vendor branch
and copy the modifications onto the main trunk.
</p>
<p>Use the <code class="code">import</code> command to create and update
the vendor branch.  When you import a new file,
(usually) the vendor branch is made the &lsquo;head&rsquo; revision, so
anyone that checks out a copy of the file gets that
revision.  When a local modification is committed it is
placed on the main trunk, and made the &lsquo;head&rsquo;
revision.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#First-import" accesskey="1">Importing for the first time</a></li>
<li><a href="#Update-imports" accesskey="2">Updating with the import command</a></li>
<li><a href="#Reverting-local-changes" accesskey="3">Reverting to the latest vendor release</a></li>
<li><a href="#Binary-files-in-imports" accesskey="4">How to handle binary files with cvs import</a></li>
<li><a href="#Keywords-in-imports" accesskey="5">How to handle keyword substitution with cvs import</a></li>
<li><a href="#Multiple-vendor-branches" accesskey="6">Multiple vendor branches</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="First-import">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Update-imports" accesskey="n" rel="next">Updating with the import command</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Importing-for-the-first-time"><span>13.1 Importing for the first time<a class="copiable-link" href="#Importing-for-the-first-time"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Importing-modules"></a>

<p>Use the <code class="code">import</code> command to check in the sources
for the first time.  When you use the <code class="code">import</code>
command to track third-party sources, the <em class="dfn">vendor
tag</em> and <em class="dfn">release tags</em> are useful.  The
<em class="dfn">vendor tag</em> is a symbolic name for the branch
(which is always 1.1.1, unless you use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b
<var class="var">branch</var></samp>&rsquo; flag&mdash;see <a class="ref" href="#Multiple-vendor-branches">Multiple vendor branches</a>.).  The
<em class="dfn">release tags</em> are symbolic names for a particular
release, such as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">FSF_0_04</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Note that <code class="code">import</code> does <em class="emph">not</em> change the
directory in which you invoke it.  In particular, it
does not set up that directory as a <small class="sc">CVS</small> working
directory; if you want to work with the sources import
them first and then check them out into a different
directory (see <a class="pxref" href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-wdiff-_0028import-example_0029"></a>
<p>Suppose you have the sources to a program called
<code class="code">wdiff</code> in a directory <samp class="file">wdiff-0.04</samp>,
and are going to make private modifications that you
want to be able to use even when new releases are made
in the future.  You start by importing the source to
your repository:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd wdiff-0.04
$ cvs import -m &quot;Import of FSF v. 0.04&quot; fsf/wdiff FSF_DIST WDIFF_0_04
</pre></div>

<p>The vendor tag is named &lsquo;<samp class="samp">FSF_DIST</samp>&rsquo; in the above
example, and the only release tag assigned is
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">WDIFF_0_04</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Update-imports">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Reverting-local-changes" accesskey="n" rel="next">Reverting to the latest vendor release</a>, Previous: <a href="#First-import" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Importing for the first time</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Updating-with-the-import-command"><span>13.2 Updating with the import command<a class="copiable-link" href="#Updating-with-the-import-command"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>When a new release of the source arrives, you import it into the
repository with the same <code class="code">import</code> command that you used to set up
the repository in the first place.  The only difference is that you
specify a different release tag this time:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ tar xfz wdiff-0.05.tar.gz
$ cd wdiff-0.05
$ cvs import -m &quot;Import of FSF v. 0.05&quot; fsf/wdiff FSF_DIST WDIFF_0_05
</pre></div>

<p><em class="emph">WARNING: If you use a release tag that already exists in one of the
repository archives, files removed by an import may not be detected.</em>
</p>
<p>For files that have not been modified locally, the newly created
revision becomes the head revision.  If you have made local
changes, <code class="code">import</code> will warn you that you must merge the changes
into the main trunk, and tell you to use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">checkout -j</samp>&rsquo; to do so:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -jFSF_DIST:yesterday -jFSF_DIST wdiff
</pre></div>

<p>The above command will check out the latest revision of
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">wdiff</samp>&rsquo;, merging the changes made on the vendor branch &lsquo;<samp class="samp">FSF_DIST</samp>&rsquo;
since yesterday into the working copy.  If any conflicts arise during
the merge they should be resolved in the normal way (see <a class="pxref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>).  Then, the modified files may be committed.
</p>
<p>However, it is much better to use the two release tags rather than using
a date on the branch as suggested above:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -jWDIFF_0_04 -jWDIFF_0_05 wdiff
</pre></div>

<p>The reason this is better is that
using a date, as suggested above, assumes that you do
not import more than one release of a product per day.
More importantly, using the release tags allows <small class="sc">CVS</small> to detect files
that were removed between the two vendor releases and mark them for
removal.  Since <code class="code">import</code> has no way to detect removed files, you
should do a merge like this even if <code class="code">import</code> doesn&rsquo;t tell you to.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Reverting-local-changes">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Binary-files-in-imports" accesskey="n" rel="next">How to handle binary files with cvs import</a>, Previous: <a href="#Update-imports" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Updating with the import command</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Reverting-to-the-latest-vendor-release"><span>13.3 Reverting to the latest vendor release<a class="copiable-link" href="#Reverting-to-the-latest-vendor-release"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>You can also revert local changes completely and return
to the latest vendor release by changing the &lsquo;head&rsquo;
revision back to the vendor branch on all files.  This
does, however, produce weird results if you should ever
edit this file again, for anyone looking at the output
from the <code class="code">log</code> command or CVSweb.  To fix this,
first commit a revision of the file which equals the
vendor branch, then use <code class="code">admin</code> &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo;. For
example, if you have a checked-out copy of the sources
in <samp class="file">~/work.d/wdiff</samp>, and you want to revert to the
vendor&rsquo;s version for all the files in that directory,
you would type:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ~/work.d/wdiff
$ cvs admin -bFSF_DIST .
</pre></div>

<p>You must specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-bFSF_DIST</samp>&rsquo; without any space
after the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo;.  See <a class="xref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Binary-files-in-imports">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Keywords-in-imports" accesskey="n" rel="next">How to handle keyword substitution with cvs import</a>, Previous: <a href="#Reverting-local-changes" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Reverting to the latest vendor release</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="How-to-handle-binary-files-with-cvs-import"><span>13.4 How to handle binary files with cvs import<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-to-handle-binary-files-with-cvs-import"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; wrapper option to tell import which
files are binary.  See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Keywords-in-imports">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Multiple-vendor-branches" accesskey="n" rel="next">Multiple vendor branches</a>, Previous: <a href="#Binary-files-in-imports" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How to handle binary files with cvs import</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="How-to-handle-keyword-substitution-with-cvs-import"><span>13.5 How to handle keyword substitution with cvs import<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-to-handle-keyword-substitution-with-cvs-import"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>The sources which you are importing may contain
keywords (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>).  For example,
the vendor may use <small class="sc">CVS</small> or some other system
which uses similar keyword expansion syntax.  If you
just import the files in the default fashion, then
the keyword expansions supplied by the vendor will
be replaced by keyword expansions supplied by your
own copy of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  It may be more convenient to
maintain the expansions supplied by the vendor, so
that this information can supply information about
the sources that you imported from the vendor.
</p>
<p>To maintain the keyword expansions supplied by the
vendor, supply the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-ko</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">cvs
import</code> the first time you import the file.
This will turn off keyword expansion
for that file entirely, so if you want to be more
selective you&rsquo;ll have to think about what you want
and use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option to <code class="code">cvs update</code> or
<code class="code">cvs admin</code> as appropriate.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="section-level-extent" id="Multiple-vendor-branches">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Keywords-in-imports" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How to handle keyword substitution with cvs import</a>, Up: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="u" rel="up">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="section" id="Multiple-vendor-branches-1"><span>13.6 Multiple vendor branches<a class="copiable-link" href="#Multiple-vendor-branches-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>All the examples so far assume that there is only one
vendor from which you are getting sources.  In some
situations you might get sources from a variety of
places.  For example, suppose that you are dealing with
a project where many different people and teams are
modifying the software.  There are a variety of ways to
handle this, but in some cases you have a bunch of
source trees lying around and what you want to do more
than anything else is just to all put them in <small class="sc">CVS</small> so
that you at least have them in one place.
</p>
<p>For handling situations in which there may be more than
one vendor, you may specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; option to
<code class="code">cvs import</code>.  It takes as an argument the vendor
branch to import to.  The default is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b 1.1.1</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Vendor branches can only be in the format 1.1.x where
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">x</samp>&rsquo; is an <em class="emph">uneven</em> number, because branch
tags use even numbers.
</p>
<p>For example, suppose that there are two teams, the red
team and the blue team, that are sending you sources.
You want to import the red team&rsquo;s efforts to branch
1.1.1 and use the vendor tag RED.  You want to import
the blue team&rsquo;s efforts to branch 1.1.3 and use the
vendor tag BLUE.  So the commands you might use are:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs import dir RED RED_1-0
$ cvs import -b 1.1.3 dir BLUE BLUE_1-5
</pre></div>

<p>Note that if your vendor tag does not match your
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; option, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will not detect this case!  For
example,
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs import -b 1.1.3 dir RED RED_1-0
</pre></div>

<p>Be careful; this kind of mismatch is sure to sow
confusion or worse.  I can&rsquo;t think of a useful purpose
for the ability to specify a mismatch here, but if you
discover such a use, don&rsquo;t.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> is likely to make this
an error in some future release.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Builds">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Special-Files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Special Files</a>, Previous: <a href="#Tracking-sources" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Tracking third-party sources</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="How-your-build-system-interacts-with-CVS"><span>14 How your build system interacts with CVS<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-your-build-system-interacts-with-CVS"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Builds"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-make"></a>

<p>As mentioned in the introduction, <small class="sc">CVS</small> does not
contain software for building your software from source
code.  This section describes how various aspects of
your build system might interact with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>One common question, especially from people who are
accustomed to <small class="sc">RCS</small>, is how to make their build get
an up to date copy of the sources.  The answer to this
with <small class="sc">CVS</small> is two-fold.  First of all, since
<small class="sc">CVS</small> itself can recurse through directories, there
is no need to modify your <samp class="file">Makefile</samp> (or whatever
configuration file your build tool uses) to make sure
each file is up to date.  Instead, just use two
commands, first <code class="code">cvs -q update</code> and then
<code class="code">make</code> or whatever the command is to invoke your
build tool.  Secondly, you do not necessarily
<em class="emph">want</em> to get a copy of a change someone else made
until you have finished your own work.  One suggested
approach is to first update your sources, then
implement, build and
test the change you were thinking of, and then commit
your sources (updating first if necessary).  By
periodically (in between changes, using the approach
just described) updating your entire tree, you ensure
that your sources are sufficiently up to date.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Bill-of-materials"></a>
<p>One common need is to record which versions of which
source files went into a particular build.  This kind
of functionality is sometimes called <em class="dfn">bill of
materials</em> or something similar.  The best way to do
this with <small class="sc">CVS</small> is to use the <code class="code">tag</code> command to
record which versions went into a given build
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>).
</p>
<p>Using <small class="sc">CVS</small> in the most straightforward manner
possible, each developer will have a copy of the entire
source tree which is used in a particular build.  If
the source tree is small, or if developers are
geographically dispersed, this is the preferred
solution.  In fact one approach for larger projects is
to break a project down into smaller
separately-compiled subsystems, and arrange a way of
releasing them internally so that each developer need
check out only those subsystems which they are
actively working on.
</p>
<p>Another approach is to set up a structure which allows
developers to have their own copies of some files, and
for other files to access source files from a central
location.  Many people have come up with some such a
system using features such as the symbolic link feature
found in many operating systems, or the <code class="code">VPATH</code>
feature found in many versions of <code class="code">make</code>.  One build
tool which is designed to help with this kind of thing
is Odin (see
<code class="code">ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/distribs/odin</code>).
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="chapter-level-extent" id="Special-Files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="n" rel="next">Guide to CVS commands</a>, Previous: <a href="#Builds" accesskey="p" rel="prev">How your build system interacts with CVS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="chapter" id="Special-Files-1"><span>15 Special Files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Special-Files-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Special-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Device-nodes"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ownership_002c-saving-in-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Permissions_002c-saving-in-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Hard-links"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Symbolic-links"></a>

<p>In normal circumstances, <small class="sc">CVS</small> works only with regular
files.  Every file in a project is assumed to be
persistent; it must be possible to open, read and close
them; and so on.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> also ignores file permissions and
ownerships, leaving such issues to be resolved by the
developer at installation time.  In other words, it is
not possible to &quot;check in&quot; a device into a repository;
if the device file cannot be opened, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will refuse to
handle it.  Files also lose their ownerships and
permissions during repository transactions.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="CVS-commands">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Invoking-CVS" accesskey="n" rel="next">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>, Previous: <a href="#Special-Files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Special Files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Guide-to-CVS-commands"><span>Appendix A Guide to CVS commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Guide-to-CVS-commands"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<p>This appendix describes the overall structure of
<small class="sc">CVS</small> commands, and describes some commands in
detail (others are described elsewhere; for a quick
reference to <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands, see <a class="pxref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>,
and for an alphabetical list of all <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands,
see <a class="pxref" href="#CVS-command-list">Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a>).
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Structure" accesskey="1">Overall structure of CVS commands</a></li>
<li><a href="#Exit-status" accesskey="2">CVS&rsquo;s exit status</a></li>
<li><a href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc" accesskey="3">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a></li>
<li><a href="#Global-options" accesskey="4">Global options</a></li>
<li><a href="#Common-options" accesskey="5">Common command options</a></li>
<li><a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="6">Date input formats</a></li>
<li><a href="#admin" accesskey="7">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a></li>
<li><a href="#annotate" accesskey="8">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a></li>
<li><a href="#checkout" accesskey="9">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a></li>
<li><a href="#commit">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#diff">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#export">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a></li>
<li><a href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a></li>
<li><a href="#import">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a></li>
<li><a href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a></li>
<li><a href="#ls-_0026-rls">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#rdiff">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="#release">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a></li>
<li><a href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a></li>
<li><a href="#suck">suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw</a></li>
<li><a href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Structure">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Exit-status" accesskey="n" rel="next">CVS&rsquo;s exit status</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Overall-structure-of-CVS-commands"><span>A.1 Overall structure of CVS commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Overall-structure-of-CVS-commands"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Structure"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS-command-structure"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Command-structure"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Format-of-CVS-commands"></a>

<p>The overall format of all <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands is:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]
</pre></div>

<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">cvs</code></dt>
<dd><p>The name of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> program.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs_options</code></dt>
<dd><p>Some options that affect all sub-commands of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  These are
described below.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs_command</code></dt>
<dd><p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_command</samp>&rsquo;: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -H</samp>&rsquo; elicits a
list of available commands, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -v</samp>&rsquo; displays version
information on <small class="sc">CVS</small> itself.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">command_options</code></dt>
<dd><p>Options that are specific for the command.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">command_args</code></dt>
<dd><p>Arguments to the commands.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>There is unfortunately some confusion between
<code class="code">cvs_options</code> and <code class="code">command_options</code>.
When given as a <code class="code">cvs_option</code>, some options only
affect some of the commands.  When given as a
<code class="code">command_option</code> 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.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Exit-status">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc" accesskey="n" rel="next">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a>, Previous: <a href="#Structure" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Overall structure of CVS commands</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="CVS_0027s-exit-status"><span>A.2 CVS&rsquo;s exit status<a class="copiable-link" href="#CVS_0027s-exit-status"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Exit-status_002c-of-CVS"></a>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can indicate to the calling environment whether it
succeeded or failed by setting its <em class="dfn">exit status</em>.
The exact way of testing the exit status will vary from
one operating system to another.  For example in a unix
shell script the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$?</samp>&rsquo; variable will be 0 if the
last command returned a successful exit status, or
greater than 0 if the exit status indicated failure.
</p>
<p>If <small class="sc">CVS</small> 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 <code class="code">cvs diff</code> 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
<code class="code">cvs diff</code> will be changed to behave like the
other <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Global-options" accesskey="n" rel="next">Global options</a>, Previous: <a href="#Exit-status" accesskey="p" rel="prev">CVS&rsquo;s exit status</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Default-options-and-the-_007e_002f_002ecvsrc-file"><span>A.3 Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file<a class="copiable-link" href="#Default-options-and-the-_007e_002f_002ecvsrc-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002ecvsrc-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Option-defaults"></a>

<p>There are some <code class="code">command_options</code> 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
<samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> support, actually) is that many people find the
default output of the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">diff</samp>&rsquo; command to be very
hard to read, and that either context diffs or unidiffs
are much easier to understand.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> file is a way that you can add
default options to <code class="code">cvs_commands</code> within cvs,
instead of relying on aliases or other shell scripts.
</p>
<p>The format of the <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> file is simple.  The
file is searched for a line that begins with the same
name as the <code class="code">cvs_command</code> 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 <em class="emph">before</em> any
options from the command line.
</p>
<p>If a command has two names (e.g., <code class="code">checkout</code> and
<code class="code">co</code>), 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&rsquo;s
<samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">log -N
diff -uN
rdiff -u
update -Pd
checkout -P
release -d
</pre></div>

<p>the command &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs checkout foo</samp>&rsquo; would have the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo; option added to the arguments, as well as
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs co foo</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>With the example file above, the output from &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs
diff foobar</samp>&rsquo; will be in unidiff format.  &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs diff
-c foobar</samp>&rsquo; will provide context diffs, as usual.
Getting &quot;old&quot; format diffs would be slightly more
complicated, because <code class="code">diff</code> doesn&rsquo;t have an option
to specify use of the &quot;old&quot; format, so you would need
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -f diff foobar</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>In place of the command name you can use <code class="code">cvs</code> to
specify global options (see <a class="pxref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>).  For
example the following line in <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp>
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -z6
</pre></div>

<p>causes <small class="sc">CVS</small> to use compression level 6.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Global-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Common-options" accesskey="n" rel="next">Common command options</a>, Previous: <a href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Global-options-1"><span>A.4 Global options<a class="copiable-link" href="#Global-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Options_002c-global"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Global-options"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Left_002dhand-options"></a>

<p>The available &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_options</samp>&rsquo; (that are given to the
left of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_command</samp>&rsquo;) are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">--allow-root=<var class="var">rootdir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>May be invoked multiple times to specify one legal <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> 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
<a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a> &amp; <a class="ref" href="#Write-proxies">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Stream-authentication"></a>
<a id="index-Authentication_002c-stream"></a><span><code class="code">-a</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Authentication_002c-stream"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Authenticate all communication between the client and
the server.  Only has an effect on the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client.
As of this writing, this is only implemented when using
a GSSAPI connection (see <a class="pxref" href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">Direct connection with GSSAPI</a>).
Authentication prevents certain sorts of attacks
involving hijacking the active <small class="sc">TCP</small> connection.
Enabling authentication does not enable encryption.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overriding-RCSBIN"></a>
<a id="index-RCSBIN_002c-overriding"></a><span><code class="code">-b <var class="var">bindir</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-overriding"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>In <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.18 and older, this specified that
<small class="sc">RCS</small> programs are in the <var class="var">bindir</var> directory.
Current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> do not run <small class="sc">RCS</small>
programs; for compatibility this option is accepted,
but it does nothing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-command-line"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-environment-variable"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-config"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-files_002c-location-of"></a>
<a id="index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">-T <var class="var">tempdir</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">tempdir</var> as the directory where temporary files are
located.
</p>
<p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server store temporary files in a temporary directory.
The path to this temporary directory is set via, in order of precedence:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>The argument to the global &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo; option.

</li><li>The value set for <code class="code">TmpDir</code> in the config file (server only -
see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).

</li><li>The contents of the <code class="code">$TMPDIR</code> environment variable (<code class="code">%TMPDIR%</code> on
Windows - see <a class="pxref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>).

</li><li>/tmp

</li></ul>

<p>Temporary directories should always be specified as an absolute pathname.
When running a CVS client, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo; affects only the local process;
specifying &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo; for the client has no effect on the server and
vice versa.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overriding-CVSROOT"></a>
<a id="index-CVSROOT_002c-overriding"></a><span><code class="code">-d <var class="var">cvs_root_directory</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-overriding"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">cvs_root_directory</var> as the root directory
pathname of the repository.  Overrides the setting of
the <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> environment variable.  See <a class="xref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overriding-EDITOR"></a>
<a id="index-EDITOR_002c-overriding"></a><span><code class="code">-e <var class="var">editor</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-EDITOR_002c-overriding"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">editor</var> to enter revision log information.  Overrides the
setting of the <code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code> and <code class="code">$EDITOR</code>
environment variables.  For more information, see
<a class="ref" href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not read the <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> file.  This
option is most often used because of the
non-orthogonality of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> option set.  For
example, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs log</samp>&rsquo; option &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-N</samp>&rsquo; (turn off
display of tag names) does not have a corresponding
option to turn the display on.  So if you have
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-N</samp>&rsquo; in the <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> entry for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">log</samp>&rsquo;,
you may need to use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; to show the tag names.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-g</code></dt>
<dd><p>Forges group-writable permissions on files in the working copy.
This option is typically used when you have multiple users sharing
a single checked out source tree, allowing them to operate their
shells with a less dangerous umask at the expense of <small class="sc">CVS</small> security.
To use this feature, create a directory to hold the checked-out
source tree, set it to a private group, and set up the directory
such that files created under it inherit the gid of the directory.
On BSD systems, this occurs automatically. On SYSV systems and
GNU/Linux, the sgid bit must be set on the directory for this.
The users who are to share the checked out tree must be placed in
that group which owns the directory.
</p>
<p>Note that the sharing of a single checked-out source tree is very
different from giving several users access to a common <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository.
Access to a common <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository already maintains shared group-write
permissions and does not require this option.
</p>
<p>Due to the security implications, setting this option globally in
your <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> file is strongly discouraged; if you must, ensure
all source checkouts are &quot;firewalled&quot; within a private group or a
private mode 0700 directory.
</p>
<p>This option is a MidnightBSD extension merged into Debian and MirBSD <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-H</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">--help</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display usage information about the specified &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_command</samp>&rsquo;
(but do not actually execute the command).  If you don&rsquo;t specify
a command name, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -H</samp>&rsquo; displays overall help for
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, including a list of other help options.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Read_002donly-repository-mode"></a><span><code class="code">-R</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Read_002donly-repository-mode"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>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 <small class="sc">CD-ROM</small>
repository.
</p>
<p>Same effect as if the <code class="code">CVSREADONLYFS</code> environment
variable is set. Using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-R</samp>&rsquo; can also considerably
speed up checkouts over NFS.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Read_002donly-mode"></a><span><code class="code">-n</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Read_002donly-mode"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Do not change any files.  Attempt to execute the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_command</samp>&rsquo;, but only to issue reports; do not remove,
update, or merge any existing files, or create any new files.
</p>
<p>Note that <small class="sc">CVS</small> will not necessarily produce exactly
the same output as without &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo;.  In some cases
the output will be the same, but in other cases
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will skip some of the processing that would
have been required to produce the exact same output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-Q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only
generate output for serious problems.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages,
such as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are
suppressed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-_002dr"></a><span><code class="code">-r</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-_002dr"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Make new working files read-only.  Same effect
as if the <code class="code">$CVSREAD</code> environment variable is set
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>).  The default is to
make working files writable, unless watches are on
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Watches">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s <var class="var">variable</var>=<var class="var">value</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set a user variable (see <a class="pxref" href="#Variables">Expansions in administrative files</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Trace"></a><span><code class="code">-t</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Trace"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Trace program execution; display messages showing the steps of
<small class="sc">CVS</small> activity.  Particularly useful with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo; to explore the
potential impact of an unfamiliar command.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-v</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">--version</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display version and copyright information for <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Overriding-CVSREAD"></a>
<a id="index-CVSREAD_002c-overriding"></a><span><code class="code">-w</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSREAD_002c-overriding"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Make new working files read-write.  Overrides the
setting of the <code class="code">$CVSREAD</code> environment variable.
Files are created read-write by default, unless <code class="code">$CVSREAD</code> is
set or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; is given.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Encryption"></a><span><code class="code">-x</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Encryption"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Encrypt all communication between the client and the
server.  Only has an effect on the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client.  As
of this writing, this is only implemented when using a
GSSAPI connection (see <a class="pxref" href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">Direct connection with GSSAPI</a>) or a
Kerberos connection (see <a class="pxref" href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Direct connection with Kerberos</a>).
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, <samp class="file">--enable-encryption</samp>,
when you build <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Gzip"></a>
<a id="index-Compression"></a><span><code class="code">-z <var class="var">level</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Compression"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Request compression <var class="var">level</var> for network traffic.
<small class="sc">CVS</small> interprets <var class="var">level</var> identically to the <code class="code">gzip</code> 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 <small class="sc">CVS</small> client.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Common-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="n" rel="next">Date input formats</a>, Previous: <a href="#Global-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Global options</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Common-command-options"><span>A.5 Common command options<a class="copiable-link" href="#Common-command-options"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Common-options"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Right_002dhand-options"></a>

<p>This section describes the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">command_options</samp>&rsquo; that
are available across several <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands.  These
options are always given to the right of
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs_command</samp>&rsquo;. 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 <small class="sc">CVS</small> command to the other).
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">history</samp>&rsquo; command is an exception; it supports
many options that conflict even with these standard options.</em>
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Time"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Specifying-dates"></a>
<a id="index-Dates"></a><span><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date_spec</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Dates"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date_spec</var>.
<var class="var">date_spec</var> is a single argument, a date description
specifying a date in the past.
</p>
<p>The specification is <em class="dfn">sticky</em> when you use it to make a
private copy of a source file; that is, when you get a working
file using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo;, <small class="sc">CVS</small> 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 <a class="pxref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>).
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; is available with the <code class="code">annotate</code>, <code class="code">checkout</code>,
<code class="code">diff</code>, <code class="code">export</code>, <code class="code">history</code>, <code class="code">ls</code>,
<code class="code">rdiff</code>, <code class="code">rls</code>, <code class="code">rtag</code>, <code class="code">tag</code>, and <code class="code">update</code> commands.
(The <code class="code">history</code> command uses this option in a
slightly different way; see <a class="pxref" href="#history-options">history options</a>).
</p>
<p>For a complete description of the date formats accepted by <small class="sc">CVS</small>,
see <a class="pxref" href="#Date-input-formats">Date input formats</a>.
</p>
<p>Remember to quote the argument to the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo;
flag so that your shell doesn&rsquo;t interpret spaces as
argument separators.  A command using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo;
flag can look like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs diff -D &quot;1 hour ago&quot; cvs.texinfo
</pre></div>

</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Forcing-a-tag-match"></a><span><code class="code">-f</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Forcing-a-tag-match"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>When you specify a particular date or tag to <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands, they
normally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not
exist prior to the date) that you specified.  Use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; 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).
</p>
<p>Note that even with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo;, a tag that you specify
must exist (that is, in some file, not necessary in
every file).  This is so that <small class="sc">CVS</small> will continue to
give an error if you mistype a tag name.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; is available with these commands:
<code class="code">annotate</code>, <code class="code">checkout</code>, <code class="code">export</code>,
<code class="code">rdiff</code>, <code class="code">rtag</code>, and <code class="code">update</code>.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING:  The <code class="code">commit</code> and <code class="code">remove</code>
commands also have a
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; option, but it has a different behavior for
those commands.  See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>, and
<a class="ref" href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a>.</em>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Override the default processing of RCS keywords other than
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo;.  See <a class="xref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>, for the meaning of
<var class="var">kflag</var>.  Used with the <code class="code">checkout</code> and <code class="code">update</code>
commands, your <var class="var">kflag</var> specification is
<em class="dfn">sticky</em>; that is, when you use this option
with a <code class="code">checkout</code> or <code class="code">update</code> command,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> associates your selected <var class="var">kflag</var> with any files
it operates on, and continues to use that <var class="var">kflag</var> with future
commands on the same files until you specify otherwise.
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option is available with the <code class="code">add</code>,
<code class="code">checkout</code>, <code class="code">diff</code>, <code class="code">export</code>, <code class="code">import</code>,
<code class="code">rdiff</code>, and <code class="code">update</code> commands.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: Prior to CVS version 1.12.2, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; flag
overrode the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; indication for a binary file.  This could
sometimes corrupt binary files.  See <a class="xref" href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a>, for
more.</em>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory, rather than
recursing through subdirectories.
</p>
<p>Available with the following commands: <code class="code">annotate</code>, <code class="code">checkout</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code>, <code class="code">diff</code>, <code class="code">edit</code>, <code class="code">editors</code>, <code class="code">export</code>,
<code class="code">log</code>, <code class="code">rdiff</code>, <code class="code">remove</code>, <code class="code">rtag</code>,
<code class="code">status</code>, <code class="code">tag</code>, <code class="code">unedit</code>, <code class="code">update</code>, <code class="code">watch</code>,
and <code class="code">watchers</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Avoiding-editor-invocation"></a>
<a id="index-Editor_002c-avoiding-invocation-of"></a><span><code class="code">-m <var class="var">message</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Editor_002c-avoiding-invocation-of"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">message</var> as log information, instead of
invoking an editor.
</p>
<p>Available with the following commands: <code class="code">add</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code> and <code class="code">import</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run any tag program.  (A program can be
specified to run in the modules
database (see <a class="pxref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>); this option bypasses it).
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: this is not the same as the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -n</samp>&rsquo;
program option, which you can specify to the left of a cvs command!</em>
</p>
<p>Available with the <code class="code">checkout</code>, <code class="code">commit</code>, <code class="code">export</code>,
and <code class="code">rtag</code> commands.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Removing-directories">Removing directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output,
rather than writing them in the current directory.  Available
with the <code class="code">checkout</code> and <code class="code">update</code> commands.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Process directories recursively.  This is the default for all <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands, with the exception of <code class="code">ls</code> &amp; <code class="code">rls</code>.
</p>
<p>Available with the following commands: <code class="code">annotate</code>, <code class="code">checkout</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code>, <code class="code">diff</code>, <code class="code">edit</code>, <code class="code">editors</code>, <code class="code">export</code>,
<code class="code">ls</code>, <code class="code">rdiff</code>, <code class="code">remove</code>, <code class="code">rls</code>, <code class="code">rtag</code>,
<code class="code">status</code>, <code class="code">tag</code>, <code class="code">unedit</code>, <code class="code">update</code>, <code class="code">watch</code>,
and <code class="code">watchers</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-BASE_002c-special-tag"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-BASE_002c-special-date"></a>
<a id="index-HEAD_002c-special-tag"></a><span><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-HEAD_002c-special-tag"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Use the revision specified by the <var class="var">tag</var> argument (and the <var class="var">date</var>
argument for the commands which accept it) instead of the
default <em class="dfn">head</em> revision.  As well as arbitrary tags defined
with the <code class="code">tag</code> or <code class="code">rtag</code> command, two special tags are
always available: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">HEAD</samp>&rsquo; refers to the most recent version
available in the repository (also known as the tip of the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">MAIN</samp>&rsquo;
branch, also known as trunk; the name of a branch refers to its tip;
this version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> introduces &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.bhead</samp>&rsquo;, but only for the
<small class="sc">DIFF</small> command, for the same), and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">BASE</samp>&rsquo; refers to the
revision you last checked out into the current working directory.
</p>

<p>The tag specification is sticky when you use this
with <code class="code">checkout</code> or <code class="code">update</code> to make your own
copy of a file: <small class="sc">CVS</small> remembers the tag and continues to use it on
future update commands, until you specify otherwise (for more information
on sticky tags/dates, see <a class="pxref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>).
</p>
<p>The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as
described in <a class="ref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>, or the name of a branch, as
described in <a class="ref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>.
When <var class="var">tag</var> is the name of a
branch, some commands accept the optional <var class="var">date</var> 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.
</p>
<p>As a Debian and MirBSD <small class="sc">CVS</small> extension, specifying &lsquo;<samp class="samp">BASE</samp>&rsquo; as the
<var class="var">date</var> portion of the argument yields the <em class="emph">base revision</em> of the
branch specified by the <var class="var">tag</var> portion of the argument, i.e. the revision
on the parent branch the <var class="var">tag</var> branch split off, or, where both
branches were the same.
This option has not received very much testing, beware!
</p>
<p>Specifying the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-q</samp>&rsquo; global option along with the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; command option is often useful, to suppress
the warning messages when the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file
does not contain the specified tag.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: this is not the same as the overall &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -r</samp>&rsquo; option,
which you can specify to the left of a <small class="sc">CVS</small> command!</em>
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r <var class="var">tag</var></samp>&rsquo; is available with the <code class="code">commit</code> and <code class="code">history</code>
commands.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</samp>&rsquo; is available with the <code class="code">annotate</code>,
<code class="code">checkout</code>, <code class="code">diff</code>, <code class="code">export</code>, <code class="code">rdiff</code>, <code class="code">rtag</code>,
and <code class="code">update</code> commands.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-W</code></dt>
<dd><p>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 <samp class="file">.cvswrappers</samp> file.
Available with the following commands: <code class="code">import</code>,
and <code class="code">update</code>.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>








<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Date-input-formats">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#admin" accesskey="n" rel="next">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Common-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Common command options</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Date-input-formats-1"><span>A.6 Date input formats<a class="copiable-link" href="#Date-input-formats-1"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-date-input-formats"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-get_005fdate"></a>

<p>First, a quote:
</p>
<blockquote class="quotation">
<p>Our units of temporal measurement, from seconds on up to months, are so
complicated, asymmetrical and disjunctive so as to make coherent mental
reckoning in time all but impossible.  Indeed, had some tyrannical god
contrived to enslave our minds to time, to make it all but impossible
for us to escape subjection to sodden routines and unpleasant surprises,
he could hardly have done better than handing down our present system.
It is like a set of trapezoidal building blocks, with no vertical or
horizontal surfaces, like a language in which the simplest thought
demands ornate constructions, useless particles and lengthy
circumlocutions.  Unlike the more successful patterns of language and
science, which enable us to face experience boldly or at least
level-headedly, our system of temporal calculation silently and
persistently encourages our terror of time.
</p>
<p>&hellip;  It is as though architects had to measure length in feet, width
in meters and height in ells; as though basic instruction manuals
demanded a knowledge of five different languages.  It is no wonder then
that we often look into our own immediate past or future, last Tuesday
or a week from Sunday, with feelings of helpless confusion.  &hellip;
</p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Grudin, <cite class="cite">Time and the Art of Living</cite>.
</p></blockquote>

<p>This section describes the textual date representations that <small class="sc">GNU</small>
programs accept.  These are the strings you, as a user, can supply as
arguments to the various programs.  The C interface (via the
<code class="code">get_date</code> function) is not described here.
</p>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#General-date-syntax" accesskey="1">General date syntax</a></li>
<li><a href="#Calendar-date-items" accesskey="2">Calendar date items</a></li>
<li><a href="#Time-of-day-items" accesskey="3">Time of day items</a></li>
<li><a href="#Time-zone-items" accesskey="4">Time zone items</a></li>
<li><a href="#Day-of-week-items" accesskey="5">Day of week items</a></li>
<li><a href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings" accesskey="6">Relative items in date strings</a></li>
<li><a href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings" accesskey="7">Pure numbers in date strings</a></li>
<li><a href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch" accesskey="8">Seconds since the Epoch</a></li>
<li><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate" accesskey="9">Authors of <code class="code">get_date</code></a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="General-date-syntax">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Calendar-date-items" accesskey="n" rel="next">Calendar date items</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="General-date-syntax-1"><span>A.6.1 General date syntax<a class="copiable-link" href="#General-date-syntax-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-general-date-syntax"></a>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-items-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>A <em class="dfn">date</em> is a string, possibly empty, containing many items
separated by whitespace.  The whitespace may be omitted when no
ambiguity arises.  The empty string means the beginning of today (i.e.,
midnight).  Order of the items is immaterial.  A date string may contain
many flavors of items:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>calendar date items
</li><li>time of day items
</li><li>time zone items
</li><li>day of the week items
</li><li>relative items
</li><li>pure numbers.
</li></ul>

<p>We describe each of these item types in turn, below.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-numbers_002c-written_002dout"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-ordinal-numbers"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-first-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-next-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-last-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>A few ordinal numbers may be written out in words in some contexts.  This is
most useful for specifying day of the week items or relative items (see
below).  Among the most commonly used ordinal numbers, the word
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">last</samp>&rsquo; stands for <em class="math">-1</em>, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">this</samp>&rsquo; stands for 0, and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">first</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">next</samp>&rsquo; both stand for 1.  Because the word
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">second</samp>&rsquo; stands for the unit of time there is no way to write the
ordinal number 2, but for convenience &lsquo;<samp class="samp">third</samp>&rsquo; stands for 3,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">fourth</samp>&rsquo; for 4, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">fifth</samp>&rsquo; for 5,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">sixth</samp>&rsquo; for 6, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">seventh</samp>&rsquo; for 7, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">eighth</samp>&rsquo; for 8,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">ninth</samp>&rsquo; for 9, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tenth</samp>&rsquo; for 10, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">eleventh</samp>&rsquo; for 11 and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">twelfth</samp>&rsquo; for 12.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-months_002c-written_002dout"></a>
<p>When a month is written this way, it is still considered to be written
numerically, instead of being &ldquo;spelled in full&rdquo;; this changes the
allowed strings.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-language_002c-in-dates"></a>
<p>In the current implementation, only English is supported for words and
abbreviations like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">AM</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DST</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">EST</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">first</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">January</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Sunday</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tomorrow</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">year</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-language_002c-in-dates-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-time-zone-item"></a>
<p>The output of <code class="command">date</code> is not always acceptable as a date string,
not only because of the language problem, but also because there is no
standard meaning for time zone items like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">IST</samp>&rsquo;.  When using
<code class="command">date</code> to generate a date string intended to be parsed later,
specify a date format that is independent of language and that does not
use time zone items other than &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Z</samp>&rsquo;.  Here are some
ways to do this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ LC_ALL=C TZ=UTC0 date
Fri Dec 15 19:48:05 UTC 2000
$ TZ=UTC0 date +&quot;%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%SZ&quot;
2000-12-15 19:48:05Z
$ date --iso-8601=seconds  # a GNU extension
2000-12-15T11:48:05-0800
$ date --iso-8601=ns  # a GNU extension
2004-02-29T16:21:42,692722128-0800
$ date --iso-8601=ns | tr T ' '  # --iso-8601 is a GNU extension.
2004-02-29 16:21:42,692722128-0800
$ date --rfc-2822  # a GNU extension
Fri, 15 Dec 2000 11:48:05 -0800
$ date +&quot;%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z&quot;  # %z is a GNU extension.
2000-12-15 11:48:05 -0800
$ date +'@%s'  # %s is a MirBSD extension.
@1101064210
$ date +'@%s.%N'  # %s and %N are GNU extensions.
@1078100502.692722128
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-case_002c-ignored-in-dates"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-comments_002c-in-dates"></a>
<p>Alphabetic case is completely ignored in dates.  Comments may be introduced
between round parentheses, as long as included parentheses are properly
nested.  Hyphens not followed by a digit are currently ignored.  Leading
zeros on numbers are ignored.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Calendar-date-items">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Time-of-day-items" accesskey="n" rel="next">Time of day items</a>, Previous: <a href="#General-date-syntax" accesskey="p" rel="prev">General date syntax</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Calendar-date-items-1"><span>A.6.2 Calendar date items<a class="copiable-link" href="#Calendar-date-items-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-calendar-date-item"></a>

<p>A <em class="dfn">calendar date item</em> specifies a day of the year.  It is
specified differently, depending on whether the month is specified
numerically or literally.  All these strings specify the same calendar date:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">1972-09-24     # <span class="sc">ISO</span> 8601.
72-9-24        # Assume 19xx for 69 through 99,
               # 20xx for 00 through 68.
72-09-24       # Leading zeros are ignored.
9/24/72        # Common U.S. writing.
24 September 1972
24 Sept 72     # September has a special abbreviation.
24 Sep 72      # Three-letter abbreviations always allowed.
Sep 24, 1972
24-sep-72
24sep72
</pre></div>

<p>The year can also be omitted.  In this case, the last specified year is
used, or the current year if none.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">9/24
sep 24
</pre></div>

<p>Here are the rules.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-iso-8601-date-format"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-date-format_002c-iso-8601"></a>
<p>For numeric months, the <small class="sc">ISO</small> 8601 format
&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">year</var>-<var class="var">month</var>-<var class="var">day</var></samp>&rsquo; is allowed, where <var class="var">year</var> is
any positive number, <var class="var">month</var> is a number between 01 and 12, and
<var class="var">day</var> is a number between 01 and 31.  A leading zero must be present
if a number is less than ten.  If <var class="var">year</var> is 68 or smaller, then 2000
is added to it; otherwise, if <var class="var">year</var> is less than 100,
then 1900 is added to it.  The construct
&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">month</var>/<var class="var">day</var>/<var class="var">year</var></samp>&rsquo;, popular in the United States,
is accepted.  Also &lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">month</var>/<var class="var">day</var></samp>&rsquo;, omitting the year.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-month-names-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-abbreviations-for-months"></a>
<p>Literal months may be spelled out in full: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">January</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">February</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">March</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">April</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">May</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">June</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">July</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">August</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">September</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">October</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">November</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">December</samp>&rsquo;.  Literal months may be abbreviated
to their first three letters, possibly followed by an abbreviating dot.
It is also permitted to write &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Sept</samp>&rsquo; instead of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">September</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>When months are written literally, the calendar date may be given as any
of the following:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><var class="var">day</var> <var class="var">month</var> <var class="var">year</var>
<var class="var">day</var> <var class="var">month</var>
<var class="var">month</var> <var class="var">day</var> <var class="var">year</var>
<var class="var">day</var>-<var class="var">month</var>-<var class="var">year</var>
</pre></div>

<p>Or, omitting the year:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><var class="var">month</var> <var class="var">day</var>
</pre></div>


<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Time-of-day-items">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Time-zone-items" accesskey="n" rel="next">Time zone items</a>, Previous: <a href="#Calendar-date-items" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Calendar date items</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Time-of-day-items-1"><span>A.6.3 Time of day items<a class="copiable-link" href="#Time-of-day-items-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-time-of-day-item"></a>

<p>A <em class="dfn">time of day item</em> in date strings specifies the time on a given
day.  Here are some examples, all of which represent the same time:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">20:02:00.000000
20:02
8:02pm
20:02-0500      # In <span class="sc">EST</span> (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
</pre></div>

<p>More generally, the time of day may be given as
&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">hour</var>:<var class="var">minute</var>:<var class="var">second</var></samp>&rsquo;, where <var class="var">hour</var> is
a number between 0 and 23, <var class="var">minute</var> is a number between 0 and
59, and <var class="var">second</var> is a number between 0 and 59, with an optional
fraction separated by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,</samp>&rsquo; consisting of digits.
Alternatively, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:<var class="var">second</var></samp>&rsquo; can be omitted, in which case
it is taken to be zero.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-am-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pm-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-midnight-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-noon-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>If the time is followed by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">am</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pm</samp>&rsquo; (or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">a.m.</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">p.m.</samp>&rsquo;), <var class="var">hour</var> is restricted to run from 1 to 12, and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">:<var class="var">minute</var></samp>&rsquo; may be omitted (taken to be zero).  &lsquo;<samp class="samp">am</samp>&rsquo;
indicates the first half of the day, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pm</samp>&rsquo; indicates the second
half of the day.  In this notation, 12 is the predecessor of 1:
midnight is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12am</samp>&rsquo; while noon is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12pm</samp>&rsquo;.
(This is the zero-oriented interpretation of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12am</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12pm</samp>&rsquo;,
as opposed to the old tradition derived from Latin
which uses &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12m</samp>&rsquo; for noon and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12pm</samp>&rsquo; for midnight.)
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-time-zone-correction"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-minutes_002c-time-zone-correction-by"></a>
<p>The time may alternatively be followed by a time zone correction,
expressed as &lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">s</var><var class="var">hh</var><var class="var">mm</var></samp>&rsquo;, where <var class="var">s</var> is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">+</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo;, <var class="var">hh</var> is a number of zone hours and <var class="var">mm</var> is a number
of zone minutes.  You can also separate <var class="var">hh</var> from <var class="var">mm</var> with a colon.
When a time zone correction is given this way, it
forces interpretation of the time relative to
Coordinated Universal Time (<small class="sc">UTC</small>), overriding any previous
specification for the time zone or the local time zone.  For example,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">+0530</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">+05:30</samp>&rsquo; both stand for the time zone 5.5 hours
ahead of <small class="sc">UTC</small> (e.g., India).  The <var class="var">minute</var>
part of the time of day may not be elided when a time zone correction
is used.  This is the best way to specify a time zone correction by
fractional parts of an hour.
</p>
<p>Either &lsquo;<samp class="samp">am</samp>&rsquo;/&lsquo;<samp class="samp">pm</samp>&rsquo; or a time zone correction may be specified,
but not both.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Time-zone-items">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Day-of-week-items" accesskey="n" rel="next">Day of week items</a>, Previous: <a href="#Time-of-day-items" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Time of day items</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Time-zone-items-1"><span>A.6.4 Time zone items<a class="copiable-link" href="#Time-zone-items-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-time-zone-item-1"></a>

<p>A <em class="dfn">time zone item</em> specifies an international time zone, indicated
by a small set of letters, e.g., &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Z</samp>&rsquo;
for Coordinated Universal
Time.  Any included periods are ignored.  By following a
non-daylight-saving time zone by the string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DST</samp>&rsquo; in a separate
word (that is, separated by some white space), the corresponding
daylight saving time zone may be specified.
Alternatively, a non-daylight-saving time zone can be followed by a
time zone correction, to add the two values.  This is normally done
only for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC</samp>&rsquo;; for example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC+05:30</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">+05:30</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Time zone items other than &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Z</samp>&rsquo;
are obsolescent and are not recommended, because they
are ambiguous; for example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">EST</samp>&rsquo; has a different meaning in
Australia than in the United States.  Instead, it&rsquo;s better to use
unambiguous numeric time zone corrections like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-0500</samp>&rsquo;, as
described in the previous section.
</p>
<p>If neither a time zone item nor a time zone correction is supplied,
time stamps are interpreted using the rules of the default time zone.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Day-of-week-items">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings" accesskey="n" rel="next">Relative items in date strings</a>, Previous: <a href="#Time-zone-items" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Time zone items</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Day-of-week-items-1"><span>A.6.5 Day of week items<a class="copiable-link" href="#Day-of-week-items-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-day-of-week-item"></a>

<p>The explicit mention of a day of the week will forward the date
(only if necessary) to reach that day of the week in the future.
</p>
<p>Days of the week may be spelled out in full: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Sunday</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">Monday</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Tuesday</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Wednesday</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Thursday</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">Friday</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Saturday</samp>&rsquo;.  Days may be abbreviated to their
first three letters, optionally followed by a period.  The special
abbreviations &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Tues</samp>&rsquo; for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Tuesday</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Wednes</samp>&rsquo; for
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">Wednesday</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Thur</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Thurs</samp>&rsquo; for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Thursday</samp>&rsquo; are
also allowed.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-next-day"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-last-day"></a>
<p>A number may precede a day of the week item to move forward
supplementary weeks.  It is best used in expression like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">third
monday</samp>&rsquo;.  In this context, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">last <var class="var">day</var></samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">next
<var class="var">day</var></samp>&rsquo; is also acceptable; they move one week before or after
the day that <var class="var">day</var> by itself would represent.
</p>
<p>A comma following a day of the week item is ignored.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Relative-items-in-date-strings">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings" accesskey="n" rel="next">Pure numbers in date strings</a>, Previous: <a href="#Day-of-week-items" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Day of week items</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Relative-items-in-date-strings-1"><span>A.6.6 Relative items in date strings<a class="copiable-link" href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-relative-items-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-displacement-of-dates"></a>

<p><em class="dfn">Relative items</em> adjust a date (or the current date if none) forward
or backward.  The effects of relative items accumulate.  Here are some
examples:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">1 year
1 year ago
3 years
2 days
</pre></div>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-year-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-month-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-fortnight-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-week-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-day-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-hour-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-minute-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>The unit of time displacement may be selected by the string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">year</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">month</samp>&rsquo; for moving by whole years or months.  These are fuzzy
units, as years and months are not all of equal duration.  More precise
units are &lsquo;<samp class="samp">fortnight</samp>&rsquo; which is worth 14 days, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">week</samp>&rsquo; worth 7
days, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">day</samp>&rsquo; worth 24 hours, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">hour</samp>&rsquo; worth 60 minutes,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">minute</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">min</samp>&rsquo; worth 60 seconds, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">second</samp>&rsquo; or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">sec</samp>&rsquo; worth one second.  An &lsquo;<samp class="samp">s</samp>&rsquo; suffix on these units is
accepted and ignored.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-ago-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>The unit of time may be preceded by a multiplier, given as an optionally
signed number.  Unsigned numbers are taken as positively signed.  No
number at all implies 1 for a multiplier.  Following a relative item by
the string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ago</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to preceding the unit by a
multiplier with value <em class="math">-1</em>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-day-in-date-strings-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-tomorrow-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-yesterday-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>The string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tomorrow</samp>&rsquo; is worth one day in the future (equivalent
to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">day</samp>&rsquo;), the string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yesterday</samp>&rsquo; is worth
one day in the past (equivalent to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">day ago</samp>&rsquo;).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-now-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-today-in-date-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-this-in-date-strings"></a>
<p>The strings &lsquo;<samp class="samp">now</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">today</samp>&rsquo; are relative items corresponding
to zero-valued time displacement, these strings come from the fact
a zero-valued time displacement represents the current time when not
otherwise changed by previous items.  They may be used to stress other
items, like in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">12:00 today</samp>&rsquo;.  The string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">this</samp>&rsquo; also has
the meaning of a zero-valued time displacement, but is preferred in
date strings like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">this thursday</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>When a relative item causes the resulting date to cross a boundary
where the clocks were adjusted, typically for daylight-saving time,
the resulting date and time are adjusted accordingly.
</p>
<p>The fuzz in units can cause problems with relative items.  For
example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">2003-07-31 -1 month</samp>&rsquo; might evaluate to 2003-07-01,
because 2003-06-31 is an invalid date.  To determine the previous
month more reliably, you can ask for the month before the 15th of the
current month.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ date -R
Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:02:39 -0700
$ date --date=&quot;-1 month&quot; +'Last month was %B?'
Last month was July?
$ date --date=&quot;$(date +%Y-%m-15) -1 month&quot; +'Last month was %B!'
Last month was June!
</pre></div>

<p>Also, take care when manipulating dates around clock changes such as
daylight saving leaps.  In a few cases these have added or subtracted
as much as 24 hours from the clock, so it is often wise to adopt
universal time by setting the <code class="env">TZ</code> environment variable to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">UTC0</samp>&rsquo; before embarking on calendrical calculations.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Pure-numbers-in-date-strings">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch" accesskey="n" rel="next">Seconds since the Epoch</a>, Previous: <a href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Relative items in date strings</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Pure-numbers-in-date-strings-1"><span>A.6.7 Pure numbers in date strings<a class="copiable-link" href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pure-numbers-in-date-strings"></a>

<p>The precise interpretation of a pure decimal number depends
on the context in the date string.
</p>
<p>If the decimal number is of the form <var class="var">yyyy</var><var class="var">mm</var><var class="var">dd</var> and no
other calendar date item (see <a class="pxref" href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a>) appears before it
in the date string, then <var class="var">yyyy</var> is read as the year, <var class="var">mm</var> as the
month number and <var class="var">dd</var> as the day of the month, for the specified
calendar date.
</p>
<p>If the decimal number is of the form <var class="var">hh</var><var class="var">mm</var> and no other time
of day item appears before it in the date string, then <var class="var">hh</var> is read
as the hour of the day and <var class="var">mm</var> as the minute of the hour, for the
specified time of day.  <var class="var">mm</var> can also be omitted.
</p>
<p>If both a calendar date and a time of day appear to the left of a number
in the date string, but no relative item, then the number overrides the
year.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Seconds-since-the-Epoch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate" accesskey="n" rel="next">Authors of <code class="code">get_date</code></a>, Previous: <a href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Pure numbers in date strings</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Seconds-since-the-Epoch-1"><span>A.6.8 Seconds since the Epoch<a class="copiable-link" href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>If you give a string consisting of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@</samp>&rsquo; followed by a decimal
number, it is parsed as an internal time stamp, <small class="sc">UTC</small> for
<abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr> compliant systems, <small class="sc">TAI</small> for systems which keep
time correctly, and directly mapped to a kernel time.  The implementation
handles an optional fraction separated by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,</samp>&rsquo; and
truncates to a supported internal precision, rounding towards the
negative infinity.  Since the kernel time stamp represents complete
date and time information, it cannot be combined with any other
format given.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-beginning-of-time_002c-for-POSIX"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-epoch_002c-for-POSIX"></a>
<p>Although the date syntax here can represent any possible time since the
year zero, computer integers often cannot represent such a wide range of
time.  On <abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr> systems, the clock starts at 1970-01-01 00:00:00
<small class="sc">UTC</small>: <abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr> does not require support for times before the
<abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr> Epoch and times far in the future.  <abbr class="acronym">GNU</abbr> and
traditional Unix systems have 32-bit signed <code class="code">time_t</code> and can represent
times from 1901-12-13 20:45:52 through 2038-01-19 03:14:07 <small class="sc">UTC</small>, such
that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@0</samp>&rsquo; represents the epoch, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@1</samp>&rsquo; represents 1970-01-01
00:00:01 <small class="sc">UTC</small>, and so forth, whereas &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@-1</samp>&rsquo;, not mandated by
<abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr>, represents 1969-12-31 23:59:59 <small class="sc">UTC</small>.  Systems with
64-bit signed <code class="code">time_t</code> can represent all the times in the known
lifetime of the universe. Modern <abbr class="acronym">UNIX</abbr> systems also can give
precise timecounters in the nanosecond or even attosecond range with
a resolution often only a small multiply, like 10000, of the CPU
frequency (on fast machines).
</p>
<p><abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr> conformant systems do not count leap seconds, and their
kernel time is a seconds-since-epoch representation of <small class="sc">UTC</small> (which
is a calendar time); the MirOS family of operating systems keeps time
as seconds since the epoch, <small class="sc">TAI</small>, correctly counting leap seconds
and providing conversion functions.  Most MirBSD ports have already
switched to a 64-bit signed <code class="code">time_t</code>, some are using a
<small class="sc">DJB</small>-compatible <code class="code">tai_t</code> internally.  The rest of this
document has not been throughoutly checked for <small class="sc">UTC</small> vs <small class="sc">TAI</small>
correctness.  For <abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr>ly broken systems, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@915148799</samp>&rsquo;
represents 1998-12-31 23:59:59 <small class="sc">UTC</small>, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">@915148800</samp>&rsquo; represents
1999-01-01 00:00:00 <small class="sc">UTC</small>, and there is no way to represent the
intervening leap second 1998-12-31 23:59:60 <small class="sc">UTC</small>.  Also, calculation
of time deltas is wrong, such as the age of the MirBSD founder is already
off by more than 10 seconds in 2000.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Authors-of-get_005fdate">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Seconds since the Epoch</a>, Up: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="u" rel="up">Date input formats</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Authors-of-get_005fdate-1"><span>A.6.9 Authors of <code class="code">get_date</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-authors-of-get_005fdate"></a>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Bellovin_002c-Steven-M_002e"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Salz_002c-Rich"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Berets_002c-Jim"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-MacKenzie_002c-David"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Meyering_002c-Jim"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Eggert_002c-Paul"></a>
<p><code class="code">get_date</code> was originally implemented by Steven M. Bellovin
(<a class="email" href="mailto:smb@research.att.com">smb@research.att.com</a>) while at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.  The code was later tweaked by a couple of people on
Usenet, then completely overhauled by Rich $alz (<a class="email" href="mailto:rsalz@bbn.com">rsalz@bbn.com</a>)
and Jim Berets (<a class="email" href="mailto:jberets@bbn.com">jberets@bbn.com</a>) in August, 1990.  Various
revisions for the <small class="sc">GNU</small> system were made by David MacKenzie, Jim Meyering,
Paul Eggert and others.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Pinard_002c-F_002e"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Berry_002c-K_002e"></a>
<p>This chapter was originally produced by Fran&ccedil;ois Pinard
(<a class="email" href="mailto:pinard@iro.umontreal.ca">pinard@iro.umontreal.ca</a>) from the <samp class="file">getdate.y</samp> source code,
and then edited by K. Berry (<a class="email" href="mailto:kb@cs.umb.edu">kb@cs.umb.edu</a>).
</p>
<p>The version of this chapter you are reading comes with MirBSD <small class="sc">GNU</small>
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.12 (also in Debian); it is based upon an older version of
the <small class="sc">GNU</small> coreutils manual which is <em class="emph">not</em> yet GFDL-licenced.
Appropriate changes for the in-tree <code class="code">get_date</code> version of CVS
have been applied.
The MirBSD version is maintained by mirabilos <a class="email" href="mailto:m@mirbsd.org">m@mirbsd.org</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="admin">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#annotate" accesskey="n" rel="next">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a>, Previous: <a href="#Date-input-formats" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Date input formats</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="admin_002d_002d_002dAdministration-front_002dend-for-RCS"><span>A.7 admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS<a class="copiable-link" href="#admin_002d_002d_002dAdministration-front_002dend-for-RCS"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Admin-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Requires: repository, working directory.
</li><li>Changes: repository.
</li><li>Synonym: rcs
</li></ul>

<p>This is the <small class="sc">CVS</small> interface to assorted
administrative facilities.  Some of them have
questionable usefulness for <small class="sc">CVS</small> but exist for
historical purposes.  Some of the questionable options
are likely to disappear in the future.  This command
<em class="emph">does</em> work recursively, so extreme care should be
used.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-cvsadmin"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-UserAdminOptions_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a>
<p>On unix, if there is a group named <code class="code">cvsadmin</code>,
only members of that group can run <code class="code">cvs admin</code>
commands, except for those specified using the
<code class="code">UserAdminOptions</code> configuration option in the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/config</samp> file.  Options specified using
<code class="code">UserAdminOptions</code> can be run by any user.  See
<a class="ref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a> for more on <code class="code">UserAdminOptions</code>.
</p>
<p>The <code class="code">cvsadmin</code> group should exist on the server,
or any system running the non-client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
To disallow <code class="code">cvs admin</code> for all users, create a
group with no users in it.  On NT, the <code class="code">cvsadmin</code>
feature does not exist and all users
can run <code class="code">cvs admin</code>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#admin-options" accesskey="1">admin options</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="admin-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#admin" accesskey="u" rel="up">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="admin-options-1"><span>A.7.1 admin options<a class="copiable-link" href="#admin-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Some of these options have questionable usefulness for
<small class="sc">CVS</small> but exist for historical purposes.  Some even
make it impossible to use <small class="sc">CVS</small> until you undo the
effect!
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-A<var class="var">oldfile</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Might not work together with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Append the
access list of <var class="var">oldfile</var> to the access list of the
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-a<var class="var">logins</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Might not work together with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Append the
login names appearing in the comma-separated list
<var class="var">logins</var> to the access list of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-b[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set the default branch to <var class="var">rev</var>.  In <small class="sc">CVS</small>, you
normally do not manipulate default branches; sticky
tags (see <a class="pxref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>) are a better way to decide
which branch you want to work on.  There is one reason
to run <code class="code">cvs admin -b</code>: to revert to the vendor&rsquo;s
version when using vendor branches (see <a class="pxref" href="#Reverting-local-changes">Reverting to the latest vendor release</a>).
There can be no space between &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Comment-leader"></a><span><code class="code">-c<var class="var">string</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Comment-leader"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Sets the comment leader to <var class="var">string</var>.  The comment
leader is not used by current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> or
<small class="sc">RCS</small> 5.7.  Therefore, you can almost surely not
worry about it.  See <a class="xref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e[<var class="var">logins</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Might not work together with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Erase the login
names appearing in the comma-separated list
<var class="var">logins</var> from the access list of the RCS file.  If
<var class="var">logins</var> is omitted, erase the entire access list.
There can be no space between &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-e</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-I</code></dt>
<dd><p>Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a
terminal.  This option does not work with the
client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small> and is likely to disappear in
a future release of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-i</code></dt>
<dd><p>Useless with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  This creates and initialises a
new <small class="sc">RCS</small> file, without depositing a revision.  With
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, add files with the <code class="code">cvs add</code> command
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Adding-files">Adding files to a directory</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k<var class="var">subst</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set the default keyword
substitution to <var class="var">subst</var>.  See <a class="xref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.  Giving an explicit &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; option to
<code class="code">cvs update</code>, <code class="code">cvs export</code>, or <code class="code">cvs
checkout</code> overrides this default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Lock the revision with number <var class="var">rev</var>.  If a branch
is given, lock the latest revision on that branch.  If
<var class="var">rev</var> is omitted, lock the latest revision on the
default branch.  There can be no space between
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>
<p>This can be used in conjunction with the
<samp class="file">rcslock.pl</samp> script in the <samp class="file">contrib</samp>
directory of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> 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 <samp class="file">README</samp> file
in that directory for disclaimers about the unsupported
nature of contrib).  According to comments in that
file, locking must set to strict (which is the default).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-L</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set locking to strict.  Strict locking means that the
owner of an RCS file is not exempt from locking for
checkin.  For use with <small class="sc">CVS</small>, strict locking must be
set; see the discussion under the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; option above.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Replacing-a-log-message"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Correcting-a-log-message"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Fixing-a-log-message"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-message_002c-correcting"></a>
<a id="index-Changing-a-log-message"></a><span><code class="code">-m<var class="var">rev</var>:<var class="var">msg</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Changing-a-log-message"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Replace the log message of revision <var class="var">rev</var> with
<var class="var">msg</var>.
</p>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N<var class="var">name</var>[:[<var class="var">rev</var>]]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Act like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo;, except override any previous
assignment of <var class="var">name</var>.  For use with magic branches,
see <a class="ref" href="#Magic-branch-numbers">Magic branch numbers</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n<var class="var">name</var>[:[<var class="var">rev</var>]]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Associate the symbolic name <var class="var">name</var> with the branch
or revision <var class="var">rev</var>.  It is normally better to use
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs tag</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs rtag</samp>&rsquo; instead.  Delete the
symbolic name if both &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:</samp>&rsquo; and <var class="var">rev</var> are
omitted; otherwise, print an error message if
<var class="var">name</var> is already associated with another number.
If <var class="var">rev</var> is symbolic, it is expanded before
association.  A <var class="var">rev</var> consisting of a branch number
followed by a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo; stands for the current latest
revision in the branch.  A &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:</samp>&rsquo; with an empty
<var class="var">rev</var> stands for the current latest revision on the
default branch, normally the trunk.  For example,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs admin -n<var class="var">name</var>:</samp>&rsquo; associates <var class="var">name</var> with the
current latest revision of all the RCS files;
this contrasts with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs admin -n<var class="var">name</var>:$</samp>&rsquo; which
associates <var class="var">name</var> with the revision numbers
extracted from keyword strings in the corresponding
working files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Outdating-revisions"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Saving-space"></a>
<a id="index-Deleting-revisions"></a><span><code class="code">-o<var class="var">range</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Deleting-revisions"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Deletes (<em class="dfn">outdates</em>) the revisions given by
<var class="var">range</var>.
</p>
<p>Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless
you know <em class="emph">exactly</em> what you are doing (for example
see the warnings below about how the
<var class="var">rev1</var>:<var class="var">rev2</var> syntax is confusing).
</p>
<p>If you are short on disc this option might help you.
But think twice before using it&mdash;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 <small class="sc">CVS</small>
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.
</p>
<p>Specify <var class="var">range</var> in one of the following ways:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev1</var>::<var class="var">rev2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Collapse all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that
<small class="sc">CVS</small> only stores the differences associated with going
from rev1 to rev2, not intermediate steps.  For
example, after &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o 1.3::1.5</samp>&rsquo; 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:
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o 1.3::1.4</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o 1.3::1.3</samp>&rsquo; have no
effect, because there are no intermediate revisions to
remove.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">::<var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch
containing <var class="var">rev</var> and <var class="var">rev</var> itself.  The
branchpoint and <var class="var">rev</var> are left intact.  For
example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o ::1.3.2.6</samp>&rsquo; 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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev</var>::</code></dt>
<dd><p>Collapse revisions between <var class="var">rev</var> and the end of the
branch containing <var class="var">rev</var>.  Revision <var class="var">rev</var> is
left intact but the head revision is deleted.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete the revision <var class="var">rev</var>.  For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o
1.3</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o 1.2::1.4</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev1</var>:<var class="var">rev2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete the revisions from <var class="var">rev1</var> to <var class="var">rev2</var>,
inclusive, on the same branch.  One will not be able to
retrieve <var class="var">rev1</var> or <var class="var">rev2</var> or any of the
revisions in between.  For example, the command
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs admin -oR_1_01:R_1_02 .</samp>&rsquo; 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
<em class="emph">the same</em> 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 <var class="var">rev1</var>::<var class="var">rev2</var> instead.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">:<var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete revisions from the beginning of the
branch containing <var class="var">rev</var> up to and including
<var class="var">rev</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev</var>:</code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete revisions from revision <var class="var">rev</var>, including
<var class="var">rev</var> itself, to the end of the branch containing
<var class="var">rev</var>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>None of the revisions to be deleted may have
branches or locks.
</p>
<p>If any of the revisions to be deleted have symbolic
names, and one specifies one of the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">::</samp>&rsquo; syntaxes,
then <small class="sc">CVS</small> 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 <code class="code">cvs tag -d</code>, then run
<code class="code">cvs admin -o</code>.  If one specifies the
non-&lsquo;<samp class="samp">::</samp>&rsquo; syntaxes, then <small class="sc">CVS</small> will delete the
revisions but leave the symbolic names pointing to
nonexistent revisions.  This behavior is preserved for
compatibility with previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, but
because it isn&rsquo;t very useful, in the future it may
change to be like the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">::</samp>&rsquo; case.
</p>
<p>Due to the way <small class="sc">CVS</small> handles branches <var class="var">rev</var>
cannot be specified symbolically if it is a branch.
See <a class="xref" href="#Magic-branch-numbers">Magic branch numbers</a>, for an explanation.
</p>
<p>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 <a class="pxref" href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging differences between any two revisions</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s<var class="var">state</var>[:<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Useful with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Set the state attribute of the
revision <var class="var">rev</var> to <var class="var">state</var>.  If <var class="var">rev</var> is a
branch number, assume the latest revision on that
branch.  If <var class="var">rev</var> is omitted, assume the latest
revision on the default branch.  Any identifier is
acceptable for <var class="var">state</var>.  A useful set of states is
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">Exp</samp>&rsquo; (for experimental), &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Stab</samp>&rsquo; (for
stable), and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Rel</samp>&rsquo; (for released).  By default,
the state of a new revision is set to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Exp</samp>&rsquo; when
it is created.  The state is visible in the output from
<var class="var">cvs log</var> (see <a class="pxref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>), and in the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$<i class="i"></i>State$</samp>&rsquo; keywords
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>).  Note that <small class="sc">CVS</small>
uses the <code class="code">dead</code> state for its own purposes (see <a class="pxref" href="#Attic">The attic</a>); to
take a file to or from the <code class="code">dead</code> state use
commands like <code class="code">cvs remove</code> and <code class="code">cvs add</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Adding-and-removing">Adding, removing, and renaming files and directories</a>), not <code class="code">cvs admin -s</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t[<var class="var">file</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Useful with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Write descriptive text from the
contents of the named <var class="var">file</var> into the RCS file,
deleting the existing text.  The <var class="var">file</var> pathname
may not begin with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo;.  The descriptive text can be seen in the
output from &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs log</samp>&rsquo; (see <a class="pxref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>).
There can be no space between &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>
<p>If <var class="var">file</var> is omitted,
obtain the text from standard input, terminated by
end-of-file or by a line containing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo; by itself.
Prompt for the text if interaction is possible; see
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t-<var class="var">string</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Similar to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t<var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo;. Write descriptive text
from the <var class="var">string</var> into the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file, deleting
the existing text.
There can be no space between &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-U</code></dt>
<dd><p>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 <small class="sc">CVS</small>, strict locking must be
set; see the discussion under the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; option
above.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>See the option &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; above, for a discussion of
using this option with <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  Unlock the revision
with number <var class="var">rev</var>.  If a branch is given, unlock
the latest revision on that branch.  If <var class="var">rev</var> 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 <code class="code">commit</code>
notification (see <a class="pxref" href="#Getting-Notified">Telling CVS to notify you</a>).
There can be no space between &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-u</samp>&rsquo; and its argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-V<var class="var">n</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>In previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, this option meant to
write an <small class="sc">RCS</small> file which would be acceptable to
<small class="sc">RCS</small> version <var class="var">n</var>, but it is now obsolete and
specifying it will produce an error.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-x<var class="var">suffixes</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>In previous versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, this was documented
as a way of specifying the names of the <small class="sc">RCS</small>
files.  However, <small class="sc">CVS</small> has always required that the
<small class="sc">RCS</small> files used by <small class="sc">CVS</small> end in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">,v</samp>&rsquo;, so
this option has never done anything useful.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="annotate">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#checkout" accesskey="n" rel="next">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a>, Previous: <a href="#admin" accesskey="p" rel="prev">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="annotate_002d_002d_002dWhat-revision-modified-each-line-of-a-file_003f"><span>A.8 annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?<a class="copiable-link" href="#annotate_002d_002d_002dWhat-revision-modified-each-line-of-a-file_003f"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-annotate-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis:
annotate [options] files&hellip;

<p>rannotate [options] files&hellip;
</p></li><li>Requires: repository.
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li></ul>

<p>For each file in <var class="var">files</var>, print the head revision
of the trunk, together with information on the last
modification for each line.  If backwards annotation
is requested, show the first modification after the
specified revision.  (Backwards annotation currently
appears to be broken.)
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#annotate-options" accesskey="1">annotate options</a></li>
<li><a href="#annotate-example" accesskey="2">annotate example</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="annotate-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#annotate-example" accesskey="n" rel="next">annotate example</a>, Up: <a href="#annotate" accesskey="u" rel="up">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="annotate-options-1"><span>A.8.1 annotate options<a class="copiable-link" href="#annotate-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">annotate</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Backwards, show when a line was removed.
Currently appears to be broken.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local directory only, no recursion.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Process directories recursively.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F</code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate binary files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate file as of specified revision/tag or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate file as of specified date.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="annotate-example">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#annotate-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">annotate options</a>, Up: <a href="#annotate" accesskey="u" rel="up">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="annotate-example-1"><span>A.8.2 annotate example<a class="copiable-link" href="#annotate-example-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs annotate ssfile
Annotations for ssfile
***************
1.1          (mary     27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1
1.2          (joe      28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2
</pre></div>

<p>The file <samp class="file">ssfile</samp> currently contains two lines.
The <code class="code">ssfile line 1</code> line was checked in by
<code class="code">mary</code> on March 27.  Then, on March 28, <code class="code">joe</code>
added a line <code class="code">ssfile line 2</code>, without modifying
the <code class="code">ssfile line 1</code> line.  This report doesn&rsquo;t
tell you anything about lines which have been deleted
or replaced; you need to use <code class="code">cvs diff</code> for that
(see <a class="pxref" href="#diff">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a>).
</p>
<p>The options to <code class="code">cvs annotate</code> are listed in
<a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>, and can be used to select the files
and revisions to annotate.  The options are described
in more detail there and in <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="checkout">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#commit" accesskey="n" rel="next">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#annotate" accesskey="p" rel="prev">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="checkout_002d_002d_002dCheck-out-sources-for-editing"><span>A.9 checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing<a class="copiable-link" href="#checkout_002d_002d_002dCheck-out-sources-for-editing"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-checkout-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-co-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: checkout [options] modules&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: repository.
</li><li>Changes: working directory.
</li><li>Synonyms: co, get
</li></ul>

<p>Create or update a working directory containing copies of the
source files specified by <var class="var">modules</var>.  You must execute
<code class="code">checkout</code> before using most of the other <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands, since most of them operate on your working
directory.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">modules</var> 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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">modules</samp>&rsquo; file.
See <a class="xref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>.
</p>
<p>Depending on the modules you specify, <code class="code">checkout</code> 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.
</p>
<p>Note that <code class="code">checkout</code> is used to create
directories.  The top-level directory created is always
added to the directory where <code class="code">checkout</code> 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
<code class="code">checkout</code> will show the relative path leading to
each file as it is extracted into your private work
area (unless you specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-Q</samp>&rsquo; global option).
</p>
<p>The files created by <code class="code">checkout</code> are created
read-write, unless the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option to <small class="sc">CVS</small>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>) is specified, the
<code class="code">CVSREAD</code> environment variable is specified
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>), or a watch is in
effect for that file (see <a class="pxref" href="#Watches">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>).
</p>
<p>Note that running <code class="code">checkout</code> on a directory that was already
built by a prior <code class="code">checkout</code> is also permitted.
This is similar to specifying the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; option
to the <code class="code">update</code> command in the sense that new
directories that have been created in the repository
will appear in your work area.
However, <code class="code">checkout</code> takes a module name whereas
<code class="code">update</code> takes a directory name.  Also
to use <code class="code">checkout</code> this way it must be run from the
top level directory (where you originally ran
<code class="code">checkout</code> from), so before you run
<code class="code">checkout</code> to update an existing directory, don&rsquo;t
forget to change your directory to the top level
directory.
</p>
<p>For the output produced by the <code class="code">checkout</code> command
see <a class="ref" href="#update-output">update output</a>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#checkout-options" accesskey="1">checkout options</a></li>
<li><a href="#checkout-examples" accesskey="2">checkout examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="checkout-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#checkout-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">checkout examples</a>, Up: <a href="#checkout" accesskey="u" rel="up">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="checkout-options-1"><span>A.9.1 checkout options<a class="copiable-link" href="#checkout-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">checkout</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
This option is sticky, and implies &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only useful with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; flags.  If no matching revision is
found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Process keywords according to <var class="var">kflag</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
This option is sticky; future updates of
this file in this working directory will use the same
<var class="var">kflag</var>.  The <code class="code">status</code> command can be viewed
to see the sticky options.  See <a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>, for
more information on the <code class="code">status</code> command.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run any checkout program (as specified
with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-o</samp>&rsquo; option in the modules file;
see <a class="pxref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Pipe files to the standard output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Checkout directories recursively.  This option is on by default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Checkout the revision specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  This option is sticky, and implies &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;.
See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates.  Also,
see <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>In addition to those, you can use these special command
options with <code class="code">checkout</code>:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-A</code></dt>
<dd><p>Reset any sticky tags, dates, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; options.
See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output,
instead of creating or modifying any files or
directories in your working directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Create a directory called <var class="var">dir</var> for the working
files, instead of using the module name.  In general,
using this flag is equivalent to using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">mkdir
<var class="var">dir</var>; cd <var class="var">dir</var></samp>&rsquo; followed by the checkout
command without the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; flag.
</p>
<p>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&rsquo;t contain empty
intermediate directories.  In this case <em class="emph">only</em>,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> tries to &ldquo;shorten&rdquo; pathnames to avoid those empty
directories.
</p>
<p>For example, given a module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">foo</samp>&rsquo; that contains
the file &lsquo;<samp class="samp">bar.c</samp>&rsquo;, the command &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs co -d dir
foo</samp>&rsquo; will create directory &lsquo;<samp class="samp">dir</samp>&rsquo; and place
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">bar.c</samp>&rsquo; inside.  Similarly, given a module
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">bar</samp>&rsquo; which has subdirectory &lsquo;<samp class="samp">baz</samp>&rsquo; wherein
there is a file &lsquo;<samp class="samp">quux.c</samp>&rsquo;, the command &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs co
-d dir bar/baz</samp>&rsquo; will create directory &lsquo;<samp class="samp">dir</samp>&rsquo; and
place &lsquo;<samp class="samp">quux.c</samp>&rsquo; inside.
</p>
<p>Using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-N</samp>&rsquo; flag will defeat this behavior.
Given the same module definitions above, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs co
-N -d dir foo</samp>&rsquo; will create directories &lsquo;<samp class="samp">dir/foo</samp>&rsquo;
and place &lsquo;<samp class="samp">bar.c</samp>&rsquo; inside, while &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs co -N -d
dir bar/baz</samp>&rsquo; will create directories &lsquo;<samp class="samp">dir/bar/baz</samp>&rsquo;
and place &lsquo;<samp class="samp">quux.c</samp>&rsquo; inside.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-j <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>With two &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; options, merge changes from the
revision specified with the first &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option to
the revision specified with the second &lsquo;<samp class="samp">j</samp>&rsquo; option,
into the working directory.
</p>
<p>With one &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option, merge changes from the
ancestor revision to the revision specified with the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; 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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option.
</p>
<p>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:
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j<var class="var">Symbolic_Tag</var>:<var class="var">Date_Specifier</var></samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only useful together with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d <var class="var">dir</var></samp>&rsquo;.  With
this option, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will not &ldquo;shorten&rdquo; module paths
in your working directory when you check out a single
module.  See the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; flag for examples and a
discussion.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s</code></dt>
<dd><p>Like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-c</samp>&rsquo;, but include the status of all modules,
and sort it by the status string.  See <a class="xref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>, for
info about the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-s</samp>&rsquo; option that is used inside the
modules file to set the module status.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="checkout-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#checkout-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">checkout options</a>, Up: <a href="#checkout" accesskey="u" rel="up">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="checkout-examples-1"><span>A.9.2 checkout examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#checkout-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Get a copy of the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo;:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout tc
</pre></div>

<p>Get a copy of the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tc</samp>&rsquo; as it looked one day
ago:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="commit">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#diff" accesskey="n" rel="next">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#checkout" accesskey="p" rel="prev">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="commit_002d_002d_002dCheck-files-into-the-repository"><span>A.10 commit&mdash;Check files into the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#commit_002d_002d_002dCheck-files-into-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commit-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: commit [-lnRf] [-m &rsquo;log_message&rsquo; | -F file] [-r revision] [files&hellip;]
</li><li>Requires: working directory, repository.
</li><li>Changes: repository.
</li><li>Synonym: ci
</li></ul>

<p>Use <code class="code">commit</code> when you want to incorporate changes
from your working source files into the source
repository.
</p>
<p>If you don&rsquo;t specify particular files to commit, all of
the files in your working current directory are
examined.  <code class="code">commit</code> is careful to change in the
repository only those files that you have really
changed.  By default (or if you explicitly specify the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-R</samp>&rsquo; option), files in subdirectories are also
examined and committed if they have changed; you can
use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo; option to limit <code class="code">commit</code> to the
current directory only.
</p>
<p><code class="code">commit</code> 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 <code class="code">update</code> (see <a class="pxref" href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>).
<code class="code">commit</code> does not call the <code class="code">update</code> command
for you, but rather leaves that for you to do when the
time is right.
</p>
<p>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 <a class="pxref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>, and see <a class="pxref" href="#loginfo">Loginfo</a>)
and placed in the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file inside the
repository.  This log message can be retrieved with the
<code class="code">log</code> command; see <a class="ref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>.  You can specify the
log message on the command line with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m
<var class="var">message</var></samp>&rsquo; option, and thus avoid the editor invocation,
or use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-F <var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo; option to specify
that the argument file contains the log message.
</p>
<p>At <code class="code">commit</code>, a unique commitid is placed in the <small class="sc">RCS</small>
file inside the repository. All files committed at once
get the same commitid, a string consisting only of hexadecimal
digits (usually 16 in GNU <small class="sc">CVS</small>, 19 in Debian and MirBSD <small class="sc">CVS</small>).
FSF GNU <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.11 and OpenBSD OpenCVS do not support commitids yet.
The commitid can be retrieved with
the <code class="code">log</code> and <code class="code">status</code> command; see <a class="ref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a> and
<a class="ref" href="#File-status">File status</a>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#commit-options" accesskey="1">commit options</a></li>
<li><a href="#commit-examples" accesskey="2">commit examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="commit-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#commit-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">commit examples</a>, Up: <a href="#commit" accesskey="u" rel="up">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="commit-options-1"><span>A.10.1 commit options<a class="copiable-link" href="#commit-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">commit</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Commit directories recursively.  This is on by default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">revision</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Commit to <var class="var">revision</var>.  <var class="var">revision</var> must be
either a branch, or a revision on the main trunk that
is higher than any existing revision number
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Assigning-revisions">Assigning revisions</a>).  You
cannot commit to a specific revision on a branch.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p><code class="code">commit</code> also supports these options:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Refuse to commit files unless the user has registered a valid edit on the
file via <code class="code">cvs edit</code>.  This is most useful when &lsquo;<samp class="samp">commit -c</samp>&rsquo;
and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">edit -c</samp>&rsquo; have been placed in all <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> files.
A commit can be forced anyways by either regestering an edit retroactively
via <code class="code">cvs edit</code> (no changes to the file will be lost) or using the
<code class="code">-f</code> option to commit.  Support for <code class="code">commit -c</code> requires both
client and a server versions 1.12.10 or greater.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Read the log message from <var class="var">file</var>, instead
of invoking an editor.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Note that this is not the standard behavior of
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; option as defined in <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
<p>Force <small class="sc">CVS</small> to commit a new revision even if you haven&rsquo;t
made any changes to the file.  As of <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.10,
it also causes the <code class="code">-c</code> option to be ignored.  If the current revision
of <var class="var">file</var> is 1.7, then the following two commands
are equivalent:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs commit -f <var class="var">file</var>
$ cvs commit -r 1.8 <var class="var">file</var>
</pre></div>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; option disables recursion (i.e., it
implies &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo;).  To force <small class="sc">CVS</small> to commit a new
revision for all files in all subdirectories, you must
use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f -R</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">message</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">message</var> as the log message, instead of
invoking an editor.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="commit-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#commit-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">commit options</a>, Up: <a href="#commit" accesskey="u" rel="up">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="commit-examples-1"><span>A.10.2 commit examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#commit-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Committing-to-a-branch" accesskey="1">Committing to a branch</a></li>
<li><a href="#Creating-the-branch-after-editing" accesskey="2">Creating the branch after editing</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Committing-to-a-branch">
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec"><span>A.10.2.1 Committing to a branch<a class="copiable-link" href="#Committing-to-a-branch"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>You can commit to a branch revision (one that has an
even number of dots) with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option.  To
create a branch revision, use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; option
of the <code class="code">rtag</code> or <code class="code">tag</code> commands
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>).  Then, either <code class="code">checkout</code> or
<code class="code">update</code> can be used to base your sources on the
newly created branch.  From that point on, all
<code class="code">commit</code> 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:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ 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
</pre></div>

<p>This works automatically since the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option is
sticky.
</p>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Creating-the-branch-after-editing">
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec"><span>A.10.2.2 Creating the branch after editing<a class="copiable-link" href="#Creating-the-branch-after-editing"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>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 utilise the full
benefit of <small class="sc">CVS</small> conflict resolution.  The scenario might
look like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">[[ hacked sources are present ]]
$ cvs tag -b EXPR1
$ cvs update -r EXPR1
$ cvs commit
</pre></div>

<p>The <code class="code">update</code> command will make the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r
EXPR1</samp>&rsquo; option sticky on all files.  Note that your
changes to the files will never be removed by the
<code class="code">update</code> command.  The <code class="code">commit</code> will
automatically commit to the correct branch, because the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; is sticky.  You could also do like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">[[ hacked sources are present ]]
$ cvs tag -b EXPR1
$ cvs commit -r EXPR1
</pre></div>

<p>but then, only those files that were changed by you
will have the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r EXPR1</samp>&rsquo; sticky flag.  If you hack
away, and commit without specifying the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r EXPR1</samp>&rsquo;
flag, some files may accidentally end up on the main
trunk.
</p>
<p>To work with you on the experimental change, others
would simply do
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs checkout -r EXPR1 whatever_module
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="diff">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#export" accesskey="n" rel="next">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a>, Previous: <a href="#commit" accesskey="p" rel="prev">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="diff_002d_002d_002dShow-differences-between-revisions"><span>A.11 diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#diff_002d_002d_002dShow-differences-between-revisions"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-diff-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options] [(-r rev1[:date1] | -D date1) [-r rev2[:date2] | -D date2]] [files&hellip;]
</li><li>Requires: working directory, repository.
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li></ul>

<p>The <code class="code">diff</code> 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.
</p>
<p>If any file names are given, only those files are
compared.  If any directories are given, all files
under them will be compared.
</p>
<p>The exit status for diff is different than for other
<small class="sc">CVS</small> commands; for details see <a class="pxref" href="#Exit-status">CVS&rsquo;s exit status</a>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#diff-options" accesskey="1">diff options</a></li>
<li><a href="#diff-examples" accesskey="2">diff examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="diff-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#diff-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">diff examples</a>, Up: <a href="#diff" accesskey="u" rel="up">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="diff-options-1"><span>A.11.1 diff options<a class="copiable-link" href="#diff-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">diff</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
See &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; for how this affects the comparison.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Process keywords according to <var class="var">kflag</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by
default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Compare with revision specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  Zero, one or two
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; options can be present.  With no &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;
option, the working file will be compared with the
revision it was based on.  With one &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;, that
revision will be compared to your current working file.
With two &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; options those two revisions will be
compared (and your working file will not affect the
outcome in any way).
</p>
<p>One or both &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; options can be replaced by a
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D <var class="var">date</var></samp>&rsquo; option, described above.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo;, and the other of which is a long name preceded by
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-<var class="var">lines</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Show <var class="var">lines</var> (an integer) lines of context.  This option does not
specify an output format by itself; it has no effect unless it is
combined with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-c</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-u</samp>&rsquo;.  This option is obsolete.  For proper
operation, <code class="code">patch</code> typically needs at least two lines of context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-a</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
do not seem to be text.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one or
more white space characters to be equivalent.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-B</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--binary</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Read and write data in binary mode.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--brief</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Report only whether the files differ, not the details of the
differences.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-c</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the context output format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-C <var class="var">lines</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--context<span class="r">[</span>=<var class="var">lines</var><span class="r">]</span></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the context output format, showing <var class="var">lines</var> (an integer) lines of
context, or three if <var class="var">lines</var> is not given.
For proper operation, <code class="code">patch</code> typically needs at least two lines of
context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--changed-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a line group containing differing lines from
both files in if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-group-formats">Line group formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This makes
<code class="code">diff</code> slower (sometimes much slower).
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-e</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ed</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Make output that is a valid <code class="code">ed</code> script.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--expand-tabs</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of tabs
in the input files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Make output that looks vaguely like an <code class="code">ed</code> script but has changes
in the order they appear in the file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-F <var class="var">regexp</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show some
of the last preceding line that matches <var class="var">regexp</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--forward-ed</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Make output that looks vaguely like an <code class="code">ed</code> script but has changes
in the order they appear in the file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-H</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
scattered small changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--horizon-lines=<var class="var">lines</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Do not discard the last <var class="var">lines</var> lines of the common prefix
and the first <var class="var">lines</var> lines of the common suffix.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case letters
equivalent.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I <var class="var">regexp</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match <var class="var">regexp</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ifdef=<var class="var">name</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Make merged if-then-else output using <var class="var">name</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ignore-all-space</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore white space when comparing lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ignore-blank-lines</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ignore-case</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the same.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ignore-matching-lines=<var class="var">regexp</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match <var class="var">regexp</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--ignore-space-change</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one or
more white space characters to be equivalent.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--initial-tab</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-L <var class="var">label</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">label</var> instead of the file name in the context format
and unified format headers.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--label=<var class="var">label</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">label</var> instead of the file name in the context format
and unified format headers.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--left-column</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Print only the left column of two common lines in side by side format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output all input lines in if-then-else format.
See <a class="xref" href="#Line-formats">Line formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--minimal</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Change the algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This
makes <code class="code">diff</code> slower (sometimes much slower).
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Output RCS-format diffs; like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; except that each command
specifies the number of lines affected.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-N</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--new-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>In directory comparison, if a file is found in only one directory,
treat it as present but empty in the other directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--new-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a group of lines taken from just the second
file in if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-group-formats">Line group formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--new-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a line taken from just the second file in
if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-formats">Line formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--old-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a group of lines taken from just the first
file in if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-group-formats">Line group formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--old-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a line taken from just the first file in
if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-formats">Line formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Show which C function each change is in.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--rcs</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Output RCS-format diffs; like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; except that each command
specifies the number of lines affected.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--report-identical-files</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Report when two files are the same.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--show-c-function</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Show which C function each change is in.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--show-function-line=<var class="var">regexp</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show some
of the last preceding line that matches <var class="var">regexp</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--side-by-side</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the side by side output format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--speed-large-files</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use heuristics to speed handling of large files that have numerous
scattered small changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--suppress-common-lines</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Do not print common lines in side by side format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment of tabs
in the input files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-T</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--text</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they
do not appear to be text.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-u</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the unified output format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--unchanged-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a group of common lines taken from both files
in if-then-else format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-group-formats">Line group formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--unchanged-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">format</var> to output a line common to both files in if-then-else
format.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-formats">Line formats</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-U <var class="var">lines</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--unified<span class="r">[</span>=<var class="var">lines</var><span class="r">]</span></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the unified output format, showing <var class="var">lines</var> (an integer) lines of
context, or three if <var class="var">lines</var> is not given.
For proper operation, <code class="code">patch</code> typically needs at least two lines of
context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-w</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Ignore white space when comparing lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-W <var class="var">columns</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--width=<var class="var">columns</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use an output width of <var class="var">columns</var> in side by side format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-y</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Use the side by side output format.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Line-group-formats" accesskey="1">Line group formats</a></li>
<li><a href="#Line-formats" accesskey="2">Line formats</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Line-group-formats">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Line-formats" accesskey="n" rel="next">Line formats</a>, Up: <a href="#diff-options" accesskey="u" rel="up">diff options</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Line-group-formats-1"><span>A.11.1.1 Line group formats<a class="copiable-link" href="#Line-group-formats-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>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.
</p>
<p>For example, the following command compares the TeX file <samp class="file">myfile</samp>
with the original version from the repository,
and outputs a merged file in which old regions are
surrounded by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">\begin{em}</samp>&rsquo;-&lsquo;<samp class="samp">\end{em}</samp>&rsquo; lines, and new
regions are surrounded by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">\begin{bf}</samp>&rsquo;-&lsquo;<samp class="samp">\end{bf}</samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs diff \
   --old-group-format='\begin{em}
%&lt;\end{em}
' \
   --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
%&gt;\end{bf}
' \
   myfile
</pre></div>

<p>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.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs diff \
   --old-group-format='\begin{em}
%&lt;\end{em}
' \
   --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
%&gt;\end{bf}
' \
   --unchanged-group-format='%=' \
   --changed-group-format='\begin{em}
%&lt;\end{em}
\begin{bf}
%&gt;\end{bf}
' \
   myfile
</pre></div>

<p>Here is a more advanced example, which outputs a diff listing with
headers containing line numbers in a &ldquo;plain English&rdquo; style.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs diff \
   --unchanged-group-format='' \
   --old-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) deleted at %df:
%&lt;' \
   --new-group-format='-------- %dN line%(N=1?:s) added after %de:
%&gt;' \
   --changed-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) changed at %df:
%&lt;-------- to:
%&gt;' \
   myfile
</pre></div>

<p>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 <var class="var">format</var>, because it
typically contains shell metacharacters.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--old-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--new-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--changed-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--unchanged-group-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>These line groups contain lines common to both files.  The default
unchanged group format is a format that outputs the line group as-is.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>In a line group format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
conversion specifications start with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; and have one of the
following forms.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%&lt;</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for the lines from the first file, including the trailing newline.
Each line is formatted according to the old line format (see <a class="pxref" href="#Line-formats">Line formats</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%&gt;</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for the lines from the second file, including the trailing newline.
Each line is formatted according to the new line format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%=</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for the lines common to both files, including the trailing newline.
Each line is formatted according to the unchanged line format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%%</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'<var class="var">C</var>'</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">C</var> is a single character, stands for <var class="var">C</var>.
<var class="var">C</var> may not be a backslash or an apostrophe.
For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c':'</samp>&rsquo; stands for a colon, even inside
the then-part of an if-then-else format, which a colon would
normally terminate.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'\<var class="var">O</var>'</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">O</var> is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits,
stands for the character with octal code <var class="var">O</var>.
For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'\0'</samp>&rsquo; stands for a null character.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">F</var><var class="var">n</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">F</var> is a <code class="code">printf</code> conversion specification and <var class="var">n</var> is one
of the following letters, stands for <var class="var">n</var>&rsquo;s value formatted with <var class="var">F</var>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">e</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>The line number of the line just before the group in the old file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">f</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>The line number of the first line in the group in the old file;
equals <var class="var">e</var> + 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">l</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>The line number of the last line in the group in the old file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">m</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>The line number of the line just after the group in the old file;
equals <var class="var">l</var> + 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>The number of lines in the group in the old file; equals <var class="var">l</var> - <var class="var">f</var> + 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">E, F, L, M, N</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Likewise, for lines in the new file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The <code class="code">printf</code> conversion specification can be &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%d</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%o</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%x</samp>&rsquo;, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%X</samp>&rsquo;, specifying decimal, octal,
lower case hexadecimal, or upper case hexadecimal output
respectively.  After the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; the following options can appear in
sequence: a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo; 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, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%5dN</samp>&rsquo; prints the number of new lines in the group
in a field of width 5 characters, using the <code class="code">printf</code> format <code class="code">&quot;%5d&quot;</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">(<var class="var">A</var>=<var class="var">B</var>?<var class="var">T</var>:<var class="var">E</var>)</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>If <var class="var">A</var> equals <var class="var">B</var> then <var class="var">T</var> else <var class="var">E</var>.
<var class="var">A</var> and <var class="var">B</var> are each either a decimal constant
or a single letter interpreted as above.
This format spec is equivalent to <var class="var">T</var> if
<var class="var">A</var>&rsquo;s value equals <var class="var">B</var>&rsquo;s; otherwise it is equivalent to <var class="var">E</var>.
</p>
<p>For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%(N=0?no:%dN) line%(N=1?:s)</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">no lines</samp>&rsquo; if <var class="var">N</var> (the number of lines in the group in the
new file) is 0, to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1 line</samp>&rsquo; if <var class="var">N</var> is 1, and to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%dN lines</samp>&rsquo;
otherwise.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Line-formats">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Line-group-formats" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Line group formats</a>, Up: <a href="#diff-options" accesskey="u" rel="up">diff options</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Line-formats-1"><span>A.11.1.2 Line formats<a class="copiable-link" href="#Line-formats-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Line formats control how each line taken from an input file is
output as part of a line group in if-then-else format.
</p>
<p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-</samp>&rsquo; for deleted lines, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">|</samp>&rsquo; for added lines, and a space
for unchanged lines.  The formats contain newline characters where
newlines are desired on output.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs diff \
   --old-line-format='-%l
' \
   --new-line-format='|%l
' \
   --unchanged-line-format=' %l
' \
   myfile
</pre></div>

<p>To specify a line format, use one of the following options.  You should
quote <var class="var">format</var>, since it often contains shell metacharacters.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--old-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>formats lines just from the first file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--new-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>formats lines just from the second file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--unchanged-line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>formats lines common to both files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--line-format=<var class="var">format</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>formats all lines; in effect, it sets all three above options simultaneously.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>In a line format, ordinary characters represent themselves;
conversion specifications start with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; and have one of the
following forms.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%l</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for the contents of the line, not counting its trailing
newline (if any).  This format ignores whether the line is incomplete.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%L</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for the contents of the line, including its trailing newline
(if any).  If a line is incomplete, this format preserves its
incompleteness.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%%</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>stands for &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'<var class="var">C</var>'</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">C</var> is a single character, stands for <var class="var">C</var>.
<var class="var">C</var> may not be a backslash or an apostrophe.
For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c':'</samp>&rsquo; stands for a colon.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'\<var class="var">O</var>'</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">O</var> is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits,
stands for the character with octal code <var class="var">O</var>.
For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c'\0'</samp>&rsquo; stands for a null character.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">F</var>n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>where <var class="var">F</var> is a <code class="code">printf</code> conversion specification,
stands for the line number formatted with <var class="var">F</var>.
For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%.5dn</samp>&rsquo; prints the line number using the
<code class="code">printf</code> format <code class="code">&quot;%.5d&quot;</code>.  See <a class="xref" href="#Line-group-formats">Line group formats</a>, for
more about printf conversion specifications.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The default line format is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%l</samp>&rsquo; followed by a newline character.
</p>
<p>If the input contains tab characters and it is important that they line
up on output, you should ensure that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%l</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%L</samp>&rsquo; in a line
format is just after a tab stop (e.g. by preceding &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%l</samp>&rsquo; or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%L</samp>&rsquo; with a tab character), or you should use the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo; or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">--expand-tabs</samp>&rsquo; option.
</p>
<p>Taken together, the line and line group formats let you specify many
different formats.  For example, the following command uses a format
similar to <code class="code">diff</code>&rsquo;s normal format.  You can tailor this command
to get fine control over <code class="code">diff</code>&rsquo;s output.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs diff \
   --old-line-format='&lt; %l
' \
   --new-line-format='&gt; %l
' \
   --old-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)d%dE
%&lt;' \
   --new-group-format='%dea%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
%&gt;' \
   --changed-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)c%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
%&lt;---
%&gt;' \
   --unchanged-group-format='' \
   myfile
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="diff-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#diff-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">diff options</a>, Up: <a href="#diff" accesskey="u" rel="up">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="diff-examples-1"><span>A.11.2 diff examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#diff-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>The following line produces a Unidiff (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-u</samp>&rsquo; flag)
between revision 1.14 and 1.19 of
<samp class="file">backend.c</samp>.  Due to the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kk</samp>&rsquo; flag no
keywords are substituted, so differences that only depend
on keyword substitution are ignored.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs diff -kk -u -r 1.14 -r 1.19 backend.c
</pre></div>

<p>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:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1
</pre></div>

<p>A command like this can be used to produce a context
diff between two releases:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs diff -c -r RELEASE_1_0 -r RELEASE_1_1 &gt; diffs
</pre></div>

<p>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.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs diff -u | less
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="export">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#history" accesskey="n" rel="next">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>, Previous: <a href="#diff" accesskey="p" rel="prev">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="export_002d_002d_002dExport-sources-from-CVS_002c-similar-to-checkout"><span>A.12 export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout<a class="copiable-link" href="#export_002d_002d_002dExport-sources-from-CVS_002c-similar-to-checkout"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-export-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: export [-flNnR] (-r rev[:date] | -D date) [-k subst] [-d dir] module&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: repository.
</li><li>Changes: current directory.
</li></ul>

<p>This command is a variant of <code class="code">checkout</code>; use it
when you want a copy of the source for module without
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> administrative directories.  For example, you
might use <code class="code">export</code> to prepare source for shipment
off-site.  This command requires that you specify a
date or tag (with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;), so that you
can count on reproducing the source you ship to others
(and thus it always prunes empty directories).
</p>
<p>One often would like to use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kv</samp>&rsquo; with <code class="code">cvs
export</code>.  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&rsquo;t handle an export containing binary
files correctly.  Also be aware that after having used
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kv</samp>&rsquo;, one can no longer use the <code class="code">ident</code>
command (which is part of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> suite&mdash;see
ident(1)) which looks for keyword strings.  If
you want to be able to use <code class="code">ident</code> you must not
use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kv</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#export-options" accesskey="1">export options</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="export-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#export" accesskey="u" rel="up">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="export-options-1"><span>A.12.1 export options<a class="copiable-link" href="#export-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">export</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most
recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run any checkout program.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Export directories recursively.  This is on by default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Export the revision specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>In addition, these options (that are common to
<code class="code">checkout</code> and <code class="code">export</code>) are also supported:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Create a directory called <var class="var">dir</var> for the working
files, instead of using the module name.
See <a class="xref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>, for complete details on how
<small class="sc">CVS</small> handles this flag.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">subst</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set keyword expansion mode (see <a class="pxref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only useful together with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d <var class="var">dir</var></samp>&rsquo;.
See <a class="xref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>, for complete details on how
<small class="sc">CVS</small> handles this flag.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="history">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#import" accesskey="n" rel="next">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a>, Previous: <a href="#export" accesskey="p" rel="prev">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="history_002d_002d_002dShow-repository-access-history"><span>A.13 history&mdash;Show repository access history<a class="copiable-link" href="#history_002d_002d_002dShow-repository-access-history"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-history-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis:     history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files&hellip;]
</li><li>Requires: the file <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history</samp>
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li></ul>

<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> can keep a history log that tracks each use of most <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands.  You can use <code class="code">history</code> to display this information in
various formats.
</p>
<p>To enable logging, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">LogHistory</samp>&rsquo; config option must be set to
some value other than the empty string and the history file specified by
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">HistoryLogPath</samp>&rsquo; option must be writable by all users who may run
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> executable (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>
<p>To enable the <code class="code">history</code> command, logging must be enabled as above and
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">HistorySearchPath</samp>&rsquo; config option (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>) 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 <code class="code">history</code> command.
</p>
<p>Creating a repository via the <code class="code">cvs init</code> command will enable logging of
all possible events to a single history log file
(<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history</samp>) with read and write permissions for all
users (see <a class="pxref" href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a>).
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: <code class="code">history</code> uses &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-l</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-p</samp>&rsquo; in ways that conflict with the
normal use inside <small class="sc">CVS</small> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>).</em>
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#history-options" accesskey="1">history options</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="history-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#history" accesskey="u" rel="up">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="history-options-1"><span>A.13.1 history options<a class="copiable-link" href="#history-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Several options (shown above as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-report</samp>&rsquo;)  control  what
kind of report is generated:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on each time commit was used (i.e., each time
the repository was modified).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e</code></dt>
<dd><p>Everything (all record types).  Equivalent to
specifying &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-x</samp>&rsquo; with all record types.  Of course,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-e</samp>&rsquo; will also include record types which are
added in a future version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>; if you are
writing a script which can only handle certain record
types, you&rsquo;ll want to specify &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-x</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">module</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on a particular module.  (You can meaningfully
use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; more than once on the command line.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-o</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on checked-out modules.  This is the default report type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-T</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on all tags.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-x <var class="var">type</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Extract a particular set of record types <var class="var">type</var> from the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
history.  The types are indicated by single letters,
which you may specify in combination.
</p>
<p>Certain commands have a single record type:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">F</code></dt>
<dd><p>release
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">O</code></dt>
<dd><p>checkout
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">E</code></dt>
<dd><p>export
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">T</code></dt>
<dd><p>rtag
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>One of five record types may result from an update:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">C</code></dt>
<dd><p>A merge was necessary but collisions were
detected (requiring manual merging).
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">G</code></dt>
<dd><p>A merge was necessary and it succeeded.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">U</code></dt>
<dd><p>A working file was copied from the repository.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">P</code></dt>
<dd><p>A working file was patched to match the repository.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">W</code></dt>
<dd><p>The working copy of a file was deleted during
update (because it was gone from the repository).
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>One of three record types results from commit:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">A</code></dt>
<dd><p>A file was added for the first time.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">M</code></dt>
<dd><p>A file was modified.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">R</code></dt>
<dd><p>A file was removed.
</p></dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The options shown as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-flags</samp>&rsquo; constrain or expand
the report without requiring option arguments:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-a</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data for all users (the default is to show data
only for the user executing <code class="code">history</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show last modification only.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show only the records for modifications done from the
same working directory where <code class="code">history</code> is
executing.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>The options shown as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-options <var class="var">args</var></samp>&rsquo; constrain the report
based on an argument:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b <var class="var">str</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data back to a record containing  the  string
<var class="var">str</var>  in  either the module name, the file name, or
the repository path.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data since <var class="var">date</var>.  This is slightly different
from the normal use of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D <var class="var">date</var></samp>&rsquo;, which
selects the newest revision older than <var class="var">date</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data for a particular file
(you can specify several &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; options on the same command line).
This is equivalent to specifying the file on the command line.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n <var class="var">module</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data for a particular module
(you can specify several &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-n</samp>&rsquo; options on the same command line).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p <var class="var">repository</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show data for a particular source repository  (you
can specify several &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-p</samp>&rsquo; options on the same command
line).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show records referring to revisions since the revision
or tag named <var class="var">rev</var> appears in individual <small class="sc">RCS</small>
files.  Each <small class="sc">RCS</small> file is searched for the revision or
tag.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show records since tag <var class="var">tag</var> was last added to the
history file.  This differs from the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; flag
above in that it reads only the history file, not the
<small class="sc">RCS</small> files, and is much faster.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u <var class="var">name</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show records for user <var class="var">name</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-z <var class="var">timezone</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show times in the selected records using the specified
time zone instead of UTC.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="import">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#log" accesskey="n" rel="next">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>, Previous: <a href="#history" accesskey="p" rel="prev">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="import_002d_002d_002dImport-sources-into-CVS_002c-using-vendor-branches"><span>A.14 import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches<a class="copiable-link" href="#import_002d_002d_002dImport-sources-into-CVS_002c-using-vendor-branches"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-import-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>


<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.
</li><li>Changes: repository.
</li></ul>

<p>Use <code class="code">import</code> 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 <a class="xref" href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking third-party sources</a>, for
a discussion on this subject.
</p>
<p>The <var class="var">repository</var> argument gives a directory name
(or a path to a directory) under the <small class="sc">CVS</small> root directory
for repositories; if the directory did not exist,
import creates it.
</p>
<p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">checkout
-j</samp>&rsquo; to reconcile the differences, as import instructs
you to do.
</p>
<p>If <small class="sc">CVS</small> decides a file should be ignored
(see <a class="pxref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>), it does not import it and prints
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">I </samp>&rsquo; followed by the filename (see <a class="pxref" href="#import-output">import output</a>, for a
complete description of the output).
</p>
<p>If the file <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvswrappers</samp> 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 <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
<p>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.
</p>
<p>At least three arguments are required.
<var class="var">repository</var> is needed to identify the collection
of source.  <var class="var">vendortag</var> is a tag for the entire
branch (e.g., for 1.1.1).  You must also specify at
least one <var class="var">releasetag</var> to uniquely identify the files at
the leaves created each time you execute <code class="code">import</code>.  The
<var class="var">releasetag</var> should be new, not previously existing in the
repository file, and uniquely identify the imported release,
</p>
<p>Note that <code class="code">import</code> does <em class="emph">not</em> change the
directory in which you invoke it.  In particular, it
does not set up that directory as a <small class="sc">CVS</small> working
directory; if you want to work with the sources import
them first and then check them out into a different
directory (see <a class="pxref" href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a>).
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#import-options" accesskey="1">import options</a></li>
<li><a href="#import-output" accesskey="2">import output</a></li>
<li><a href="#import-examples" accesskey="3">import examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="import-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#import-output" accesskey="n" rel="next">import output</a>, Up: <a href="#import" accesskey="u" rel="up">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="import-options-1"><span>A.14.1 import options<a class="copiable-link" href="#import-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>This standard option is supported by <code class="code">import</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">message</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">message</var> as log information, instead of
invoking an editor.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>There are the following additional special options.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b <var class="var">branch</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>See <a class="ref" href="#Multiple-vendor-branches">Multiple vendor branches</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">subst</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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 <a class="ref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>, for a
list of valid &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; settings.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-I <var class="var">name</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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 &lsquo;-I !&rsquo;.
</p>
<p><var class="var">name</var> can be a file name pattern of the same type
that you can specify in the <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> file.
See <a class="xref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-W <var class="var">spec</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify file names that should be filtered during
import.  You can use this option repeatedly.
</p>
<p><var class="var">spec</var> can be a file name pattern of the same type
that you can specify in the <samp class="file">.cvswrappers</samp>
file. See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-X</code></dt>
<dd><p>Modify the algorithm used by <small class="sc">CVS</small> when importing new files
so that new files do not immediately appear on the main trunk.
</p>
<p>Specifically, this flag causes <small class="sc">CVS</small> 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 <code class="code">dead</code>, resetting the new file&rsquo;s default branch,
and placing the file in the Attic (see <a class="pxref" href="#Attic">The attic</a>) directory.
</p>
<p>Setting the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly</samp>&rsquo; option in
CVSROOT/config (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>) forces use of this option on
a repository-wide basis.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="import-output">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#import-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">import examples</a>, Previous: <a href="#import-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">import options</a>, Up: <a href="#import" accesskey="u" rel="up">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="import-output-1"><span>A.14.2 import output<a class="copiable-link" href="#import-output-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p><code class="code">import</code> keeps you informed of its progress by printing a line
for each file, preceded by one character indicating the status of the file:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">U <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file already exists in the repository and has not been locally
modified; a new revision has been created (if necessary).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">N <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file is a new file which has been added to the repository.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">C <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file already exists in the repository but has been locally modified;
you will have to merge the changes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">I <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file is being ignored (see <a class="pxref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Symbolic-link_002c-importing"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Link_002c-symbolic_002c-importing"></a>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">L <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file is a symbolic link; <code class="code">cvs import</code> 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 <samp class="file">modules</samp> file can be used
to recreate symbolic links on checkout, update, etc.;
see <a class="pxref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>.)
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="import-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#import-output" accesskey="p" rel="prev">import output</a>, Up: <a href="#import" accesskey="u" rel="up">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="import-examples-1"><span>A.14.3 import examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#import-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>See <a class="ref" href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking third-party sources</a>, and <a class="ref" href="#From-files">Creating a directory tree from a number of files</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="log">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#ls-_0026-rls" accesskey="n" rel="next">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#import" accesskey="p" rel="prev">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="log_002d_002d_002dPrint-out-history-information-for-files"><span>A.15 log&mdash;Print out history information for files<a class="copiable-link" href="#log_002d_002d_002dPrint-out-history-information-for-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-log-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>Synopsis: log [options] [files&hellip;]

<p>rlog [options] [files&hellip;]
</p></li><li>Requires: repository, working directory.
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li></ul>

<p>Display log information for files.  <code class="code">log</code> used to
call the <small class="sc">RCS</small> utility <code class="code">rlog</code>.  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 <small class="sc">CVS</small>
commands.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Timezone_002c-in-output"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Zone_002c-time_002c-in-output"></a>
<p>The output includes the location of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file,
the <em class="dfn">head</em> 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 <code class="code">$TZ</code> environment variable, which can be set to
govern how <code class="code">log</code> displays dates.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: <code class="code">log</code> uses &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-R</samp>&rsquo; in a way that conflicts
with the normal use inside <small class="sc">CVS</small> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>).</em>
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#log-options" accesskey="1">log options</a></li>
<li><a href="#log-examples" accesskey="2">log examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="log-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#log-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">log examples</a>, Up: <a href="#log" accesskey="u" rel="up">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="log-options-1"><span>A.15.1 log options<a class="copiable-link" href="#log-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>By default, <code class="code">log</code> prints all information that is
available.  All other options restrict the output.  Note that the revision
selection options (<code class="code">-d</code>, <code class="code">-r</code>, <code class="code">-s</code>, and <code class="code">-w</code>) 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
<code class="code">log</code> header fields (<code class="code">-b</code>, <code class="code">-h</code>, <code class="code">-R</code>, and <code class="code">-t</code>)
unless the <code class="code">-S</code> option is also specified.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print information about the revisions on the default
branch, normally the highest branch on the trunk.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dates</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; option to
many other <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands (see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>).
Dates can be combined into ranges as follows:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">d1</var>&lt;<var class="var">d2</var></code></dt>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">d2</var>&gt;<var class="var">d1</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Select the revisions that were deposited between
<var class="var">d1</var> and <var class="var">d2</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">&lt;<var class="var">d</var></code></dt>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">d</var>&gt;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Select all revisions dated <var class="var">d</var> or earlier.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">d</var>&lt;</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">&gt;<var class="var">d</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Select all revisions dated <var class="var">d</var> or later.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">d</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Select the single, latest revision dated <var class="var">d</var> or
earlier.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&gt;</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&lt;</samp>&rsquo; characters may be followed by
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">=</samp>&rsquo; to indicate an inclusive range rather than an
exclusive one.
</p>
<p>Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-h</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print only the name of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file, name
of the file in the working directory, head,
default branch, access list, locks, symbolic names, and
suffix.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  (Default
is to run recursively).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>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 &quot;more&quot;&rsquo;ing over 3 pages of tag
information, the log information is presented without
tags at all.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print only the name of the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r<var class="var">revisions</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Print information about revisions given in the
comma-separated list <var class="var">revisions</var> of revisions and
ranges.  The following table explains the available
range formats:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev1</var>:<var class="var">rev2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Revisions <var class="var">rev1</var> to <var class="var">rev2</var> (which must be on
the same branch).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev1</var>::<var class="var">rev2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The same, but excluding <var class="var">rev1</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">:<var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">::<var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Revisions from the beginning of the branch up to
and including <var class="var">rev</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev</var>:</code></dt>
<dd><p>Revisions starting with <var class="var">rev</var> to the end of the
branch containing <var class="var">rev</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">rev</var>::</code></dt>
<dd><p>Revisions starting just after <var class="var">rev</var> to the end of the
branch containing <var class="var">rev</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">branch</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>An argument that is a branch means all revisions on
that branch.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">branch1</var>:<var class="var">branch2</var></code></dt>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">branch1</var>::<var class="var">branch2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>A range of branches means all revisions
on the branches in that range.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">branch</var>.</code></dt>
<dd><p>The latest revision in <var class="var">branch</var>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>A bare &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; with no revisions means the latest
revision on the default branch, normally the trunk.
There can be no space between the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; option and
its argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-S</code></dt>
<dd><p>Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s <var class="var">states</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Print information about revisions whose state
attributes match one of the states given in the
comma-separated list <var class="var">states</var>.  Individual states may
be any text string, though <small class="sc">CVS</small> commonly only uses two
states, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Exp</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">dead</samp>&rsquo;.  See <a class="ref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a>
for more information.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print the same as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-h</samp>&rsquo;, plus the descriptive text.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w<var class="var">logins</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Print information about revisions checked in by users
with login names appearing in the comma-separated list
<var class="var">logins</var>.  If <var class="var">logins</var> is omitted, the user&rsquo;s
login is assumed.  There can be no space between the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-w</samp>&rsquo; option and its argument.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p><code class="code">log</code> prints the intersection of the revisions
selected with the options &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-s</samp>&rsquo;, and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-w</samp>&rsquo;, intersected with the union of the revisions
selected by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-b</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="log-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#log-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">log options</a>, Up: <a href="#log" accesskey="u" rel="up">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="log-examples-1"><span>A.15.2 log examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#log-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Timezone_002c-in-output-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Zone_002c-time_002c-in-output-1"></a>
<p>Since <code class="code">log</code> 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 <code class="code">$TZ</code> environment
variable before invoking <small class="sc">CVS</small>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ TZ=UTC cvs log foo.c
$ TZ=EST cvs log bar.c
</pre></div>

<p>(If you are using a <code class="code">csh</code>-style shell, like <code class="code">tcsh</code>,
you would need to prefix the examples above with <code class="code">env</code>.)
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="ls-_0026-rls">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#rdiff" accesskey="n" rel="next">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a>, Previous: <a href="#log" accesskey="p" rel="prev">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="ls-_0026-rls_002d_002d_002dList-files-in-the-repository"><span>A.16 ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#ls-_0026-rls_002d_002d_002dList-files-in-the-repository"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-ls-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rls-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>ls [-e | -l] [-RP] [-r tag[:date]] [-D date] [path&hellip;]

<p>rls [-e | -l] [-RP] [-r tag[:date]] [-D date] [path&hellip;]
</p></li><li>Requires: repository for <code class="code">rls</code>, repository &amp; working directory for
<code class="code">ls</code>.
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li><li>Synonym: <code class="code">dir</code> &amp; <code class="code">list</code> are synonyms for <code class="code">ls</code> and <code class="code">rdir</code>
&amp; <code class="code">rlist</code> are synonyms for <code class="code">rls</code>.
</li></ul>

<p>The <code class="code">ls</code> and <code class="code">rls</code> commands are used to list
files and directories in the repository.
</p>
<p>By default <code class="code">ls</code> lists the files and directories
that belong in your working directory, what would be
there after an <code class="code">update</code>.
</p>
<p>By default <code class="code">rls</code> lists the files and directories
on the tip of the trunk in the topmost directory of the
repository.
</p>
<p>Both commands accept an optional list of file and
directory names, relative to the working directory for
<code class="code">ls</code> and the topmost directory of the repository
for <code class="code">rls</code>.  Neither is recursive by default.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#ls-_0026-rls-options" accesskey="1">ls &amp; rls options</a></li>
<li><a href="#rls-examples" accesskey="2">rls examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="ls-_0026-rls-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#rls-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">rls examples</a>, Up: <a href="#ls-_0026-rls" accesskey="u" rel="up">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="ls-_0026-rls-options-1"><span>A.16.1 ls &amp; rls options<a class="copiable-link" href="#ls-_0026-rls-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">ls</code> &amp; <code class="code">rls</code>:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display in CVS/Entries format.  This format is meant to remain easily parsable
by automation.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display all details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Don&rsquo;t list contents of empty directories when recursing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>List recursively.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files from date.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="rls-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#ls-_0026-rls-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">ls &amp; rls options</a>, Up: <a href="#ls-_0026-rls" accesskey="u" rel="up">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="rls-examples-1"><span>A.16.2 rls examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#rls-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs rls
cvs rls: Listing module: `.'
CVSROOT
first-dir
</pre></div>

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs rls CVSROOT
cvs rls: Listing module: `CVSROOT'
checkoutlist
commitinfo
config
cvswrappers
loginfo
modules
notify
rcsinfo
taginfo
verifymsg

</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="rdiff">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#release" accesskey="n" rel="next">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>, Previous: <a href="#ls-_0026-rls" accesskey="p" rel="prev">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="rdiff_002d_002d_002dCreate-_0027patch_0027-format-diffs-between-revisions"><span>A.17 rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions<a class="copiable-link" href="#rdiff_002d_002d_002dCreate-_0027patch_0027-format-diffs-between-revisions"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rdiff-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>rdiff [-flags] [-V vn] (-r tag1[:date1] | -D date1) [-r tag2[:date2] | -D date2] modules&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: repository.
</li><li>Changes: nothing.
</li><li>Synonym: patch
</li></ul>

<p>Builds a Larry Wall format patch(1) file between two
releases, that can be fed directly into the <code class="code">patch</code>
program to bring an old release up-to-date with the new
release.  (This is one of the few <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands that
operates directly from the repository, and doesn&rsquo;t
require a prior checkout.) The diff output is sent to
the standard output device.
</p>
<p>You can specify (using the standard &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; 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 <small class="sc">RCS</small> file.
</p>
<p>Note that if the software release affected is contained
in more than one directory, then it may be necessary to
specify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-p</samp>&rsquo; option to the <code class="code">patch</code> command when
patching the old sources, so that <code class="code">patch</code> is able to find
the files that are located in other directories.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#rdiff-options" accesskey="1">rdiff options</a></li>
<li><a href="#rdiff-examples" accesskey="2">rdiff examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="rdiff-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#rdiff-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">rdiff examples</a>, Up: <a href="#rdiff" accesskey="u" rel="up">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="rdiff-options-1"><span>A.17.1 rdiff options<a class="copiable-link" href="#rdiff-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are supported by <code class="code">rdiff</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most
recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Process keywords according to <var class="var">kflag</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; don&rsquo;t descend subdirectories.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the revision specified by <var class="var">tag</var>, or when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>In addition to the above, these options are available:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the context diff format.  This is the default format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show which C function each change is in.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s</code></dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the unidiff format for the context diffs.
Remember that old versions
of the <code class="code">patch</code> program can&rsquo;t handle the unidiff
format, so if you plan to post this patch to the net
you should probably not use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-u</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-V <var class="var">vn</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Expand keywords according to the rules current in
<small class="sc">RCS</small> version <var class="var">vn</var> (the expansion format changed with
<small class="sc">RCS</small> version 5).  Note that this option is no
longer accepted.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will always expand keywords the
way that <small class="sc">RCS</small> version 5 does.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="rdiff-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#rdiff-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">rdiff options</a>, Up: <a href="#rdiff" accesskey="u" rel="up">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="rdiff-examples-1"><span>A.17.2 rdiff examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#rdiff-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Suppose you receive mail from <code class="t">foo@example.net</code> asking for an
update from release 1.2 to 1.4 of the tc compiler.  You
have no such patches on hand, but with <small class="sc">CVS</small> that can
easily be fixed with a command such as this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs rdiff -c -r FOO1_2 -r FOO1_4 tc | \
$$ Mail -s 'The patches you asked for' foo@example.net
</pre></div>

<p>Suppose you have made release 1.3, and forked a branch
called &lsquo;<samp class="samp">R_1_3fix</samp>&rsquo; for bug fixes.  &lsquo;<samp class="samp">R_1_3_1</samp>&rsquo;
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:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ 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
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="release">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#server-_0026-pserver" accesskey="n" rel="next">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>, Previous: <a href="#rdiff" accesskey="p" rel="prev">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="release_002d_002d_002dIndicate-that-a-directory-is-no-longer-in-use"><span>A.18 release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use<a class="copiable-link" href="#release_002d_002d_002dIndicate-that-a-directory-is-no-longer-in-use"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-release-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>release [-d] directories&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: Working directory.
</li><li>Changes: Working directory, history log.
</li></ul>

<p>This command is meant to safely cancel the effect of
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs checkout</samp>&rsquo;.  Since <small class="sc">CVS</small> doesn&rsquo;t lock files, it
isn&rsquo;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 <small class="sc">CVS</small> history
file (see <a class="pxref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>) that you&rsquo;ve abandoned your
checkout.
</p>
<p>Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs release</samp>&rsquo; to avoid these problems.  This
command checks that no uncommitted changes are
present; that you are executing it from immediately
above a <small class="sc">CVS</small> working directory; and that the repository
recorded for your files is the same as the repository
defined in the module database.
</p>
<p>If all these conditions are true, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs release</samp>&rsquo;
leaves a record of its execution (attesting to your
intentionally abandoning your checkout) in the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
history log.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#release-options" accesskey="1">release options</a></li>
<li><a href="#release-output" accesskey="2">release output</a></li>
<li><a href="#release-examples" accesskey="3">release examples</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="release-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#release-output" accesskey="n" rel="next">release output</a>, Up: <a href="#release" accesskey="u" rel="up">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="release-options-1"><span>A.18.1 release options<a class="copiable-link" href="#release-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>The <code class="code">release</code> command supports one command option:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING:  The <code class="code">release</code> 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 <code class="code">add</code>
command; see <a class="pxref" href="#Adding-files">Adding files to a directory</a>) will be silently deleted&mdash;even
if it is non-empty!</em>
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="release-output">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#release-examples" accesskey="n" rel="next">release examples</a>, Previous: <a href="#release-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">release options</a>, Up: <a href="#release" accesskey="u" rel="up">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="release-output-1"><span>A.18.2 release output<a class="copiable-link" href="#release-output-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Before <code class="code">release</code> releases your sources it will
print a one-line message for any file that is not
up-to-date.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">U <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">P <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>There exists a newer revision of this file in the
repository, and you have not modified your local copy
of the file (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">U</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">P</samp>&rsquo; mean the same thing).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">A <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">R <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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 <a class="xref" href="#commit">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">M <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file is modified in your working directory.  There
might also be a newer revision inside the repository.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">? <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p><var class="var">file</var> is in your working directory, but does not
correspond to anything in the source repository, and is
not in the list of files for <small class="sc">CVS</small> to ignore (see the
description of the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I</samp>&rsquo; option, and
see <a class="pxref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>).  If you remove your working
sources, this file will be lost.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="release-examples">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#release-output" accesskey="p" rel="prev">release output</a>, Up: <a href="#release" accesskey="u" rel="up">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="release-examples-1"><span>A.18.3 release examples<a class="copiable-link" href="#release-examples-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>Release the <samp class="file">tc</samp> directory, and delete your local working copy
of the files.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cd ..         # <span class="r">You must stand immediately above the</span>
                # <span class="r">sources when you issue &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs release</samp>&rsquo;.</span>
$ cvs release -d tc
You have [0] altered files in this repository.
Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': y
$
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="server-_0026-pserver">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#suck" accesskey="n" rel="next">suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw</a>, Previous: <a href="#release" accesskey="p" rel="prev">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="server-_0026-pserver_002d_002d_002dAct-as-a-server-for-a-client-on-stdin_002fstdout"><span>A.19 server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout<a class="copiable-link" href="#server-_0026-pserver_002d_002d_002dAct-as-a-server-for-a-client-on-stdin_002fstdout"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-pserver-_0028subcommand_0029-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-server-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>pserver [-c path]

<p>server [-c path]
</p></li><li>Requires: repository, client conversation on stdin/stdout
</li><li>Changes: Repository or, indirectly, client working directory.
</li></ul>

<p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small> <code class="code">server</code> and <code class="code">pserver</code> commands are used to provide
repository access to remote clients and expect a client conversation on
stdin &amp; stdout.  Typically these commands are launched from <code class="code">inetd</code> or
via <code class="code">ssh</code> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>).
</p>
<p><code class="code">server</code> expects that the client has already been authenticated somehow,
typically via <small class="sc">SSH</small>, and <code class="code">pserver</code> attempts to authenticate the client
itself.
</p>
<p>Only one option is available with the <code class="code">server</code> and <code class="code">pserver</code>
commands:
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-configuration-file"></a>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c path</code></dt>
<dd><p>Load configuration from the given <var class="var">path</var> rather than from the
default location <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/config</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
<var class="var">path</var> must be <samp class="file">/etc/cvs.conf</samp> or prefixed by <samp class="file">/etc/cvs/</samp>.
This option is supported beginning with <small class="sc">CVS</small> release 1.12.13.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="suck">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#update" accesskey="n" rel="next">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>, Previous: <a href="#server-_0026-pserver" accesskey="p" rel="prev">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="suck_002d_002d_002dDownload-RCS-_002cv-file-raw"><span>A.20 suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw<a class="copiable-link" href="#suck_002d_002d_002dDownload-RCS-_002cv-file-raw"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-suck-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>suck module/pa/th
</li><li>Requires: repository
</li></ul>

<p>Locates the file module/pa/th,v or module/pa/Attic/th,v and downloads
it raw as RCS comma-v file.
</p>
<p>Output consists of the real pathname of the comma-v file, relative to
the CVS repository, followed by a newline and the binary file content
immediately thereafter.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="update">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#suck" accesskey="p" rel="prev">suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw</a>, Up: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="u" rel="up">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="update_002d_002d_002dBring-work-tree-in-sync-with-repository"><span>A.21 update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository<a class="copiable-link" href="#update_002d_002d_002dBring-work-tree-in-sync-with-repository"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-update-_0028subcommand_0029"></a>

<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>update [-ACdflPpR] [-I name] [-j rev [-j rev]] [-k kflag] [-r tag[:date] | -D date] [-W spec] files&hellip;
</li><li>Requires: repository, working directory.
</li><li>Changes: working directory.
</li></ul>

<p>After you&rsquo;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 <code class="code">update</code> 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 <code class="code">-C</code>
option, <code class="code">update</code> will also merge any differences
between the local copy of files and their base revisions
into any destination revisions specified with <code class="code">-r</code>,
<code class="code">-D</code>, or <code class="code">-A</code>.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#update-options" accesskey="1">update options</a></li>
<li><a href="#update-output" accesskey="2">update output</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="update-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#update-output" accesskey="n" rel="next">update output</a>, Up: <a href="#update" accesskey="u" rel="up">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="update-options-1"><span>A.21.1 update options<a class="copiable-link" href="#update-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>These standard options are available with <code class="code">update</code>
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>, for a complete description of
them):
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D date</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the most recent revision no later than <var class="var">date</var>.
This option is sticky, and implies &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;.
See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only useful with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-D</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-r</samp>&rsquo; flags.  If no matching revision
is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Process keywords according to <var class="var">kflag</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
This option is sticky; future updates of
this file in this working directory will use the same
<var class="var">kflag</var>.  The <code class="code">status</code> command can be viewed
to see the sticky options.  See <a class="ref" href="#Invoking-CVS">Quick reference to CVS commands</a>, for
more information on the <code class="code">status</code> command.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Pipe files to the standard output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Update directories recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Retrieve the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  This option is sticky, and implies &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-P</samp>&rsquo;.
See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates. Also
see <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>These special options are also available with
<code class="code">update</code>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-A</code></dt>
<dd><p>Reset any sticky tags, dates, or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo; options.
See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a>, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-C</code></dt>
<dd><p>Overwrite locally modified files with clean copies from
the repository (the modified file is saved in
<samp class="file">.#<var class="var">file</var>.<var class="var">revision</var></samp>, however).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Create any directories that exist in the repository if
they&rsquo;re missing from the working directory.  Normally,
<code class="code">update</code> acts only on directories and files that
were already enrolled in your working directory.
</p>
<p>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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; will create
those directories, which may not be what you want.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-I <var class="var">name</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Ignore files whose names match <var class="var">name</var> (in your
working directory) during the update.  You can specify
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I</samp>&rsquo; more than once on the command line to specify
several files to ignore.  Use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I !</samp>&rsquo; to avoid
ignoring any files at all.  See <a class="xref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>, for other
ways to make <small class="sc">CVS</small> ignore some files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-W<var class="var">spec</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify file names that should be filtered during
update.  You can use this option repeatedly.
</p>
<p><var class="var">spec</var> can be a file name pattern of the same type
that you can specify in the <samp class="file">.cvswrappers</samp>
file. See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-j<var class="var">revision</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>With two &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; options, merge changes from the
revision specified with the first &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option to
the revision specified with the second &lsquo;<samp class="samp">j</samp>&rsquo; option,
into the working directory.
</p>
<p>With one &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option, merge changes from the
ancestor revision to the revision specified with the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; 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 &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; option.
</p>
<p>Note that using a single &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">tagname</var></samp>&rsquo; option rather than
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j <var class="var">branchname</var></samp>&rsquo; to merge changes from a branch will
often not remove files which were removed on the branch.
See <a class="xref" href="#Merging-adds-and-removals">Merging can add or remove files</a>, for more.
</p>
<p>In addition, each &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j</samp>&rsquo; 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:
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-j<var class="var">Symbolic_Tag</var>:<var class="var">Date_Specifier</var></samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="update-output">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#update-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">update options</a>, Up: <a href="#update" accesskey="u" rel="up">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="update-output-1"><span>A.21.2 update output<a class="copiable-link" href="#update-output-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p><code class="code">update</code> and <code class="code">checkout</code> keep you informed of
their progress by printing a line for each file, preceded
by one character indicating the status of the file:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">U <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>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&rsquo;t changed but are not the most recent
versions available in the repository.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">P <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Like &lsquo;<samp class="samp">U</samp>&rsquo;, but the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server sends a patch instead of an entire
file.  This accomplishes the same thing as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">U</samp>&rsquo; using less bandwidth.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">A <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file has been added to your private copy of the
sources, and will be added to the source repository
when you run <code class="code">commit</code> on the file.  This is a
reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">R <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file has been removed from your private copy of the
sources, and will be removed from the source repository
when you run <code class="code">commit</code> on the file.  This is a
reminder to you that the file needs to be committed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">M <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>The file is modified in  your  working  directory.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">M</samp>&rsquo; can indicate one of two states for a file
you&rsquo;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.
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> will print some messages if it merges your work,
and a backup copy of your working file (as it looked
before you ran <code class="code">update</code>) will be made.  The exact
name of that file is printed while <code class="code">update</code> runs.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005f_005f-files-_0028VMS_0029"></a>
<a id="index-_002e_0023-files"></a><span><code class="code">C <var class="var">file</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-_002e_0023-files"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A conflict was detected while trying to merge your
changes to <var class="var">file</var> with changes from the source
repository.  <var class="var">file</var> (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
<samp class="file">.#<var class="var">file</var>.<var class="var">revision</var></samp> where <var class="var">revision</var>
is the revision that your modified file started
from.  Resolve the conflict as described in
<a class="ref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>.
(Note that some systems automatically purge
files that begin with <samp class="file">.#</samp> 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 <small class="sc">VMS</small>, the file name starts with
<samp class="file">__</samp> rather than <samp class="file">.#</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">? <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p><var class="var">file</var> is in your working directory, but does not
correspond to anything in the source repository, and is
not in the list of files for <small class="sc">CVS</small> to ignore (see the
description of the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I</samp>&rsquo; option, and
see <a class="pxref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>).
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Invoking-CVS">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Reference manual for Administrative files</a>, Previous: <a href="#CVS-commands" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Guide to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Quick-reference-to-CVS-commands"><span>Appendix B Quick reference to CVS commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Quick-reference-to-CVS-commands"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Command-reference"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reference_002c-commands"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Invoking-CVS"></a>

<p>This appendix describes how to invoke <small class="sc">CVS</small>, with
references to where each command or feature is
described in detail.  For other references run the
<code class="code">cvs --help</code> command, or see <a class="ref" href="#Index">Index</a>.
For an alphabetical list of all <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands,
see <a class="pxref" href="#CVS-command-list">Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a>).
</p>
<p>A <small class="sc">CVS</small> command looks like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs [ <var class="var">global_options</var> ] <var class="var">command</var> [ <var class="var">command_options</var> ] [ <var class="var">command_args</var> ]
</pre></div>

<p>Global options:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">--allow-root=<var class="var">rootdir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify acceptable <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> directory (server only).
Appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.10.  See <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">--allow-root-regexp=<var class="var">rootdir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify a POSIX extended regular expression which matches acceptable
<small class="sc">CVSROOT</small> directories (server only).  Appeared in <small class="sc">CVS</small>
1.12.14.  See <a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-a</code></dt>
<dd><p>Authenticate all communication (client only) (not in <small class="sc">CVS</small>
1.9 and older).  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify RCS location (<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 and older).  See
<a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">root</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify the <small class="sc">CVSROOT</small>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e <var class="var">editor</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Edit messages with <var class="var">editor</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not read the <samp class="file">~/.cvsrc</samp> file.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-g</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set the umask to allow group writable permissions in
the working copy.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-H</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">--help</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print a help message.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not change any files.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-Q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Be really quiet.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Be somewhat quiet.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r</code></dt>
<dd><p>Make new working files read-only.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s <var class="var">variable</var>=<var class="var">value</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set a user variable.  See <a class="ref" href="#Variables">Expansions in administrative files</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-T <var class="var">tempdir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Put temporary files in <var class="var">tempdir</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Trace <small class="sc">CVS</small> execution.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-v</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">--version</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display version and copyright information for <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w</code></dt>
<dd><p>Make new working files read-write.  See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-x</code></dt>
<dd><p>Encrypt all communication (client only).
See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Gzip-1"></a>
<a id="index-Compression-1"></a><span><code class="code">-z <var class="var">gzip-level</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Compression-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Set the compression level (client only).
See <a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>Keyword expansion modes (see <a class="pxref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">-kkv  $<i class="i"></i>Id: file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp $
-kkvl $<i class="i"></i>Id: file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp harry $
-kk   $<i class="i"></i>Id$
-kv   file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp
-ko   <i class="i">no expansion</i>
-kb   <i class="i">no expansion, file is binary</i>
</pre></div>

<p>Keywords (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-list">Keyword List</a>):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$<i class="i"></i>Author: joe $
$<i class="i"></i>Date: 1993/12/09 03:21:13 $
$<i class="i"></i>Mdocdate: December 9 1993 $
$<i class="i"></i>CVSHeader: files/file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp harry $
$<i class="i"></i>Header: /home/files/file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp harry $
$<i class="i"></i>Id: file1,v 1.1 1993/12/09 03:21:13 joe Exp harry $
$<i class="i"></i>Locker: harry $
$<i class="i"></i>Name: snapshot_1_14 $
$<i class="i"></i>RCSfile: file1,v $
$<i class="i"></i>Revision: 1.1 $
$<i class="i"></i>Source: /home/files/file1,v $
$<i class="i"></i>State: Exp $
$<i class="i"></i>Log: file1,v $
Revision 1.1  1993/12/09 03:30:17  joe
Initial revision

</pre></div>

<p>Commands, command options, and command arguments:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dd><a class="anchor" id="add"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">add [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Add a new file/directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Adding-files">Adding files to a directory</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set keyword expansion.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">msg</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set file description.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">admin [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Administration of history files in the repository.  See
<a class="ref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set default branch.  See <a class="ref" href="#Reverting-local-changes">Reverting to the latest vendor release</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c<var class="var">string</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set comment leader.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k<var class="var">subst</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set keyword substitution.  See <a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Lock revision <var class="var">rev</var>, or latest revision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m<var class="var">rev</var>:<var class="var">msg</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Replace the log message of revision <var class="var">rev</var> with
<var class="var">msg</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-o<var class="var">range</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete revisions from the repository.  See
<a class="ref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-q</code></dt>
<dd><p>Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s<var class="var">state</var>[:<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set the state.  See <a class="ref" href="#admin-options">admin options</a> for more information on possible
states.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Set file description from standard input.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t<var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set file description from <var class="var">file</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t-<var class="var">string</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set file description to <var class="var">string</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u[<var class="var">rev</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Unlock revision <var class="var">rev</var>, or latest revision.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">annotate [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show last revision where each line was modified.  See
<a class="ref" href="#annotate">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate the most recent revision no later than
<var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force annotation of binary files.  (Without this option,
binary files are skipped with a message.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">checkout [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">modules</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Get a copy of the sources.  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout">checkout&mdash;Check out sources for editing</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-A</code></dt>
<dd><p>Reset any sticky tags/date/options.  See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a> and <a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Output the module database.  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out revisions as of <var class="var">date</var> (is sticky).  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out into <var class="var">dir</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-j <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Merge in the change specified by <var class="var">tag</var>, or when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.  Also,
see <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">kflag</var> keyword expansion.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Don&rsquo;t &ldquo;shorten&rdquo; module paths if -d specified.  See
<a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run module program (if any).  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out files to standard output (avoids
stickiness).  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Checkout the revision already tagged with <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is
specified and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var>
as it existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s</code></dt>
<dd><p>Like -c, but include module status.  See <a class="ref" href="#checkout-options">checkout options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">commit [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check changes into the repository.  See <a class="ref" href="#commit">commit&mdash;Check files into the repository</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check for valid edits before committing.  Requires a <small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server
both version 1.12.10 or greater.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Read log message from <var class="var">file</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force the file to be committed; disables recursion.
See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">msg</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">msg</var> as log message.  See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run module program (if any).  See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Commit to <var class="var">rev</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#commit-options">commit options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">diff [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show differences between revisions.  See <a class="ref" href="#diff">diff&mdash;Show differences between revisions</a>.
In addition to the options shown below, accepts a wide
variety of options to control output style, for example
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-c</samp>&rsquo; for context diffs.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date1</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Diff revision for date against working file.  See
<a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date2</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Diff <var class="var">rev1</var>/<var class="var">date1</var> against <var class="var">date2</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Include diffs for added and removed files.  See
<a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag1</var>[:<var class="var">date1</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Diff the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag1</var> or, when <var class="var">date1</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag1</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag1</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date1</var>, against the working file.  See <a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>
and <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag2</var>[:<var class="var">date2</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Diff the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag2</var> or, when <var class="var">date2</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag2</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag2</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date2</var>, against <var class="var">rev1</var>/<var class="var">date1</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>
and <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="edit"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">edit [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Get ready to edit a watched file.  See <a class="ref" href="#Editing-files">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-a <var class="var">actions</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify actions for temporary watch, where
<var class="var">actions</var> is <code class="code">edit</code>, <code class="code">unedit</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code>, <code class="code">all</code>, or <code class="code">none</code>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Editing-files">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check edits: Edit fails if someone else is already editing the file.
Requires a <small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server both of version 1.12.10 or greater.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force edit; ignore other edits.  Added in CVS 1.12.10.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="editors"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">editors [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>See who is editing a watched file.  See <a class="ref" href="#Watch-information">Information about who is watching and editing</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">export [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">modules</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Export files from <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  See <a class="ref" href="#export">export&mdash;Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out revisions as of <var class="var">date</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out into <var class="var">dir</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#export-options">export options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">kflag</var> keyword expansion.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Don&rsquo;t &ldquo;shorten&rdquo; module paths if -d specified.  See
<a class="ref" href="#export-options">export options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not run module program (if any).  See <a class="ref" href="#export-options">export options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Export the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">history [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show repository access history.  See <a class="ref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-a</code></dt>
<dd><p>All users (default is self).  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-b <var class="var">str</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Back to record with <var class="var">str</var> in module/file/repos
field.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on committed (modified) files.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Since <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on all record types.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Last modified (committed or modified report).  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">module</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on <var class="var">module</var> (repeatable).  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n <var class="var">module</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>In <var class="var">module</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-o</code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on checked out modules.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p <var class="var">repository</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>In <var class="var">repository</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Since revision <var class="var">rev</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-T</code></dt>
<dd><p>Produce report on all TAGs.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Since tag record placed in history file (by anyone).
See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u <var class="var">user</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>For user <var class="var">user</var> (repeatable).  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w</code></dt>
<dd><p>Working directory must match.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-x <var class="var">types</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Report on <var class="var">types</var>, one or more of
<code class="code">TOEFWUPCGMAR</code>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-z <var class="var">zone</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Output for time zone <var class="var">zone</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#history-options">history options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">import [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">repository</var> <var class="var">vendor-tag</var> <var class="var">release-tags</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Import files into <small class="sc">CVS</small>, using vendor branches.  See
<a class="ref" href="#import">import&mdash;Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b <var class="var">bra</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Import to vendor branch <var class="var">bra</var>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Multiple-vendor-branches">Multiple vendor branches</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use the file&rsquo;s modification time as the time of
import.  See <a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Set default keyword substitution mode.  See
<a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-m <var class="var">msg</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">msg</var> for log message.  See
<a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-I <var class="var">ign</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>More files to ignore (! to reset).  See
<a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-W <var class="var">spec</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>More wrappers.  See <a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="init"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">init</code></dt>
<dd><p>Create a <small class="sc">CVS</small> repository if it doesn&rsquo;t exist.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a>.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="kserver"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">kserver</code></dt>
<dd><p>Kerberos authenticated server.
See <a class="xref" href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Direct connection with Kerberos</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">log [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print out history information for files.  See <a class="ref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions on the default branch.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dates</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify dates (<var class="var">d1</var>&lt;<var class="var">d2</var> for range, <var class="var">d</var> for
latest before).  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-h</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print header.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not list tags.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print name of RCS file.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r<var class="var">revs</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions <var class="var">revs</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s <var class="var">states</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions with specified states.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print header and descriptive text.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w<var class="var">logins</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions checked in by specified logins.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="login"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">login</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prompt for password for authenticating server.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-client">Using the client with password authentication</a>.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="logout"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">logout</code></dt>
<dd><p>Remove stored password for authenticating server.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-client">Using the client with password authentication</a>.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="ls"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">ls [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">path</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>List files available from CVS. See <a class="ref" href="#ls-_0026-rls">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).
See <a class="ref" href="#ls-_0026-rls-options">ls &amp; rls options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display in CVS/Entries format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display all details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>List recursively. See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files from date.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files with revision or tag.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="pserver"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">pserver</code></dt>
<dd><p>Password authenticated server.
See <a class="xref" href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="rannotate"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">rannotate [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">modules</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show last revision where each line was modified.  See
<a class="ref" href="#annotate">annotate&mdash;What revision modified each line of a file?</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate the most recent revision no later than
<var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force annotation of binary files.  (Without this option,
binary files are skipped with a message.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Annotate the revision specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var>
as it existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">rdiff [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">modules</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show differences between releases.  See <a class="ref" href="#rdiff">rdiff&mdash;Create &rsquo;patch&rsquo; format diffs between revisions</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Context diff output format (default).  See <a class="ref" href="#rdiff-options">rdiff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Select revisions based on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Select the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a> and <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s</code></dt>
<dd><p>Short patch - one liner per file.  See <a class="ref" href="#rdiff-options">rdiff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Top two diffs - last change made to the file.  See
<a class="ref" href="#diff-options">diff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-u</code></dt>
<dd><p>Unidiff output format.  See <a class="ref" href="#rdiff-options">rdiff options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-V <var class="var">vers</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use RCS Version <var class="var">vers</var> for keyword expansion (obsolete).  See
<a class="ref" href="#rdiff-options">rdiff options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">release [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">directories</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Indicate that a directory is no longer in use.  See
<a class="ref" href="#release">release&mdash;Indicate that a directory is no longer in use</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete the given directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#release-options">release options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="remove"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">remove [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Remove an entry from the repository.  See <a class="ref" href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete the file before removing it.  See <a class="ref" href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="rlog"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">rlog [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Print out history information for modules.  See <a class="ref" href="#log">log&mdash;Print out history information for files</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions on the default branch.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d <var class="var">dates</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify dates (<var class="var">d1</var>&lt;<var class="var">d2</var> for range, <var class="var">d</var> for
latest before).  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-h</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print header.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-N</code></dt>
<dd><p>Do not list tags.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print name of RCS file.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r<var class="var">revs</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions <var class="var">revs</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-s <var class="var">states</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions with specified states.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-t</code></dt>
<dd><p>Only print header and descriptive text.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-w<var class="var">logins</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Only list revisions checked in by specified logins.  See <a class="ref" href="#log-options">log options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="rls"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">rls [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">path</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>List files in a module. See <a class="ref" href="#ls-_0026-rls">ls &amp; rls&mdash;List files in the repository</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).
See <a class="ref" href="#ls-_0026-rls-options">ls &amp; rls options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-e</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display in CVS/Entries format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display all details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>List recursively. See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files from date.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">rev</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Show files with revision or tag.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="rtag"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">rtag [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">tag</var> <var class="var">modules</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Add a symbolic tag to a module.
See <a class="xref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-a</code></dt>
<dd><p>Clear tag from removed files that would not otherwise
be tagged.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-add_002fremove">Tagging and adding and removing files</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Create a branch named <var class="var">tag</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-B</code></dt>
<dd><p>Used in conjunction with -F or -d, enables movement and deletion of
branch tags.  Use with extreme caution. 
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag revisions as of <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete <var class="var">tag</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Modifying-tags">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F</code></dt>
<dd><p>Move <var class="var">tag</var> if it already exists.  See <a class="ref" href="#Modifying-tags">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force a head revision match if tag/date not found.
See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-n</code></dt>
<dd><p>No execution of tag program.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag the revision already tagged with <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a> and <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="server"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">server</code></dt>
<dd><p>SSH/rsh server.
See <a class="xref" href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">suck <var class="var">module/filename</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Download RCS ,v file raw.  See <a class="ref" href="#suck">suck&mdash;Download RCS ,v file raw</a>.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="status"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">status [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">files</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>Display status information in a working directory.  See
<a class="ref" href="#File-status">File status</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-v</code></dt>
<dd><p>Include tag information for file.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tags">Tags&ndash;Symbolic revisions</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="tag"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">tag [<var class="var">options</var>] <var class="var">tag</var> [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Add a symbolic tag to checked out version of files.
See <a class="xref" href="#Tagging-the-working-directory">Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a>.
See <a class="xref" href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-b</code></dt>
<dd><p>Create a branch named <var class="var">tag</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-c</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check that working files are unmodified.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Tagging-the-working-directory">Specifying what to tag from the working directory</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag revisions as of <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Delete <var class="var">tag</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Modifying-tags">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-F</code></dt>
<dd><p>Move <var class="var">tag</var> if it already exists.  See <a class="ref" href="#Modifying-tags">Deleting, moving, and renaming tags</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Force a head revision match if tag/date not found.
See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Tag the revision already tagged with <var class="var">tag</var>, or when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Specifying what to tag by date or revision</a> and <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="unedit"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">unedit [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Undo an edit command.  See <a class="ref" href="#Editing-files">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">update [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Bring work tree in sync with repository.  See
<a class="ref" href="#update">update&mdash;Bring work tree in sync with repository</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-A</code></dt>
<dd><p>Reset any sticky tags/date/options.  See <a class="ref" href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a> and <a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-C</code></dt>
<dd><p>Overwrite locally modified files with clean copies from
the repository (the modified file is saved in
<samp class="file">.#<var class="var">file</var>.<var class="var">revision</var></samp>, however).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-D <var class="var">date</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out revisions as of <var class="var">date</var> (is sticky).  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-d</code></dt>
<dd><p>Create directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#update-options">update options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-f</code></dt>
<dd><p>Use head revision if tag/date not found.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-I <var class="var">ign</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>More files to ignore (! to reset).  See
<a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-j <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Merge in changes from revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is
specified and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var>
as it existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#update-options">update options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-k <var class="var">kflag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Use <var class="var">kflag</var> keyword expansion.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-P</code></dt>
<dd><p>Prune empty directories.  See <a class="ref" href="#Moving-directories">Moving and renaming directories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-p</code></dt>
<dd><p>Check out files to standard output (avoids
stickiness).  See <a class="ref" href="#update-options">update options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-r <var class="var">tag</var>[:<var class="var">date</var>]</code></dt>
<dd><p>Checkout the revisions specified by <var class="var">tag</var> or, when <var class="var">date</var> is specified
and <var class="var">tag</var> is a branch tag, the version from the branch <var class="var">tag</var> as it
existed on <var class="var">date</var>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-W <var class="var">spec</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>More wrappers.  See <a class="ref" href="#import-options">import options</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="version"></a></dd>
<dt><a id="index-version-_0028subcommand_0029"></a><span><code class="code">version</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-version-_0028subcommand_0029"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Display the version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> being used.  If the repository
is remote, display both the client and server versions.
</p>
<a class="anchor" id="watch"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">watch [on|off|add|remove] [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd>
<p>on/off: turn on/off read-only checkouts of files.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Setting-a-watch">Telling CVS to watch certain files</a>.
</p>
<p>add/remove: add or remove notification on actions.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Getting-Notified">Telling CVS to notify you</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-a <var class="var">actions</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Specify actions for temporary watch, where
<var class="var">actions</var> is <code class="code">edit</code>, <code class="code">unedit</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code>, <code class="code">all</code>, or <code class="code">none</code>.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Editing-files">How to edit a file which is being watched</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="anchor" id="watchers"></a></dd>
<dt><code class="code">watchers [<var class="var">options</var>] [<var class="var">files</var>&hellip;]</code></dt>
<dd><p>See who is watching a file.  See <a class="ref" href="#Watch-information">Information about who is watching and editing</a>.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">-l</code></dt>
<dd><p>Local; run only in current working directory.  See <a class="ref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">-R</code></dt>
<dd><p>Operate recursively (default).  See <a class="xref" href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Administrative-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Environment-variables" accesskey="n" rel="next">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>, Previous: <a href="#Invoking-CVS" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Quick reference to CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Reference-manual-for-Administrative-files"><span>Appendix C Reference manual for Administrative files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Reference-manual-for-Administrative-files"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Administrative-files-_0028reference_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Files_002c-reference-manual"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reference-manual-_0028files_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT-_0028file_0029"></a>

<p>Inside the repository, in the directory
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT</samp>, there are a number of
supportive files for <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  You can use <small class="sc">CVS</small> in a limited
fashion without any of them, but if they are set up
properly they can help make life easier.  For a
discussion of how to edit them, see <a class="ref" href="#Intro-administrative-files">The administrative files</a>.
</p>
<p>The most important of these files is the <samp class="file">modules</samp>
file, which defines the modules inside the repository.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#modules" accesskey="1">The modules file</a></li>
<li><a href="#Wrappers" accesskey="2">The cvswrappers file</a></li>
<li><a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="3">The Trigger Scripts</a></li>
<li><a href="#rcsinfo" accesskey="4">Rcsinfo</a></li>
<li><a href="#cvsignore" accesskey="5">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a></li>
<li><a href="#checkoutlist" accesskey="6">The checkoutlist file</a></li>
<li><a href="#history-file" accesskey="7">The history file</a></li>
<li><a href="#Variables" accesskey="8">Expansions in administrative files</a></li>
<li><a href="#config" accesskey="9">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="modules">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Wrappers" accesskey="n" rel="next">The cvswrappers file</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-modules-file"><span>C.1 The modules file<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-modules-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Modules-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Defining-modules-_0028reference-manual_0029"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">modules</samp> file records your definitions of
names for collections of source code.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will
use these definitions if you use <small class="sc">CVS</small> to update the
modules file (use normal commands like <code class="code">add</code>,
<code class="code">commit</code>, etc).
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">modules</samp> file may contain blank lines and
comments (lines beginning with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">#</samp>&rsquo;) as well as
module definitions.  Long lines can be continued on the
next line by specifying a backslash (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">\</samp>&rsquo;) as the
last character on the line.
</p>
<p>There are three basic types of modules: alias modules,
regular modules, and ampersand modules.  The difference
between them is the way that they map files in the
repository to files in the working directory.  In all
of the following examples, the top-level repository
contains a directory called <samp class="file">first-dir</samp>, which
contains two files, <samp class="file">file1</samp> and <samp class="file">file2</samp>, and a
directory <samp class="file">sdir</samp>.  <samp class="file">first-dir/sdir</samp> contains
a file <samp class="file">sfile</samp>.
</p>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Alias-modules" accesskey="1">Alias modules</a></li>
<li><a href="#Regular-modules" accesskey="2">Regular modules</a></li>
<li><a href="#Ampersand-modules" accesskey="3">Ampersand modules</a></li>
<li><a href="#Excluding-directories" accesskey="4">Excluding directories</a></li>
<li><a href="#Module-options" accesskey="5">Module options</a></li>
<li><a href="#Module-program-options" accesskey="6">How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Alias-modules">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Regular-modules" accesskey="n" rel="next">Regular modules</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Alias-modules-1"><span>C.1.1 Alias modules<a class="copiable-link" href="#Alias-modules-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Alias-modules"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002da_002c-in-modules-file"></a>

<p>Alias modules are the simplest kind of module:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">mname</var> -a <var class="var">aliases</var>&hellip;</code></dt>
<dd><p>This represents the simplest way of defining a module
<var class="var">mname</var>.  The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-a</samp>&rsquo; flags the definition as a
simple alias: <small class="sc">CVS</small> will treat any use of <var class="var">mname</var> (as
a command argument) as if the list of names
<var class="var">aliases</var> had been specified instead.
<var class="var">aliases</var> may contain either other module names or
paths.  When you use paths in aliases, <code class="code">checkout</code>
creates all intermediate directories in the working
directory, just as if the path had been specified
explicitly in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> arguments.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>For example, if the modules file contains:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">amodule -a first-dir
</pre></div>

<p>then the following two commands are equivalent:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs co amodule
$ cvs co first-dir
</pre></div>

<p>and they each would provide output such as:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs checkout: Updating first-dir
U first-dir/file1
U first-dir/file2
cvs checkout: Updating first-dir/sdir
U first-dir/sdir/sfile
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Regular-modules">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Ampersand-modules" accesskey="n" rel="next">Ampersand modules</a>, Previous: <a href="#Alias-modules" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Alias modules</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Regular-modules-1"><span>C.1.2 Regular modules<a class="copiable-link" href="#Regular-modules-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Regular-modules"></a>

<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">mname</var> [ options ] <var class="var">dir</var> [ <var class="var">files</var>&hellip; ]</code></dt>
<dd><p>In the simplest case, this form of module definition
reduces to &lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">mname</var> <var class="var">dir</var></samp>&rsquo;.  This defines
all the files in directory <var class="var">dir</var> as module <var class="var">mname</var>.
<var class="var">dir</var> is a relative path (from <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>) to a
directory of source in the source repository.  In this
case, on checkout, a single directory called
<var class="var">mname</var> is created as a working directory; no
intermediate directory levels are used by default, even
if <var class="var">dir</var> was a path involving several directory
levels.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>For example, if a module is defined by:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">regmodule first-dir
</pre></div>

<p>then regmodule will contain the files from first-dir:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs co regmodule
cvs checkout: Updating regmodule
U regmodule/file1
U regmodule/file2
cvs checkout: Updating regmodule/sdir
U regmodule/sdir/sfile
$
</pre></div>

<p>By explicitly specifying files in the module definition
after <var class="var">dir</var>, you can select particular files from
directory <var class="var">dir</var>.  Here is
an example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">regfiles first-dir/sdir sfile
</pre></div>

<p>With this definition, getting the regfiles module
will create a single working directory
<samp class="file">regfiles</samp> containing the file listed, which
comes from a directory deeper
in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source repository:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs co regfiles
U regfiles/sfile
$
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Ampersand-modules">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Excluding-directories" accesskey="n" rel="next">Excluding directories</a>, Previous: <a href="#Regular-modules" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Regular modules</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Ampersand-modules-1"><span>C.1.3 Ampersand modules<a class="copiable-link" href="#Ampersand-modules-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ampersand-modules"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0026_002c-in-modules-file"></a>

<p>A module definition can refer to other modules by
including &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&amp;<var class="var">module</var></samp>&rsquo; in its definition.
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><var class="var">mname</var> [ options ] <var class="var">&amp;module</var>...
</pre></div>

<p>Then getting the module creates a subdirectory for each such
module, in the directory containing the module.  For
example, if modules contains
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ampermod &amp;first-dir
</pre></div>

<p>then a checkout will create an <code class="code">ampermod</code> directory
which contains a directory called <code class="code">first-dir</code>,
which in turns contains all the directories and files
which live there.  For example, the command
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs co ampermod
</pre></div>

<p>will create the following files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ampermod/first-dir/file1
ampermod/first-dir/file2
ampermod/first-dir/sdir/sfile
</pre></div>

<p>There is one quirk/bug: the messages that <small class="sc">CVS</small>
prints omit the <samp class="file">ampermod</samp>, and thus do not
correctly display the location to which it is checking
out the files:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">$ cvs co ampermod
cvs checkout: Updating first-dir
U first-dir/file1
U first-dir/file2
cvs checkout: Updating first-dir/sdir
U first-dir/sdir/sfile
$
</pre></div>

<p>Do not rely on this buggy behavior; it may get fixed in
a future release of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Excluding-directories">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Module-options" accesskey="n" rel="next">Module options</a>, Previous: <a href="#Ampersand-modules" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Ampersand modules</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Excluding-directories-1"><span>C.1.4 Excluding directories<a class="copiable-link" href="#Excluding-directories-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Excluding-directories_002c-in-modules-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0021_002c-in-modules-file"></a>

<p>An alias module may exclude particular directories from
other modules by using an exclamation mark (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">!</samp>&rsquo;)
before the name of each directory to be excluded.
</p>
<p>For example, if the modules file contains:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">exmodule -a !first-dir/sdir first-dir
</pre></div>

<p>then checking out the module &lsquo;<samp class="samp">exmodule</samp>&rsquo; will check
out everything in &lsquo;<samp class="samp">first-dir</samp>&rsquo; except any files in
the subdirectory &lsquo;<samp class="samp">first-dir/sdir</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Module-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Module-program-options" accesskey="n" rel="next">How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run</a>, Previous: <a href="#Excluding-directories" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Excluding directories</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Module-options-1"><span>C.1.5 Module options<a class="copiable-link" href="#Module-options-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Options_002c-in-modules-file"></a>

<p>Either regular modules or ampersand modules can contain
options, which supply additional information concerning
the module.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-_002dd_002c-in-modules-file"></a><span><code class="code">-d <var class="var">name</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-_002dd_002c-in-modules-file"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Name the working directory something other than the
module name.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002de_002c-in-modules-file"></a>
<a id="index-Export-program"></a><span><code class="code">-e <var class="var">prog</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Export-program"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify a program <var class="var">prog</var> to run whenever files in a
module are exported.  <var class="var">prog</var> runs with a single
argument, the module name.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002do_002c-in-modules-file"></a>
<a id="index-Checkout-program"></a><span><code class="code">-o <var class="var">prog</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Checkout-program"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify a program <var class="var">prog</var> to run whenever files in a
module are checked out.  <var class="var">prog</var> runs with a single
argument, the module name.  See <a class="ref" href="#Module-program-options">How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run</a> for
information on how <var class="var">prog</var> is called.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Module-status"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002ds_002c-in-modules-file"></a>
<a id="index-Status-of-a-module"></a><span><code class="code">-s <var class="var">status</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Status-of-a-module"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Assign a status to the module.  When the module file is
printed with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs checkout -s</samp>&rsquo; the modules are
sorted according to primarily module status, and
secondarily according to the module name.  This option
has no other meaning.  You can use this option for
several things besides status: for instance, list the
person that is responsible for this module.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dt_002c-in-modules-file"></a>
<a id="index-Tag-program"></a><span><code class="code">-t <var class="var">prog</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Tag-program"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify a program <var class="var">prog</var> to run whenever files in a
module are tagged with <code class="code">rtag</code>.  <var class="var">prog</var> runs
with two arguments: the module name and the symbolic
tag specified to <code class="code">rtag</code>.  It is not run
when <code class="code">tag</code> is executed.  Generally you will find
that the <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file is a better solution (see <a class="pxref" href="#taginfo">Taginfo</a>).
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>You should also see see <a class="pxref" href="#Module-program-options">How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run</a> about how the
&ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Module-program-options">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Module-options" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Module options</a>, Up: <a href="#modules" accesskey="u" rel="up">The modules file</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="How-the-modules-file-_0060_0060program-options_0027_0027-programs-are-run"><span>C.1.6 How the modules file &ldquo;program options&rdquo; programs are run<a class="copiable-link" href="#How-the-modules-file-_0060_0060program-options_0027_0027-programs-are-run"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Modules-file-program-options"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002dt_002c-in-modules-file-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002do_002c-in-modules-file-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_002de_002c-in-modules-file-1"></a>

<p>For checkout, rtag, and export, the program is server-based, and as such the
following applies:-
</p>
<p>If using remote access methods (pserver, ext, etc.),
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will execute this program on the server from a temporary
directory. The path is searched for this program.
</p>
<p>If using &ldquo;local access&rdquo; (on a local or remote NFS filesystem, i.e.
repository set just to a path),
the program will be executed from the newly checked-out tree, if
found there, or alternatively searched for in the path if not.
</p>
<p>The programs are all run after the operation has effectively
completed.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Wrappers">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="n" rel="next">The Trigger Scripts</a>, Previous: <a href="#modules" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The modules file</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-cvswrappers-file"><span>C.2 The cvswrappers file<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-cvswrappers-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-cvswrappers-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSWRAPPERS_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Wrappers"></a>


<p>Wrappers refers to a <small class="sc">CVS</small> feature which lets you
control certain settings based on the name of the file
which is being operated on.  The settings are &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-k</samp>&rsquo;
for binary files, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; for nonmergeable text
files.
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; option
specifies the merge methodology that should be used when
a non-binary file is updated.  <code class="code">MERGE</code> means the usual
<small class="sc">CVS</small> behavior: try to merge the files.  <code class="code">COPY</code>
means that <code class="code">cvs update</code> will refuse to merge
files, as it also does for files specified as binary
with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-kb</samp>&rsquo; (but if the file is specified as
binary, there is no need to specify &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m 'COPY'</samp>&rsquo;).
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will provide the user with the
two versions of the files, and require the user using
mechanisms outside <small class="sc">CVS</small>, to insert any necessary
changes.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">WARNING: do not use <code class="code">COPY</code> with
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 or earlier - such versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> will
copy one version of your file over the other, wiping
out the previous contents.</em>
The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-m</samp>&rsquo; wrapper option only affects behavior when
merging is done on update; it does not affect how files
are stored.  See <a class="ref" href="#Binary-files">Handling binary files</a>, for more on
binary files.
</p>
<p>The basic format of the file <samp class="file">cvswrappers</samp> is:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">wildcard     [option value][option value]...

where option is one of
-m           update methodology      value: MERGE or COPY
-k           keyword expansion       value: expansion mode

and value is a single-quote delimited value.
</pre></div>


<p>For example, the following command imports a
directory, treating files whose name ends in
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">.exe</samp>&rsquo; as binary:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs import -I ! -W &quot;*.exe -k 'b'&quot; first-dir vendortag reltag
</pre></div>


<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Trigger-Scripts">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#rcsinfo" accesskey="n" rel="next">Rcsinfo</a>, Previous: <a href="#Wrappers" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The cvswrappers file</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-Trigger-Scripts"><span>C.3 The Trigger Scripts<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-Trigger-Scripts"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-trigger-scripts"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hooks"></a>


<p>Several of the administrative files support triggers, or the launching external
scripts or programs at specific times before or after particular events, during
the execution of <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands.  These hooks can be used to prevent certain
actions, log them, and/or maintain anything else you deem practical.
</p>
<p>All the trigger scripts are launched in a copy of the user sandbox being
committed, on the server, in client-server mode.  In local mode, the scripts
are actually launched directly from the user sandbox directory being committed.
For most intents and purposes, the same scripts can be run in both locations
without alteration.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#syntax" accesskey="1">The common syntax</a></li>
<li><a href="#Trigger-Script-Security" accesskey="2">Security and the Trigger Scripts</a></li>
<li><a href="#commit-files" accesskey="3">The commit support files</a></li>
<li><a href="#commitinfo" accesskey="4">Commitinfo</a></li>
<li><a href="#verifymsg" accesskey="5">Verifying log messages</a></li>
<li><a href="#loginfo" accesskey="6">Loginfo</a></li>
<li><a href="#postadmin" accesskey="7">Logging admin commands</a></li>
<li><a href="#taginfo" accesskey="8">Taginfo</a></li>
<li><a href="#posttag" accesskey="9">Logging tags</a></li>
<li><a href="#postwatch">Logging watch commands</a></li>
<li><a href="#preproxy">Launch a Script before Proxying</a></li>
<li><a href="#postproxy">Launch a Script after Proxying</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="syntax">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Trigger-Script-Security" accesskey="n" rel="next">Security and the Trigger Scripts</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="The-common-syntax"><span>C.3.1 The common syntax<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-common-syntax"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-common-syntax"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hooks_002c-common-syntax"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-trigger-script-hooks_002c-common-syntax"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-syntax-of-trigger-script-hooks"></a>


<p>The administrative files such as <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>,
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp>, <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, etc.,
all have a common format.  The purpose of the files are
described later on.  The common syntax is described
here.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Regular-expression-syntax"></a>
<p>Each line contains the following:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-ALL-keyword_002c-in-lieu-of-regular-expressions-in-script-hooks"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-DEFAULT-keyword_002c-in-lieu-of-regular-expressions-in-script-hooks"></a>
A regular expression or the literal string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo;.  Some script hooks
also support the literal string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo;.  Other than the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo; keywords, this is a basic regular expression in the syntax used
by GNU emacs.  See the descriptions of the individual script hooks for
information on whether the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; keyword is supported
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>).

</li><li>A whitespace separator&mdash;one or more spaces and/or tabs.

</li><li>A file name or command-line template.
</li></ul>

<p>Blank lines are ignored.  Lines that start with the
character &lsquo;<samp class="samp">#</samp>&rsquo; are treated as comments.  Long lines
unfortunately can <em class="emph">not</em> be broken in two parts in
any way.
</p>
<p>The first regular expression that matches the current
directory name in the repository or the first line containing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo;
in lieu of a regular expression is used and all lines containing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; is
used for the hooks which support the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; keyword.  The rest of the line
is used as a file name or command-line template as appropriate.  See the
descriptions of the individual script hooks for information on whether the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; keyword is supported (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>).
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-common-syntax"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-common-syntax_002c-format-strings"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Common-syntax-of-info-files_002c-format-strings"></a>
<p><em class="emph">Note:  The following information on format strings is valid
as long as the line <code class="code">UseNewInfoFmtStrings=yes</code> appears in
your repository&rsquo;s config file (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).  Otherwise,
default format strings may be appended to the command line and
the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">loginfo</samp>&rsquo; file, especially, can exhibit slightly
different behavior.  For more information,
See <a class="xref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.</em>
</p>
<p>In the cases where the second segment of the matched line is a
command line template (e.g. <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>,
&amp; <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>), the command line template may contain format
strings which will be replaced with specific values before the
script is run.
</p>
<p>Format strings can represent a single variable or one or more
attributes of a list variable.  An example of a list variable
would be the list available to scripts hung on the loginfo hooks
- the list of files which were just committed.  In the case of
loginfo, three attributes are available for each list item: file
name, precommit version, and postcommit version.
</p>
<p>Format strings consist of a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; character followed by an optional
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">{</samp>&rsquo; (required in the multiple list attribute case), a
single format character representing a variable or a single attribute of
list elements or multiple format characters representing attributes of
list elements, and a closing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">}</samp>&rsquo; when the open bracket was present.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Flat format strings</em>, or single format characters which get replaced
with a single value, will generate a single argument
to the called script, regardless of whether the replacement variable contains
white space or other special characters.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">List attributes</em> will generate an argument for each attribute
requested for each list item.  For example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo;
in a <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> command template will generate three
arguments (file name, precommit version, postcommit version,
...) for each file committed.  As in the flat format string
case, each attribute will be passed in as a single argument
regardless of whether it contains white space or other
special characters.
</p> 
<p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%%</samp>&rsquo; will be replaced with a literal &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>The format strings available to all script hooks are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">c</code></dt>
<dd><p>The canonical name of the command being executed.  For instance, in the case of
a hook run from <code class="code">cvs up</code>, <small class="sc">CVS</small> would replace &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c</samp>&rsquo; with the string
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">update</samp>&rsquo; and, in the case of a hook run from <code class="code">cvs ci</code>, <small class="sc">CVS</small> would
replace &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%c</samp>&rsquo; with the string &lsquo;<samp class="samp">commit</samp>&rsquo;.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">n</code></dt>
<dd><p>The null, or empty, string.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">p</code></dt>
<dd><p>The name of the directory being operated on within the repository.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">r</code></dt>
<dd><p>The name of the repository (the path portion of <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code>).
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">R</code></dt>
<dd><p>On a server, the name of the referrer, if any.  The referrer is the CVSROOT the
client reports it used to contact a server which then referred it to this
server.  Should usually be set on a primary server with a write proxy setup.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>Other format strings are file specific.  See the docs on the
particular script hooks for more information
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>).
</p>
<p>As an example, the following line in a <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file would
match only the directory <samp class="file">module</samp> and any subdirectories of
<samp class="file">module</samp>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">^module\(/\|$\) (echo; echo %p: %{sVv}; cat) &gt;&gt;$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/commitlog
</pre></div>

<p>Using this same line and assuming a commit of new revisions
1.5.4.4 and 1.27.4.1 based on old revisions 1.5.4.3 and 1.27,
respectively, of file1 and file2 in module, something like the
following log message should be appended to commitlog:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">

module
file1 1.5.4.3 1.5.4.4 file2 1.27 1.27.4.1
Update of /cvsroot/module
In directory localhost.localdomain:/home/jrandom/work/module

Modified Files:
	file1 file2
Log Message:
A log message.
</pre></div>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="Trigger-Script-Security">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#commit-files" accesskey="n" rel="next">The commit support files</a>, Previous: <a href="#syntax" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The common syntax</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Security-and-the-Trigger-Scripts"><span>C.3.2 Security and the Trigger Scripts<a class="copiable-link" href="#Security-and-the-Trigger-Scripts"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-security"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hooks_002c-security"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-trigger-scripts_002c-security"></a>

<p>Security is a huge subject, and implementing a secure system is a non-trivial
task.  This section will barely touch on all the issues involved, but it is
well to note that, as with any script you will be allowing an untrusted
user to run on your server, there are measures you can take to help prevent
your trigger scripts from being abused.
</p>
<p>For instance, since the CVS trigger scripts all run in a copy of the user&rsquo;s
sandbox on the server, a naively coded Perl trigger script which attempts to
use a Perl module that is not installed on the system can be hijacked by any
user with commit access who is checking in a file with the correct name.  Other
scripting languages may be vulnerable to similar hacks.
</p>
<p>One way to make a script more secure, at least with Perl, is to use scripts
which invoke the <code class="code">-T</code>, or &quot;taint-check&quot; switch on their <code class="code">#!</code> line.
In the most basic terms, this causes Perl to avoid running code that may have
come from an external source.  Please run the <code class="code">perldoc perlsec</code> command
for more on Perl security.  Again, other languages may implement other security
verification hooks which look more or less like Perl&rsquo;s &quot;taint-check&quot; mechanism.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="commit-files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#commitinfo" accesskey="n" rel="next">Commitinfo</a>, Previous: <a href="#Trigger-Script-Security" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Security and the Trigger Scripts</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="The-commit-support-files"><span>C.3.3 The commit support files<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-commit-support-files"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Commits_002c-administrative-support-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commit-files_002c-see-Info-files"></a>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-i</samp>&rsquo; flag in the <samp class="file">modules</samp> file can be
used to run a certain program whenever files are
committed (see <a class="pxref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>).  The files described in
this section provide other, more flexible, ways to run
programs whenever something is committed.
</p>
<p>There are three kinds of programs that can be run on
commit.  They are specified in files in the repository,
as described below.  The following table summarises the
file names and the purpose of the corresponding
programs.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><samp class="file">commitinfo</samp></dt>
<dd><p>The program is responsible for checking that the commit
is allowed.  If it exits with a non-zero exit status
the commit will be aborted.  See <a class="xref" href="#commitinfo">Commitinfo</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><samp class="file">verifymsg</samp></dt>
<dd><p>The specified program is used to evaluate the log message,
and possibly verify that it contains all required
fields.  This is most useful in combination with the
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file, which can hold a log message
template (see <a class="pxref" href="#rcsinfo">Rcsinfo</a>).  See <a class="xref" href="#verifymsg">Verifying log messages</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><samp class="file">loginfo</samp></dt>
<dd><p>The specified program is called when the commit is
complete.  It receives the log message and some
additional information and can store the log message in
a file, or mail it to appropriate persons, or maybe
post it to a local newsgroup, or&hellip;  Your
imagination is the limit!  See <a class="xref" href="#loginfo">Loginfo</a>.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Updating-Commit-Files" accesskey="1">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Updating-Commit-Files">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#commit-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">The commit support files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Updating-legacy-repositories-to-stop-using-deprecated-command-line-template-formats"><span>C.3.3.1 Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats<a class="copiable-link" href="#Updating-legacy-repositories-to-stop-using-deprecated-command-line-template-formats"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-common-syntax_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Syntax-of-info-files_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Common-syntax-of-info-files_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<p>New repositories are created set to use the new format strings by default, so
if you are creating a new repository, you shouldn&rsquo;t have to worry about this
section.
</p>
<p>If you are attempting to maintain a legacy repository which was
making use of the <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">editinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>,
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp>, and/or <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> script hooks, you should have no
immediate problems with using the current <small class="sc">CVS</small> executable, but your users
will probably start to see deprecation warnings.
</p>
<p>The reason for this is that all of the script hooks have been updated to
use a new command line parser that extensibly supports multiple
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp> &amp; <samp class="file">notify</samp> style format strings (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>)
and this support is not completely compatible with the old style format
strings.
</p>
<p>The quick upgrade method is to stick a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1</samp>&rsquo; after each format string
in your old <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">DEFAULT (echo &quot;&quot;; id; echo %{sVv}; date; cat) &gt;&gt; $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/commitlog
</pre></div>

<p>would become:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">DEFAULT (echo &quot;&quot;; id; echo %1{sVv}; date; cat) &gt;&gt; $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/commitlog
</pre></div>

<p>If you were counting on the fact that only the first &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; in the line was
replaced as a format string, you may also have to double up any further
percent signs on the line.
</p>
<p>If you did this all at once and checked it in, everything should still be
running properly.
</p>
<p>Now add the following line to your config file (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>):
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">UseNewInfoFmtStrings=yes
</pre></div>

<p>Everything should still be running properly, but your users will probably
start seeing new deprecation warnings.
</p>  
<p>Dealing with the deprecation warnings now generated by <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>,
<samp class="file">editinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, and <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> should be easy.  Simply
specify what are currently implicit arguments explicitly.  This means appending
the following strings to each active command line template in each file:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">commitinfo</code></dt>
<dd><p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %r/%p %s</samp>&rsquo;
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">editinfo</code></dt>
<dd><p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %l</samp>&rsquo;
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">taginfo</code></dt>
<dd><p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %t %o %p %{sv}</samp>&rsquo;
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">verifymsg</code></dt>
<dd><p>&lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %l</samp>&rsquo;
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>If you don&rsquo;t desire that any of the newly available information be passed to
the scripts hanging off of these hooks, no further modifications to these
files should be necessary to insure current and future compatibility with
<small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s format strings.
</p>
<p>Fixing <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> could be a little tougher.  The old style
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp> format strings caused a single space and comma separated
argument to be passed in in place of the format string.  This is what will
continue to be generated due to the deprecated &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1</samp>&rsquo; you inserted into
the format strings.
</p>
<p>Since the new format separates each individual item and passes it into the
script as a separate argument (for a good reason - arguments containing commas
and/or white space are now parsable), to remove the deprecated &lsquo;<samp class="samp">1</samp>&rsquo; from
your <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> command line templates, you will most likely have to
rewrite any scripts called by the hook to handle the new argument format.
</p>
<p>Also note that the way &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%</samp>&rsquo; followed by unrecognised characters and by
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">{}</samp>&rsquo; was treated in past versions of CVS is not strictly adhered to as
there were bugs in the old versions.  Specifically, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{}</samp>&rsquo; would eat the
next character and unrecognised strings resolved only to the empty string,
which was counter to what was stated in the documentation.  This version will
do what the documentation said it should have (if you were using only some
combination of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo;, e.g. &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sV}</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%v</samp>&rsquo;, you should have no troubles).
</p>
<p>On the bright side, you should have plenty of time to do this before all
support for the old format strings is removed from <small class="sc">CVS</small>, so you can just
put up with the deprecation warnings for awhile if you like.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="commitinfo">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#verifymsg" accesskey="n" rel="next">Verifying log messages</a>, Previous: <a href="#commit-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The commit support files</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Commitinfo"><span>C.3.4 Commitinfo<a class="copiable-link" href="#Commitinfo"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Commits_002c-precommit-verification-of"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-commitinfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hooks_002c-commitinfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-trigger-scripts_002c-commitinfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-info-files_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hooks_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-trigger-scripts_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp> file defines programs to execute
whenever &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit</samp>&rsquo; is about to execute.  These
programs are used for pre-commit checking to verify
that the modified, added and removed files are really
ready to be committed.  This could be used, for
instance, to verify that the changed files conform to
to your site&rsquo;s standards for coding practice.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp> file has the standard form for script hooks
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular expression followed by
a command to execute.  It supports only the DEFAULT keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-commitinfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>),
<samp class="file">commitinfo</samp> supports:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">{s}</code></dt>
<dd><p>a list of the names of files to be committed
</p></dd>
</dl>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-compatibility-notes_002c-commitinfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>Currently, if no format strings are specified, a default
string of &lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %r/%p %{s}</samp>&rsquo; will be appended to the command
line template before replacement is performed, but this
feature is deprecated.  It is simply in place so that legacy
repositories will remain compatible with the new <small class="sc">CVS</small> application.
For information on updating, see <a class="pxref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Exit-status_002c-of-commitinfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-exit-status"></a>
<p>The first line with a regular expression matching the
directory within the repository will be used.  If the
command returns a non-zero exit status the commit will
be aborted.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo_002c-working-directory"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-commitinfo_002c-command-environment"></a>
<p>The command will be run in the root of the workspace
containing the new versions of any files the user would like
to modify (commit), <em class="emph">or in a copy of the workspace on
the server (see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>)</em>.  If a file is
being removed, there will be no copy of the file under the
current directory.  If a file is being added, there will be
no corresponding archive file in the repository unless the
file is being resurrected.
</p>
<p>Note that both the repository directory and the corresponding
Attic (see <a class="pxref" href="#Attic">The attic</a>) directory may need to be checked to
locate the archive file corresponding to any given file being
committed.  Much of the information about the specific commit
request being made, including the destination branch, commit
message, and command line options specified, is not available
to the command.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="verifymsg">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#loginfo" accesskey="n" rel="next">Loginfo</a>, Previous: <a href="#commitinfo" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Commitinfo</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Verifying-log-messages"><span>C.3.5 Verifying log messages<a class="copiable-link" href="#Verifying-log-messages"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-verifymsg-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-message_002c-verifying"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-logging_002c-commits"></a>

<p>Once you have entered a log message, you can evaluate
that message to check for specific content, such as
a bug ID.  Use the <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> file to
specify a program that is used to verify the log message.
This program could be a simple script that checks
that the entered message contains the required fields.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> file is often most useful together
with the <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file, which can be used to
specify a log message template (see <a class="pxref" href="#rcsinfo">Rcsinfo</a>).
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> file has the standard form for script hooks
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular expression followed by
a command to execute.  It supports only the DEFAULT keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-verifymsg-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>),
<samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> supports:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">l</code></dt>
<dd><p>the full path to the file containing the log message to be verified
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">{sV}</code></dt>
<dd><p>File attributes, where:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">s</code></dt>
<dd><p>file name
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">V</code></dt>
<dd><p>old version number (pre-checkin)
</p></dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-verifymsg-_0028admin_002fcommit-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-compatibility-notes_002c-verifymsg-admin-file"></a>
<p>Currently, if no format strings are specified, a default
string of &lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %l</samp>&rsquo; will be appended to the command
line template before replacement is performed, but this
feature is deprecated.  It is simply in place so that legacy
repositories will remain compatible with the new <small class="sc">CVS</small> application.
For information on updating, see <a class="pxref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.
</p>
<p>One thing that should be noted is that the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo;
keyword is not supported.  If more than one matching
line is found, the first one is used.  This can be
useful for specifying a default verification script in a
directory, and then overriding it in a subdirectory.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Exit-status_002c-of-verifymsg"></a>
<p>If the verification script exits with a non-zero exit status,
the commit is aborted.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-verifymsg_002c-changing-the-log-message"></a>
<p>In the default configuration, CVS allows the
verification script to change the log message. This is
controlled via the RereadLogAfterVerify CVSROOT/config
option.
</p>
<p>When &lsquo;<samp class="samp">RereadLogAfterVerify=always</samp>&rsquo; or
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">RereadLogAfterVerify=stat</samp>&rsquo;, the log message will
either always be reread after the verification script
is run or reread only if the log message file status
has changed.
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>, for more on CVSROOT/config options.
</p>
<p>It is NOT a good idea for a <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> script to
interact directly with the user in the various
client/server methods. For the <code class="code">pserver</code> method,
there is no protocol support for communicating between
<samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> and the client on the remote end. For the
<code class="code">ext</code> and <code class="code">server</code> methods, it is possible
for CVS to become confused by the characters going
along the same channel as the CVS protocol
messages. See <a class="ref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>, for more
information on client/server setups.  In addition, at the time
the <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> script runs, the CVS
server has locks in place in the repository.  If control is
returned to the user here then other users may be stuck waiting
for access to the repository.
</p>
<p>This option can be useful if you find yourself using an
rcstemplate that needs to be modified to remove empty
elements or to fill in default values.  It can also be
useful if the rcstemplate has changed in the repository
and the CVS/Template was not updated, but is able to be
adapted to the new format by the verification script
that is run by <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>.
</p>
<p>An example of an update might be to change all
occurrences of &rsquo;BugId:&rsquo; to be &rsquo;DefectId:&rsquo; (which can be
useful if the rcstemplate has recently been changed and
there are still checked-out user trees with cached
copies in the CVS/Template file of the older version).
</p>
<p>Another example of an update might be to delete a line
that contains &rsquo;BugID: none&rsquo; from the log message after
validation of that value as being allowed is made.
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#verifymsg-example" accesskey="1">Verifying log messages</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="verifymsg-example">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Up: <a href="#verifymsg" accesskey="u" rel="up">Verifying log messages</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Verifying-log-messages-1"><span>C.3.5.1 Verifying log messages<a class="copiable-link" href="#Verifying-log-messages-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-verifymsg_002c-example"></a>
<p>The following is a little silly example of a
<samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> file, together with the corresponding
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file, the log message template and a
verification script.  We begin with the log message template.
We want to always record a bug-id number on the first
line of the log message.  The rest of log message is
free text.  The following template is found in the file
<samp class="file">/usr/cvssupport/tc.template</samp>.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">BugId:
</pre></div>

<p>The script <samp class="file">/usr/cvssupport/bugid.verify</samp> is used to
evaluate the log message.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#!/bin/sh
#
#       bugid.verify filename
#
#  Verify that the log message contains a valid bugid
#  on the first line.
#
if sed 1q &lt; $1 | grep '^BugId:[ ]*[0-9][0-9]*$' &gt; /dev/null; then
    exit 0
elif sed 1q &lt; $1 | grep '^BugId:[ ]*none$' &gt; /dev/null; then
    # It is okay to allow commits with 'BugId: none',
    # but do not put that text into the real log message.
    grep -v '^BugId:[ ]*none$' &gt; $1.rewrite
    mv $1.rewrite $1
    exit 0
else
    echo &quot;No BugId found.&quot;
    exit 1
fi
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> file contains this line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">^tc     /usr/cvssupport/bugid.verify %l
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file contains this line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">^tc     /usr/cvssupport/tc.template
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">config</samp> file contains this line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">RereadLogAfterVerify=always
</pre></div>



<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="loginfo">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#postadmin" accesskey="n" rel="next">Logging admin commands</a>, Previous: <a href="#verifymsg" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Verifying log messages</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Loginfo"><span>C.3.6 Loginfo<a class="copiable-link" href="#Loginfo"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-loginfo-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-logging_002c-commits-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Storing-log-messages"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Mailing-log-messages"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Distributing-log-messages"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-messages"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file is used to control where log information is sent after
versioned changes are made to repository archive files and after directories
are added to the repository.  <a class="ref" href="#posttag">Logging tags</a> for how to log tagging
information and <a class="ref" href="#postadmin">Logging admin commands</a> for how to log changes due to the <code class="code">admin</code>
command.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file has the standard form for script hooks
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular expression followed by
a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT keywords.
</p>
<p>Any specified scripts are called:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code">commit</code></dt>
<dd><p>Once per directory, immediately after a successfully completing the commit of
all files within that directory.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">import</code></dt>
<dd><p>Once per import, immediately after completion of all write operations.
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="code">add</code></dt>
<dd><p>Immediately after the successful <code class="code">add</code> of a directory.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>Any script called via <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> will be fed the log information on its
standard input.  Note that the filter program <strong class="strong">must</strong> read <strong class="strong">all</strong>
of the log information from its standard input or <small class="sc">CVS</small> may fail with a
broken pipe signal.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-loginfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>),
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp> supports:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">{sVv}</code></dt>
<dd><p>File attributes, where:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">s</code></dt>
<dd><p>file name
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">V</code></dt>
<dd><p>old version number (pre-checkin)
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">v</code></dt>
<dd><p>new version number (post-checkin)
</p></dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>For example, some valid format strings are &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%%</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%s</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{s}</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-loginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-compatibility-notes_002c-loginfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>Currently, if &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UseNewInfoFmtStrings</samp>&rsquo; is not set in the <samp class="file">config</samp>
administration file (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>), the format strings will be substituted
as they were in past versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, but this feature is deprecated.
It is simply in place so that legacy repositories will remain compatible with
the new <small class="sc">CVS</small> application.  For information on updating,
please see <a class="ref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.
</p>
<p>As an example, if &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/u/src/master/yoyodyne/tc</samp>&rsquo; is the repository, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%p</samp>&rsquo;
and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo; are the format strings, and three files (<code class="t">ChangeLog</code>,
<code class="t">Makefile</code>, <code class="t">foo.c</code>) were modified, the output might be:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">yoyodyne/tc ChangeLog 1.1 1.2 Makefile 1.3 1.4 foo.c 1.12 1.13
</pre></div>

<p>Note: when <small class="sc">CVS</small> is accessing a remote repository,
<samp class="file">loginfo</samp> will be run on the <em class="emph">remote</em>
(i.e., server) side, not the client side (see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>).
</p>

<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#loginfo-example" accesskey="1">Loginfo example</a></li>
<li><a href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy" accesskey="2">Keeping a checked out copy</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="loginfo-example">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy" accesskey="n" rel="next">Keeping a checked out copy</a>, Up: <a href="#loginfo" accesskey="u" rel="up">Loginfo</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Loginfo-example"><span>C.3.6.1 Loginfo example<a class="copiable-link" href="#Loginfo-example"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<p>The following <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> file, together with the
tiny shell-script below, appends all log messages
to the file <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/commitlog</samp>,
and any commits to the administrative files (inside
the <samp class="file">CVSROOT</samp> directory) are also logged in
<samp class="file">/usr/adm/cvsroot-log</samp>.
Commits to the <samp class="file">prog1</samp> directory are mailed to <code class="t">ceder</code>.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ALL               /usr/local/bin/cvs-log $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/commitlog $USER
^CVSROOT\(/\|$\)  /usr/local/bin/cvs-log /usr/adm/cvsroot-log $USER
^prog1\(/\|$\)    Mail -s &quot;%p %s&quot; ceder
</pre></div>

<p>The shell-script <samp class="file">/usr/local/bin/cvs-log</samp> looks
like this:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#!/bin/sh
(echo &quot;------------------------------------------------------&quot;;
 echo -n &quot;$2  &quot;;
 date;
 echo;
 cat) &gt;&gt; $1
</pre></div>



<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsubsec-level-extent" id="Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#loginfo-example" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Loginfo example</a>, Up: <a href="#loginfo" accesskey="u" rel="up">Loginfo</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsubsec" id="Keeping-a-checked-out-copy-1"><span>C.3.6.2 Keeping a checked out copy<a class="copiable-link" href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy-1"> &para;</a></span></h4>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Keeping-a-checked-out-copy"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Checked-out-copy_002c-keeping"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Web-pages_002c-maintaining-with-CVS"></a>

<p>It is often useful to maintain a directory tree which
contains files which correspond to the latest version
in the repository.  For example, other developers might
want to refer to the latest sources without having to
check them out, or you might be maintaining a web site
with <small class="sc">CVS</small> and want every checkin to cause the files
used by the web server to be updated.
</p>
<p>The way to do this is by having loginfo invoke
<code class="code">cvs update</code>.  Doing so in the naive way will
cause a problem with locks, so the <code class="code">cvs update</code>
must be run in the background.
Here is an example for unix (this should all be on one line):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">^cyclic-pages\(/\|$\)	(date; cat; (sleep 2; cd /u/www/local-docs;
 cvs -q update -d) &amp;) &gt;&gt; $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/updatelog 2&gt;&amp;1
</pre></div>

<p>This will cause checkins to repository directory <code class="code">cyclic-pages</code>
and its subdirectories to update the checked
out tree in <samp class="file">/u/www/local-docs</samp>.
</p>


<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="postadmin">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#taginfo" accesskey="n" rel="next">Taginfo</a>, Previous: <a href="#loginfo" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Loginfo</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Logging-admin-commands"><span>C.3.7 Logging admin commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Logging-admin-commands"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-postadmin-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-postadmin"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Admin-commands_002c-logging"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">postadmin</samp> file defines programs to execute after an <code class="code">admin</code>
command modifies files.  The <samp class="file">postadmin</samp> file has the standard form
for script hooks (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular
expression followed by a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT
keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-postadmin-admin-file"></a>
<p>The <samp class="file">postadmin</samp> file supports no format strings other than the common
ones (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>),
</p>


<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="taginfo">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#posttag" accesskey="n" rel="next">Logging tags</a>, Previous: <a href="#postadmin" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Logging admin commands</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Taginfo"><span>C.3.8 Taginfo<a class="copiable-link" href="#Taginfo"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-taginfo"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-logging"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-verifying"></a>
<p>The <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file defines programs to execute
when someone executes a <code class="code">tag</code> or <code class="code">rtag</code>
command.  The <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file has the standard form
for script hooks (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line
is a regular expression followed by a command to execute.
It supports the ALL and DEFAULT keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-taginfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>),
<samp class="file">taginfo</samp> supports:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">b</code></dt>
<dd><p>tag type (<code class="code">T</code> for branch, <code class="code">N</code> for not-branch, or <code class="code">?</code> for
unknown, as during delete operations)
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">o</code></dt>
<dd><p>operation (<code class="code">add</code> for <code class="code">tag</code>, <code class="code">mov</code> for <code class="code">tag -F</code>, or
<code class="code">del</code> for <code class="code">tag -d</code>)
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">t</code></dt>
<dd><p>new tag name
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">{sTVv}</code></dt>
<dd><p>file attributes, where:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">s</code></dt>
<dd><p>file name
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">T</code></dt>
<dd><p>tag name of destination, or the empty string when there is no associated
tag name (this usually means the trunk)
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">V</code></dt>
<dd><p>old version number (for a move or delete operation)
</p></dd>
<dt><code class="t">v</code></dt>
<dd><p>new version number (for an add or move operation)
</p></dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>For example, some valid format strings are &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%%</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%p</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%t</samp>&rsquo;,
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">%s</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{s}</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%{sVv}</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-compatibility-notes_002c-taginfo-admin-file"></a>
<p>Currently, if no format strings are specified, a default
string of &lsquo;<samp class="samp"> %t %o %p %{sv}</samp>&rsquo; will be appended to the command
line template before replacement is performed, but this
feature is deprecated.  It is simply in place so that legacy
repositories will remain compatible with the new <small class="sc">CVS</small> application.
For information on updating, see <a class="pxref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Exit-status_002c-of-taginfo-admin-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-exit-status"></a>
<p>A non-zero exit of the filter program will cause the tag to be
aborted.
</p>
<p>Here is an example of using <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> to log <code class="code">tag</code> and <code class="code">rtag</code>
commands.  In the <samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file put:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ALL /usr/local/cvsroot/CVSROOT/loggit %t %b %o %p %{sVv}
</pre></div>

<p>Where <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot/CVSROOT/loggit</samp> contains the
following script:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#!/bin/sh
echo &quot;$@&quot; &gt;&gt;/home/kingdon/cvsroot/CVSROOT/taglog
</pre></div>



<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="posttag">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#postwatch" accesskey="n" rel="next">Logging watch commands</a>, Previous: <a href="#taginfo" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Taginfo</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Logging-tags"><span>C.3.9 Logging tags<a class="copiable-link" href="#Logging-tags"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-posttag-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-posttag"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Tags_002c-logging-1"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">posttag</samp> file defines programs to execute after a <code class="code">tag</code> or
<code class="code">rtag</code> command modifies files.  The <samp class="file">posttag</samp> file has the standard
form for script hooks (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular
expression followed by a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT
keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-posttag-admin-file"></a>
<p>The <samp class="file">posttag</samp> admin file supports the same format strings as the
<samp class="file">taginfo</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#taginfo">Taginfo</a>),
</p>


<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="postwatch">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#preproxy" accesskey="n" rel="next">Launch a Script before Proxying</a>, Previous: <a href="#posttag" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Logging tags</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Logging-watch-commands"><span>C.3.10 Logging watch commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Logging-watch-commands"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-postwatch-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-postwatch"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Watch-family-of-commands_002c-logging"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">postwatch</samp> file defines programs to execute after any command (for
instance, <code class="code">watch</code>, <code class="code">edit</code>, <code class="code">unedit</code>, or <code class="code">commit</code>) modifies
any <samp class="file">CVS/fileattr</samp> file in the repository (see <a class="pxref" href="#Watches">Mechanisms to track who is editing files</a>).  The
<samp class="file">postwatch</samp> file has the standard form for script hooks
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular expression followed by
a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-postwatch-admin-file"></a>
<p>The <samp class="file">postwatch</samp> file supports no format strings other than the common
ones (see <a class="pxref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>), but it is worth noting that the <code class="code">%c</code> format string
may not be replaced as you might expect.  Client runs of <code class="code">edit</code> and
<code class="code">unedit</code> can sometimes skip contacting the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server and cache the
notification of the file attribute change to be sent the next time the client
contacts the server for whatever other reason,
</p>


<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="preproxy">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#postproxy" accesskey="n" rel="next">Launch a Script after Proxying</a>, Previous: <a href="#postwatch" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Logging watch commands</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Launch-a-Script-before-Proxying"><span>C.3.11 Launch a Script before Proxying<a class="copiable-link" href="#Launch-a-Script-before-Proxying"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-preproxy-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-preproxy"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Write-proxy_002c-verifying"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Write-proxy_002c-logging"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">preproxy</samp> file defines programs to execute after a secondary
server receives a write request from a client, just before it starts up the
primary server and becomes a write proxy.  This hook could be used to
dial a modem, launch an SSH tunnel, establish a VPN, or anything else that
might be necessary to do before contacting the primary server.
</p>
<p><samp class="file">preproxy</samp> scripts are called once, at the time of the write request, with
the repository argument (if requested) set from the topmost directory sent by
the client.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">preproxy</samp> file has the standard form
for script hooks (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular
expression followed by a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT
keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-preproxy-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings, the <samp class="file">preproxy</samp> file supports the
following format string:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">P</code></dt>
<dd><p>the CVSROOT string which specifies the primary server
</p></dd>
</dl>



<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsubsec-level-extent" id="postproxy">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#preproxy" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Launch a Script before Proxying</a>, Up: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="u" rel="up">The Trigger Scripts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h4 class="appendixsubsec" id="Launch-a-Script-after-Proxying"><span>C.3.12 Launch a Script after Proxying<a class="copiable-link" href="#Launch-a-Script-after-Proxying"> &para;</a></span></h4>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-postproxy-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-script-hook_002c-postproxy"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Write-proxy_002c-logging-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Write-proxy_002c-pull-updates"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-secondary-server_002c-pull-updates"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">postproxy</samp> file defines programs to execute after a secondary
server notes that the connection to the primary server has shut down and before
it releases the client by shutting down the connection to the client.
This could hook could be used to
disconnect a modem, an SSH tunnel, a VPN, or anything else that
might be necessary to do after contacting the primary server.  This hook should
also be used to pull updates from the primary server before allowing the client
which did the write to disconnect since otherwise the client&rsquo;s next read
request may generate error messages and fail upon encountering an out of date
repository on the secondary server.
</p>
<p><samp class="file">postproxy</samp> scripts are called once per directory.
</p>
<p>The <samp class="file">postproxy</samp> file has the standard form
for script hooks (see <a class="pxref" href="#Trigger-Scripts">The Trigger Scripts</a>), where each line is a regular
expression followed by a command to execute.  It supports the ALL and DEFAULT
keywords.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-postproxy-admin-file"></a>
<p>In addition to the common format strings, the <samp class="file">postproxy</samp> file supports
the following format string:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="t">P</code></dt>
<dd><p>the CVSROOT string which specifies the primary server
</p></dd>
</dl>



<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="rcsinfo">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#cvsignore" accesskey="n" rel="next">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>, Previous: <a href="#Trigger-Scripts" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The Trigger Scripts</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Rcsinfo"><span>C.4 Rcsinfo<a class="copiable-link" href="#Rcsinfo"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-rcsinfo-_0028admin-file_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Form-for-log-message"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-message-template"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Template-for-log-message"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-logging_002c-commits-2"></a>

<p>The <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file can be used to specify a form to
edit when filling out the commit log.  The
<samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> file has a syntax similar to the
<samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, <samp class="file">commitinfo</samp> and <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>
files.  See <a class="xref" href="#syntax">The common syntax</a>.  Unlike the other files the second
part is <em class="emph">not</em> a command-line template.  Instead,
the part after the regular expression should be a full pathname to
a file containing the log message template.
</p>
<p>If the repository name does not match any of the
regular expressions in this file, the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo;
line is used, if it is specified.
</p>
<p>All occurrences of the name &lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; appearing as a
regular expression are used in addition to the first
matching regular expression or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>The log message template will be used as a default log
message.  If you specify a log message with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs
commit -m <var class="var">message</var></samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs commit -f
<var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo; that log message will override the
template.
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#verifymsg">Verifying log messages</a>, for an example <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp>
file.
</p>
<p>When <small class="sc">CVS</small> is accessing a remote repository,
the contents of <samp class="file">rcsinfo</samp> at the time a directory
is first checked out will specify a template. This
template will be updated on all &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update</samp>&rsquo;
commands. It will also be added to new directories
added with a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs add new-directory</samp>&rsquo; command.
In versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> prior to version 1.12, the
<samp class="file">CVS/Template</samp> file was not updated. If the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> server is at version 1.12 or higher an older
client may be used and the <samp class="file">CVS/Template</samp> will
be updated from the server.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="cvsignore">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#checkoutlist" accesskey="n" rel="next">The checkoutlist file</a>, Previous: <a href="#rcsinfo" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Rcsinfo</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Ignoring-files-via-cvsignore"><span>C.5 Ignoring files via cvsignore<a class="copiable-link" href="#Ignoring-files-via-cvsignore"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-cvsignore-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-global"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Global-cvsignore"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ignoring-files"></a>

<p>There are certain file names that frequently occur
inside your working copy, but that you don&rsquo;t want to
put under <small class="sc">CVS</small> control.  Examples are all the object
files that you get while you compile your sources.
Normally, when you run &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update</samp>&rsquo;, it prints a
line for each file it encounters that it doesn&rsquo;t know
about (see <a class="pxref" href="#update-output">update output</a>).
</p>
<p><small class="sc">CVS</small> has a list of files (or sh(1) file name patterns)
that it should ignore while running <code class="code">update</code>,
<code class="code">import</code> and <code class="code">release</code>.
This list is constructed in the following way.
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>The list is initialised to include certain file name
patterns: names associated with <small class="sc">CVS</small>
administration, or with other common source control
systems; common names for patch files, object files,
archive files, and editor backup files; and other names
that are usually artifacts of assorted utilities.
Currently, the default list of ignored file name
patterns is:

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ignored-files"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Automatically-ignored-files"></a>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">    RCS     SCCS    CVS     CVS.adm
    RCSLOG  cvslog.*
    tags    TAGS
    .make.state     .nse_depinfo
    *~      #*      .#*     ,*      _$*     *$
    *.old   *.bak   *.BAK   *.orig  *.rej   .del-*
    *.a     *.olb   *.o     *.obj   *.so    *.exe
    *.Z     *.elc   *.ln
    core
</pre></div>

</li><li>The per-repository list in
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvsignore</samp> is appended to
the list, if that file exists.

</li><li>The per-user list in <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> in your home
directory is appended to the list, if it exists.

</li><li>Any entries in the environment variable
<code class="code">$CVSIGNORE</code> is appended to the list.

</li><li>Any &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I</samp>&rsquo; options given to <small class="sc">CVS</small> is appended.

</li><li>As <small class="sc">CVS</small> traverses through your directories, the contents
of any <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> will be appended to the list.
The patterns found in <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> are only valid
for the directory that contains them, not for
any sub-directories.
</li></ul>

<p>In any of the 5 places listed above, a single
exclamation mark (&lsquo;<samp class="samp">!</samp>&rsquo;) clears the ignore list.
This can be used if you want to store any file which
normally is ignored by <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>Specifying &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I !</samp>&rsquo; to <code class="code">cvs import</code> will import
everything, which is generally what you want to do if
you are importing files from a pristine distribution or
any other source which is known to not contain any
extraneous files.  However, looking at the rules above
you will see there is a fly in the ointment; if the
distribution contains any <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> files, then
the patterns from those files will be processed even if
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I !</samp>&rsquo; is specified.  The only workaround is to
remove the <samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> files in order to do the
import.  Because this is awkward, in the future
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-I !</samp>&rsquo; might be modified to override
<samp class="file">.cvsignore</samp> files in each directory.
</p>
<p>Note that the syntax of the ignore files consists of a
series of lines, each of which contains a space
separated list of filenames.  This offers no clean way
to specify filenames which contain spaces, but you can
use a workaround like <samp class="file">foo?bar</samp> to match a file
named <samp class="file">foo bar</samp> (it also matches <samp class="file">fooxbar</samp>
and the like).  Also note that there is currently no
way to specify comments.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="checkoutlist">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#history-file" accesskey="n" rel="next">The history file</a>, Previous: <a href="#cvsignore" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-checkoutlist-file"><span>C.6 The checkoutlist file<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-checkoutlist-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-checkoutlist"></a>

<p>It may be helpful to use <small class="sc">CVS</small> to maintain your own
files in the <samp class="file">CVSROOT</samp> directory.  For example,
suppose that you have a script <samp class="file">logcommit.pl</samp>
which you run by including the following line in the
<samp class="file">commitinfo</samp> administrative file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ALL   $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/logcommit.pl %r/%p %s
</pre></div>

<p>To maintain <samp class="file">logcommit.pl</samp> with <small class="sc">CVS</small> you would
add the following line to the <samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp>
administrative file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">logcommit.pl
</pre></div>

<p>The format of <samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp> is one line for each
file that you want to maintain using <small class="sc">CVS</small>, giving
the name of the file, followed optionally by more whitespace
and any error message that should print if the file cannot be
checked out into CVSROOT after a commit:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">logcommit.pl	Could not update CVSROOT/logcommit.pl.
</pre></div>

<p>After setting up <samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp> in this fashion,
the files listed there will function just like
<small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s built-in administrative files.  For example,
when checking in one of the files you should get a
message such as:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs commit: Rebuilding administrative file database
</pre></div>

<p>and the checked out copy in the <samp class="file">CVSROOT</samp>
directory should be updated.
</p>
<p>Note that listing <samp class="file">passwd</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>) in <samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp> is not
recommended for security reasons.
</p>
<p>For information about keeping a checkout out copy in a
more general context than the one provided by
<samp class="file">checkoutlist</samp>, see <a class="ref" href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">Keeping a checked out copy</a>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="history-file">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Variables" accesskey="n" rel="next">Expansions in administrative files</a>, Previous: <a href="#checkoutlist" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The checkoutlist file</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-history-file"><span>C.7 The history file<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-history-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-History-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-information_002c-saving"></a>

<p>By default, the file <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history</samp> is used
to log information for the <code class="code">history</code> command (see <a class="pxref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>).
This file name may be changed with the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">HistoryLogPath</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">HistorySearchPath</samp>&rsquo; config options (see <a class="pxref" href="#config">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>).
</p>
<p>The file format of the <samp class="file">history</samp> file is
documented only in comments in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source
code, but generally programs should use the <code class="code">cvs
history</code> command to access it anyway, in case the
format changes with future releases of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Variables">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#config" accesskey="n" rel="next">The CVSROOT/config configuration file</a>, Previous: <a href="#history-file" accesskey="p" rel="prev">The history file</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Expansions-in-administrative-files"><span>C.8 Expansions in administrative files<a class="copiable-link" href="#Expansions-in-administrative-files"> &para;</a></span></h3>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Internal-variables"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Variables"></a>

<p>Sometimes in writing an administrative file, you might
want the file to be able to know various things based
on environment <small class="sc">CVS</small> is running in.  There are
several mechanisms to do that.
</p>
<p>To find the home directory of the user running <small class="sc">CVS</small>
(from the <code class="code">HOME</code> environment variable), use
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">~</samp>&rsquo; followed by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">/</samp>&rsquo; or the end of the line.
Likewise for the home directory of <var class="var">user</var>, use
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">~<var class="var">user</var></samp>&rsquo;.  These variables are expanded on
the server machine, and don&rsquo;t get any reasonable
expansion if pserver (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authenticated">Direct connection with password authentication</a>)
is in use; therefore user variables (see below) may be
a better choice to customise behavior based on the user
running <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
</p>
<p>One may want to know about various pieces of
information internal to <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  A <small class="sc">CVS</small> internal
variable has the syntax <code class="code">${<var class="var">variable</var>}</code>,
where <var class="var">variable</var> starts with a letter and consists
of alphanumeric characters and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">_</samp>&rsquo;.  If the
character following <var class="var">variable</var> is a
non-alphanumeric character other than &lsquo;<samp class="samp">_</samp>&rsquo;, the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">{</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">}</samp>&rsquo; can be omitted.  The <small class="sc">CVS</small>
internal variables are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-CVSROOT_002c-internal-variable"></a><span><code class="code">CVSROOT</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-internal-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This is the absolute path to the current <small class="sc">CVS</small> root directory.
See <a class="xref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>, for a description of the various
ways to specify this, but note that the internal
variable contains just the directory and not any
of the access method information.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-RCSBIN_002c-internal-variable"></a><span><code class="code">RCSBIN</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-internal-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>In <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.18 and older, this specified the
directory where <small class="sc">CVS</small> was looking for <small class="sc">RCS</small>
programs.  Because <small class="sc">CVS</small> no longer runs <small class="sc">RCS</small>
programs, specifying this internal variable is now an
error.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-VISUAL_002c-internal-variable"></a><span><code class="code">CVSEDITOR</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-VISUAL_002c-internal-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSEDITOR_002c-internal-variable"></a>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">EDITOR</code></dt>
<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-EDITOR_002c-internal-variable"></a>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">VISUAL</code></dt>
<dd><p>These all expand to the same value, which is the editor
that <small class="sc">CVS</small> is using.  See <a class="xref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>, for how
to specify this.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-USER_002c-internal-variable"></a><span><code class="code">USER</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-USER_002c-internal-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Username of the user running <small class="sc">CVS</small> (on the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
server machine).
When using pserver, this is the user specified in the repository
specification which need not be the same as the username the
server is running as (see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>).
Do not confuse this with the environment variable of the same name.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable"></a><span><code class="code">SESSIONID</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Unique Session ID of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> process. This is a
random string of printable characters of at least 16
characters length. Users should assume that it may
someday grow to at most 256 characters in length.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable-1"></a><span><code class="code">COMMITID</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Unique Session ID of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> process. This is a
random string of printable characters of at least 16
characters length. Users should assume that it may
someday grow to at most 256 characters in length.
Currently, Debian and MirBSD <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses 19 characters.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>If you want to pass a value to the administrative files
which the user who is running <small class="sc">CVS</small> can specify,
use a user variable.
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-User-variables"></a>
To expand a user variable, the
administrative file contains
<code class="code">${=<var class="var">variable</var>}</code>.  To set a user variable,
specify the global option &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-s</samp>&rsquo; to <small class="sc">CVS</small>, with
argument <code class="code"><var class="var">variable</var>=<var class="var">value</var></code>.  It may be
particularly useful to specify this option via
<samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp> (see <a class="pxref" href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file</a>).
</p>
<p>For example, if you want the administrative file to
refer to a test directory you might create a user
variable <code class="code">TESTDIR</code>.  Then if <small class="sc">CVS</small> is invoked
as
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs -s TESTDIR=/work/local/tests
</pre></div>

<p>and the
administrative file contains <code class="code">sh
${=TESTDIR}/runtests</code>, then that string is expanded
to <code class="code">sh /work/local/tests/runtests</code>.
</p>
<p>All other strings containing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$</samp>&rsquo; are reserved;
there is no way to quote a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">$</samp>&rsquo; character so that
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">$</samp>&rsquo; represents itself.
</p>
<p>Environment variables passed to administrative files are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-environment-variables_002c-passed-to-administrative-files"></a>

</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fUSER_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">CVS_USER</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fUSER_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small>-specific username provided by the user, if it
can be provided (currently just for the pserver access
method), and to the empty string otherwise.  (<code class="code">CVS_USER</code>
and <code class="code">USER</code> may differ when <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/passwd</samp>
is used to map <small class="sc">CVS</small> usernames to system usernames.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-LOGNAME_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">LOGNAME</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-LOGNAME_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>The username of the system user.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-USER_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">USER</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-USER_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Same as <code class="code">LOGNAME</code>.
Do not confuse this with the internal variable of the same name.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="config">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Variables" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Expansions in administrative files</a>, Up: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="u" rel="up">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="The-CVSROOT_002fconfig-configuration-file"><span>C.9 The CVSROOT/config configuration file<a class="copiable-link" href="#The-CVSROOT_002fconfig-configuration-file"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-configuration-file-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-config_002c-in-CVSROOT"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a>

<p>Usually, the <samp class="file">config</samp> file is found at <samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/config</samp>,
but this may be overridden on the <code class="code">pserver</code> and <code class="code">server</code> command
lines (see <a class="pxref" href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver&mdash;Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout</a>).
</p>
<p>The administrative file <samp class="file">config</samp> contains various
miscellaneous settings which affect the behavior of
<small class="sc">CVS</small>.  The syntax is slightly different from the
other administrative files.
</p>
<p>Leading white space on any line is ignored, though the syntax is very strict
and will reject spaces and tabs almost anywhere else.
</p>
<p>Empty lines, lines containing nothing but white space, and lines which start
with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">#</samp>&rsquo; (discounting any leading white space) are ignored.
</p>
<p>Other lines consist of the optional leading white space, a keyword, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">=</samp>&rsquo;,
and a value.  Please note again that this syntax is very strict.
Extraneous spaces or tabs, other than the leading white space, are not
permitted on these lines.
</p>
<p>As of CVS 1.12.13, lines of the form &lsquo;<samp class="samp">[<var class="var">CVSROOT</var>]</samp>&rsquo; mark the subsequent
section of the config file as applying only to certain repositories.  Multiple
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">[<var class="var">CVSROOT</var>]</samp>&rsquo; lines without intervening
&lsquo;<samp class="samp"><var class="var">KEYWORD</var>=<var class="var">VALUE</var></samp>&rsquo; pairs cause processing to fall through,
processing subsequent keywords for any root in the list.  Finally, keywords
and values which appear before any &lsquo;<samp class="samp">[<var class="var">CVSROOT</var>]</samp>&rsquo; lines are defaults,
and may to apply to any repository.  For example, consider the following file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"># Defaults
LogHistory=TMAR

[/cvsroots/team1]
  LockDir=/locks/team1

[/cvsroots/team2]
  LockDir=/locks/team2

[/cvsroots/team3]
  LockDir=/locks/team3

[/cvsroots/team4]
  LockDir=/locks/team4

[/cvsroots/team3]
[/cvsroots/team4]
  # Override logged commands for teams 3 &amp; 4.
  LogHistory=all
</pre></div>

<p>This example file sets up separate lock directories for each project, as well
as a default set of logged commands overridden for the example&rsquo;s team 3 &amp;
team 4. This syntax could be useful, for instance, if you wished to share a
single config file, for instance <samp class="file">/etc/cvs.conf</samp>, among several
repositories.
</p>
<p>Currently defined keywords are:
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-HistoryLogPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">HistorySearchPath=<var class="var">pattern</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-HistoryLogPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Request that <small class="sc">CVS</small> look for its history information in files matching
<var class="var">pattern</var>, which is a standard UNIX file glob.  If <var class="var">pattern</var> matches
multiple files, all will be searched in lexicographically sorted order.
See <a class="xref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>, and <a class="ref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>, for more.
</p>
<p>If no value is supplied for this option, it defaults to
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-HistorySearchPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">HistoryLogPath=<var class="var">path</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-HistorySearchPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Control where <small class="sc">CVS</small> logs its history.  If the file does not exist, <small class="sc">CVS</small>
will attempt to create it.  Format strings, as available to the GNU C
<code class="code">strftime</code> function and often the UNIX date command, and the string
<var class="var">$CVSROOT</var> will be substituted in this path.  For example, consider the
line:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">HistoryLogPath=$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history/%Y-%m-%d
</pre></div>

<p>This line would cause <small class="sc">CVS</small> to attempt to create its history file in a
subdirectory (<samp class="file">history</samp>) of the configuration directory (<samp class="file">CVSROOT</samp>)
with a name equal to the current date representation in the ISO8601 format (for
example, on May 11, 2005, <small class="sc">CVS</small> would attempt to log its history under the
repository root directory in a file named <samp class="file">CVSROOT/history/2005-05-11</samp>).
See <a class="xref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>, and <a class="ref" href="#history-file">The history file</a>, for more.
</p>
<p>If no value is supplied for this option, it defaults to
<samp class="file">$CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-import_002c-config-admin-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-config-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-import"></a>
<a id="index-ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify whether <code class="code">cvs import</code> should always behave as if the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-X</samp>&rsquo; flag was specified on the command line.  
<var class="var">value</var> may be either &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;.  If set to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo;,
all uses of <code class="code">cvs import</code> on the repository will behave as if the
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">-X</samp>&rsquo; flag was set.  The default value is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-KeywordExpand_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">KeywordExpand=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-KeywordExpand_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify &lsquo;<samp class="samp">i</samp>&rsquo; followed by a list of keywords to be expanded
(for example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">KeywordExpand=iMYCVS,Name,Date,Mdocdate</samp>&rsquo;),
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">e</samp>&rsquo; followed by a list of keywords not to be expanded
(for example, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">KeywordExpand=eCVSHeader</samp>&rsquo;).
For more on keyword expansion, see <a class="ref" href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring Keyword Expansion</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-LocalKeyword_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">LocalKeyword=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-LocalKeyword_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify a local alias for a standard keyword.
See <a class="ref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a> for more information in local keywords.
Example: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">LocalKeyword=MYCVS=CVSHeader</samp>&rsquo;
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-LockDir_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">LockDir=<var class="var">directory</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-LockDir_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Put <small class="sc">CVS</small> lock files in <var class="var">directory</var> rather than
directly in the repository.  This is useful if you want
to let users read from the repository while giving them
write access only to <var class="var">directory</var>, not to the
repository.
It can also be used to put the locks on a very fast
in-memory filesystem to speed up locking and unlocking
the repository.
You need to create <var class="var">directory</var>, but
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will create subdirectories of <var class="var">directory</var> as it
needs them.  For information on <small class="sc">CVS</small> locks, see
<a class="ref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>.
</p>
<p>Before enabling the LockDir option, make sure that you
have tracked down and removed any copies of <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 or
older.  Such versions neither support LockDir, nor will
give an error indicating that they don&rsquo;t support it.
The result, if this is allowed to happen, is that some
<small class="sc">CVS</small> users will put the locks one place, and others will
put them another place, and therefore the repository
could become corrupted.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.10 does not support
LockDir but it will print a warning if run on a
repository with LockDir enabled.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-LogHistory_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">LogHistory=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-LogHistory_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Control what is logged to the <samp class="file">CVSROOT/history</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#history">history&mdash;Show repository access history</a>).
Default of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">TOEFWUPCGMAR</samp>&rsquo; (or simply &lsquo;<samp class="samp">all</samp>&rsquo;) will log
all transactions.  Any subset of the default is
legal.  (For example, to only log transactions that modify the
<samp class="file">*,v</samp> files, use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">LogHistory=TMAR</samp>&rsquo; which is nowadays
set by <code class="code">cvs init</code> by default.)
To disable history logging
completely, use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">LogHistory=</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior-1"></a>
<a id="index-MaxCommentLeaderLength_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">MaxCommentLeaderLength=<var class="var">length</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-MaxCommentLeaderLength_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Set to some length, in bytes, where a trailing &lsquo;<samp class="samp">k</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">M</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">G</samp>&rsquo;,
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">T</samp>&rsquo; causes the preceding nubmer to be interpreted as kilobytes,
megabytes, gigabytes, or terrabytes, respectively, will cause
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keywords (see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a>), with
more than <var class="var">length</var> bytes preceding it on a line to be ignored (or to fall
back on the comment leader set in the RCS archive file - see
<code class="code">UseArchiveCommentLeader</code> below).  Defaults to 20 bytes to allow checkouts
to proceed normally when they include binary files containing
<code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> keywords and which users have neglected to mark
as binary.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-MaxCompressionLevel_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Compression-levels_002c-restricting-on-server"></a>
<a id="index-MinCompressionLevel_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">MinCompressionLevel=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-MinCompressionLevel_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dt><code class="code">MaxCompressionLevel=<var class="var">value</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Restricts the level of compression used by the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server to a <var class="var">value</var>
between 0 and 9.  <var class="var">value</var>s 1 through 9 are the same <small class="sc">ZLIB</small> compression
levels accepted by the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-z</samp>&rsquo; option (see <a class="pxref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>), and 0 means
no compression.  When one or both of these keys are set and a client requests a
level outside the specified range, the server will simply use the closest
permissable level.  Clients will continue compressing at the level requested by
the user.
</p>
<p>The exception is when level 0 (no compression) is not available and the client
fails to request any compression.  The <small class="sc">CVS</small> server will then exit with an
error message when it becomes apparent that the client is not going to request
compression.  This will not happen with clients version 1.12.13 and later since
these client versions allow the server to notify them that they must request
some level of compression.
</p>

</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Primary-server-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Secondary-server-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-proxy_002c-write-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-write-proxy-1"></a>
<a id="index-PrimaryServer_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1"></a><span><code class="code">PrimaryServer=<var class="var">CVSROOT</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-PrimaryServer_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>When specified, and the repository specified by <var class="var">CVSROOT</var> is not the one
currently being accessed, then the server will turn itself into a transparent
proxy to <var class="var">CVSROOT</var> for write requests.  The <var class="var">hostname</var> configured as
part of <var class="var">CVSROOT</var> must resolve to the same string returned by the
<code class="command">uname</code> command on the primary server for this to work.  Host name
resolution is performed via some combination of <code class="command">named</code>, a broken out
line from <samp class="file">/etc/hosts</samp>, and the Network Information Service (NIS or YP),
depending on the configuration of the particular system.
</p>
<p>Only the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:ext:</samp>&rsquo; method is
currently supported for primaries (actually, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:fork:</samp>&rsquo; is supported as
well, but only for testing - if you find another use for accessing a primary
via the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:fork:</samp>&rsquo; method, please send a note to <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>
about it).  See <a class="ref" href="#Write-proxies">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a> for more on configuring and using write
proxies.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-RCSBIN_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">RCSBIN=<var class="var">bindir</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>For <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.12 through 1.9.18, this setting told
<small class="sc">CVS</small> to look for <small class="sc">RCS</small> programs in the
<var class="var">bindir</var> directory.  Current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>
do not run <small class="sc">RCS</small> programs; for compatibility this
setting is accepted, but it does nothing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-verifymsg_002c-changing-the-log-message-1"></a>
<a id="index-RereadLogAfterVerify_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">RereadLogAfterVerify=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-RereadLogAfterVerify_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Modify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">commit</samp>&rsquo; command such that CVS will reread the
log message after running the program specified by <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>.
<var class="var">value</var> may be one of &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">always</samp>&rsquo;, indicating that
the log message should always be reread; &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">never</samp>&rsquo;, indicating that it should never be
reread; or <var class="var">value</var> may be &lsquo;<samp class="samp">stat</samp>&rsquo;, indicating
that the file should be checked with the filesystem
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">stat()</samp>&rsquo; function to see if it has changed (see warning below)
before rereading.  The default value is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">always</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note: the &lsquo;stat&rsquo; mode can cause CVS to pause for up to
one extra second per directory committed.  This can be less IO and
CPU intensive but is not recommended for use with large repositories</em>
</p>
<p>See <a class="xref" href="#verifymsg">Verifying log messages</a>, for more information on how verifymsg
may be used.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-SystemAuth_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">SystemAuth=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-SystemAuth_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>If <var class="var">value</var> is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo;, then pserver should check
for users in the system&rsquo;s user database if not found in
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/passwd</samp>.  If it is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;, then all
pserver users must exist in <samp class="file">CVSROOT/passwd</samp>.
The default is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo;.  For more on pserver, see
<a class="ref" href="#Password-authenticated">Direct connection with password authentication</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-files_002c-location-of-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-directory_002c-set-in-config"></a>
<a id="index-TmpDir_002c-in-config"></a><span><code class="code">TmpDir=<var class="var">path</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-TmpDir_002c-in-config"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify <var class="var">path</var> as the directory to create temporary files in.
See <a class="xref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>, for more on setting the path to the temporary
directory.  This option first appeared with <small class="sc">CVS</small> release 1.12.13.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-TopLevelAdmin_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">TopLevelAdmin=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-TopLevelAdmin_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Modify the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">checkout</samp>&rsquo; command to create a
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">CVS</samp>&rsquo; directory at the top level of the new
working directory, in addition to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">CVS</samp>&rsquo;
directories created within checked-out directories.
The default value is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>This option is useful if you find yourself performing
many commands at the top level of your working
directory, rather than in one of the checked out
subdirectories.  The <samp class="file">CVS</samp> directory created there
will mean you don&rsquo;t have to specify <code class="code">CVSROOT</code> for
each command.  It also provides a place for the
<samp class="file">CVS/Template</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#Working-directory-storage">How data is stored in the working directory</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior-2"></a>
<a id="index-UseArchiveCommentLeader_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">UseArchiveCommentLeader=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-UseArchiveCommentLeader_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Set to <code class="code">true</code>, if the text preceding a <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code>
keyword is found to exceed <code class="code">MaxCommentLeaderLength</code> (above) bytes, then
the comment leader set in the RCS archive file (see <a class="pxref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>), if any, will
be used instead.  If there is no comment leader set in the archive file or
<var class="var">value</var> is set to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">false</samp>&rsquo;, then the keyword will not be expanded
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Keyword-list">Keyword List</a>).  To force the comment leader in the RCS archive file to
be used exclusively (and <code class="code">$<i class="i"></i>Log$</code> expansion skipped in
files where the comment leader has not been set in the archive file), set
<var class="var">value</var> and set <code class="code">MaxCommentLeaderLength</code> to <code class="code">0</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-format-strings_002c-config-admin-file"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-config-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-compatibility-notes_002c-config-admin-file"></a>
<a id="index-UseNewInfoFmtStrings_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"></a><span><code class="code">UseNewInfoFmtStrings=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-UseNewInfoFmtStrings_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specify whether <small class="sc">CVS</small> should support the new or old command line
template model for the commit support files (see <a class="pxref" href="#commit-files">The commit support files</a>).
This configuration variable began life in deprecation and is only here
in order to give people time to update legacy repositories to use the new
format string syntax before support for the old syntax is removed.  For
information on updating your repository to support the new model,
please see <a class="ref" href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating legacy repositories to stop using deprecated command line template formats</a>.
</p>
<p><em class="emph">Note that new repositories (created with the <code class="code">cvs init</code> command)
will have this value set to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">yes</samp>&rsquo;, but the default value is &lsquo;<samp class="samp">no</samp>&rsquo;.</em>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-UserAdminOptions_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1"></a><span><code class="code">UserAdminOptions=<var class="var">value</var></code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-UserAdminOptions_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Control what options will be allowed with the <code class="code">cvs admin</code>
command (see <a class="pxref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>) for users not in the <code class="code">cvsadmin</code> group.
The <var class="var">value</var> string is a list of single character options
which should be allowed.  If a user who is not a member of the
<code class="code">cvsadmin</code> group tries to execute any <code class="code">cvs admin</code>
option which is not listed they will will receive an error message
reporting that the option is restricted.
</p>
<p>If no <code class="code">cvsadmin</code> group exists on the server, <small class="sc">CVS</small> will
ignore the <code class="code">UserAdminOptions</code> keyword (see <a class="pxref" href="#admin">admin&mdash;Administration front-end for RCS</a>).
</p>
<p>When not specified, <code class="code">UserAdminOptions</code> defaults to
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">k</samp>&rsquo;.  In other words, it defaults to allowing
users outside of the <code class="code">cvsadmin</code> group to use the
<code class="code">cvs admin</code> command only to change the default keyword
expansion mode for files.
</p>
<p>As an example, to restrict users not in the <code class="code">cvsadmin</code>
group to using <code class="code">cvs admin</code> to change the default keyword
substitution mode, lock revisions, unlock revisions, and
replace the log message, use &lsquo;<samp class="samp">UserAdminOptions=klum</samp>&rsquo;.
</p></dd>
</dl>



<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Environment-variables">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Compatibility" accesskey="n" rel="next">Compatibility between CVS Versions</a>, Previous: <a href="#Administrative-files" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Reference manual for Administrative files</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="All-environment-variables-which-affect-CVS"><span>Appendix D All environment variables which affect CVS<a class="copiable-link" href="#All-environment-variables-which-affect-CVS"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Environment-variables"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reference-manual-for-variables"></a>

<p>This is a complete list of all environment variables
that affect <small class="sc">CVS</small> (Windows users, please bear with this list;
$VAR is equivalent to %VAR% at the Windows command prompt).
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-CVSIGNORE_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVSIGNORE</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSIGNORE_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A whitespace-separated list of file name patterns that
<small class="sc">CVS</small> should ignore. See <a class="xref" href="#cvsignore">Ignoring files via cvsignore</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVSWRAPPERS_002c-environment-variable-1"></a><span><code class="code">$CVSWRAPPERS</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSWRAPPERS_002c-environment-variable-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>A whitespace-separated list of file name patterns that
<small class="sc">CVS</small> should treat as wrappers. See <a class="xref" href="#Wrappers">The cvswrappers file</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-CVSREAD"></a>
<a id="index-CVSREAD_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVSREAD</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSREAD_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>If this is set, <code class="code">checkout</code> and <code class="code">update</code> will
try hard to make the files in your working directory
read-only.  When this is not set, the default behavior
is to permit modification of your working files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVSREADONLYFS_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVSREADONLYFS</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVSREADONLYFS_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Turns on read-only repository mode. This allows one to
check out from a read-only repository, such as within
an anoncvs server, or from a <small class="sc">CD-ROM</small> repository.
</p>
<p>Setting this has the same effect as if the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-R</samp>&rsquo; command-line
option is used. This can also allow the use of
read-only NFS repositories.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$CVSUMASK</code></dt>
<dd><a class="anchor" id="CVSUMASK"></a><p>Controls permissions of files in the repository.  See
<a class="ref" href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$CVSROOT</code></dt>
<dd><p>Should contain the full pathname to the root of the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
source repository (where the <small class="sc">RCS</small> files are
kept).  This information must be available to <small class="sc">CVS</small> for
most commands to execute; if <code class="code">$CVSROOT</code> is not set,
or if you wish to override it for one invocation, you
can supply it on the command line: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs -d cvsroot
cvs_command&hellip;</samp>&rsquo; Once you have checked out a working
directory, <small class="sc">CVS</small> stores the appropriate root (in
the file <samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp>), so normally you only need to
worry about this when initially checking out a working
directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-VISUAL_002c-environment-variable-1"></a><span><code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-VISUAL_002c-environment-variable-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSEDITOR_002c-environment-variable-1"></a>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$EDITOR</code></dt>
<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-EDITOR_002c-environment-variable-1"></a>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$VISUAL</code></dt>
<dd><p>Specifies the program to use for recording log messages
during commit.  <code class="code">$CVSEDITOR</code> overrides
<code class="code">$EDITOR</code>, which overrides <code class="code">$VISUAL</code>.
See <a class="ref" href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a> for more or
<a class="ref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a> for alternative ways of specifying a
log editor.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-PATH_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$PATH</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-PATH_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>If <code class="code">$RCSBIN</code> is not set, and no path is compiled
into <small class="sc">CVS</small>, it will use <code class="code">$PATH</code> to try to find all
programs it uses.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-HOME_002c-environment-variable"></a>
<a id="index-HOMEPATH_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$HOME</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-HOMEPATH_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dt><a id="index-HOMEDRIVE_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$HOMEPATH</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-HOMEDRIVE_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dt><code class="code">$HOMEDRIVE</code></dt>
<dd><p>Used to locate the directory where the <samp class="file">.cvsrc</samp>
file, and other such files, are searched.  On Unix, <small class="sc">CVS</small>
just checks for <code class="code">HOME</code>.  On Windows NT, the system will
set <code class="code">HOMEDRIVE</code>, for example to &lsquo;<samp class="samp">d:</samp>&rsquo; and <code class="code">HOMEPATH</code>,
for example to <samp class="file">\joe</samp>.  On Windows 95, you&rsquo;ll
probably need to set <code class="code">HOMEDRIVE</code> and <code class="code">HOMEPATH</code> yourself.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fRSH_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_RSH</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fRSH_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Specifies the external program which <small class="sc">CVS</small> connects with,
when <code class="code">:ext:</code> access method is specified.
see <a class="pxref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$CVS_SERVER</code></dt>
<dd><p>Used in client-server mode when accessing a remote
repository using <small class="sc">RSH</small>.  It specifies the name of
the program to start on the server side (and any
necessary arguments) when accessing a remote repository
using the <code class="code">:ext:</code>, <code class="code">:fork:</code>, or <code class="code">:server:</code> access methods.
The default value for <code class="code">:ext:</code> and <code class="code">:server:</code> is <code class="code">cvs</code>;
the default value for <code class="code">:fork:</code> is the name used to run the client.
see <a class="pxref" href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting with rsh</a>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">$CVS_PASSFILE</code></dt>
<dd><p>Used in client-server mode when accessing the <code class="code">cvs
login server</code>.  Default value is <samp class="file">$HOME/.cvspass</samp>.
see <a class="pxref" href="#Password-authentication-client">Using the client with password authentication</a>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fPORT"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_CLIENT_PORT</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fPORT"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used in client-server mode to set the port to use when accessing the server
via Kerberos, GSSAPI, or <small class="sc">CVS</small>&rsquo;s password authentication protocol
if the port is not specified in the CVSROOT.
see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT-1"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_PROXY_PORT</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used in client-server mode to set the port to use when accessing a server
via a web proxy, if the port is not specified in the CVSROOT.  Works with
GSSAPI, and the password authentication protocol.
see <a class="pxref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fRCMD_005fPORT_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_RCMD_PORT</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fRCMD_005fPORT_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used in client-server mode.  If set, specifies the port
number to be used when accessing the <small class="sc">RCMD</small> demon on
the server side. (Currently not used for Unix clients).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_CLIENT_LOG</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used for debugging only in client-server mode.
If set and not empty, everything sent to the server is logged
into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_CLIENT_LOG</code>.in</samp>, and everything received
from the server is logged into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_CLIENT_LOG</code>.out</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fSECONDARY_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_SECONDARY_LOG</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fSECONDARY_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used for debugging only in secondary write proxy mode.
If set and not empty, everything sent to the primary server is logged
into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_SECONDARY_LOG</code>.in</samp>, and everything received
from the primary server is logged into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_SECONDARY_LOG</code>.out</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_SERVER_LOG</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used for debugging only in client-server mode.
If set and not empty, everything sent to the client is logged
into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_SERVER_LOG</code>.in</samp>, and everything received
from the client is logged into <samp class="file"><code class="code">$CVS_SERVER_LOG</code>.out</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fSLEEP_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_SERVER_SLEEP</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fSLEEP_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used only for debugging the server side in
client-server mode.  If set, delays the start of the
server child process the specified amount of
seconds so that you can attach to it with a debugger.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fIGNORE_005fREMOTE_005fROOT_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_IGNORE_REMOTE_ROOT</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fIGNORE_005fREMOTE_005fROOT_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>For <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.10 and older, setting this variable
prevents <small class="sc">CVS</small> from overwriting the <samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp>
file when the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo; global option is specified.
Later versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> do not rewrite
<samp class="file">CVS/Root</samp>, so <code class="code">CVS_IGNORE_REMOTE_ROOT</code> has no
effect.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fLOCAL_005fBRANCH_005fNUM_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_LOCAL_BRANCH_NUM</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fLOCAL_005fBRANCH_005fNUM_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Setting this variable allows some control over the
branch number that is assigned. This is specifically to
support the local commit feature of CVSup. If one sets
<code class="code">CVS_LOCAL_BRANCH_NUM</code> to (say) 1000 then branches
the local repository, the revision numbers will look
like 1.66.1000.xx. There is almost a dead-set certainty
that there will be no conflicts with version numbers.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-COMSPEC_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$COMSPEC</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-COMSPEC_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Used under OS/2 only.  It specifies the name of the
command interpreter and defaults to <small class="sc">CMD.EXE</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-environment-variable-1"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-temporary-files_002c-location-of-2"></a>
<a id="index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable-1"></a><span><code class="code">$TMPDIR</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable-1"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Directory in which temporary files are located.
See <a class="xref" href="#Global-options">Global options</a>, for more on setting the temporary directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-CVS_005fPID_002c-environment-variable"></a><span><code class="code">$CVS_PID</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-CVS_005fPID_002c-environment-variable"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This is the process identification (aka pid) number of
the <small class="sc">CVS</small> process. It is often useful in the
programs and/or scripts specified by the
<samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>, <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>
files.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Compatibility">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Troubleshooting" accesskey="n" rel="next">Troubleshooting</a>, Previous: <a href="#Environment-variables" accesskey="p" rel="prev">All environment variables which affect CVS</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Compatibility-between-CVS-Versions"><span>Appendix E Compatibility between CVS Versions<a class="copiable-link" href="#Compatibility-between-CVS-Versions"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVS_002c-versions-of"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Versions_002c-of-CVS"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Compatibility_002c-between-CVS-versions"></a>
<p>The repository format is compatible going back to
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3.  But see <a class="ref" href="#Watches-Compatibility">Using watches with old versions of CVS</a>, if
you have copies of <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.6 or older and you want
to use the optional developer communication features.
</p>
<p>The working directory format is compatible going back
to <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5.  It did change between <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3
and <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5.  If you run <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5 or newer on
a working directory checked out with <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> will convert it, but to go back to <small class="sc">CVS</small>
1.3 you need to check out a new working directory with
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3.
</p>
<p>The remote protocol is interoperable going back to <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5, but no
further (1.5 was the first official release with the remote protocol,
but some older versions might still be floating around).  In many
cases you need to upgrade both the client and the server to take
advantage of new features and bug fixes, however.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Troubleshooting">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Credits" accesskey="n" rel="next">Credits</a>, Previous: <a href="#Compatibility" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Compatibility between CVS Versions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Troubleshooting-1"><span>Appendix F Troubleshooting<a class="copiable-link" href="#Troubleshooting-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<p>If you are having trouble with <small class="sc">CVS</small>, this appendix
may help.  If there is a particular error message which
you are seeing, then you can look up the message
alphabetically.  If not, you can look through the
section on other problems to see if your problem is
mentioned there.
</p>


<ul class="mini-toc">
<li><a href="#Error-messages" accesskey="1">Partial list of error messages</a></li>
<li><a href="#Connection" accesskey="2">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a></li>
<li><a href="#Other-problems" accesskey="3">Other common problems</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Error-messages">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Connection" accesskey="n" rel="next">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a>, Up: <a href="#Troubleshooting" accesskey="u" rel="up">Troubleshooting</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Partial-list-of-error-messages"><span>F.1 Partial list of error messages<a class="copiable-link" href="#Partial-list-of-error-messages"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Here is a partial list of error messages that you may
see from <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  It is not a complete list&mdash;<small class="sc">CVS</small>
is capable of printing many, many error messages, often
with parts of them supplied by the operating system,
but the intention is to list the common and/or
potentially confusing error messages.
</p>
<p>The messages are alphabetical, but introductory text
such as &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs update: </samp>&rsquo; is not considered in
ordering them.
</p>
<p>In some cases the list includes messages printed by old
versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> (partly because users may not be
sure which version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> they are using at any
particular moment).
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><code class="code"><var class="var">file</var>:<var class="var">line</var>: Assertion '<var class="var">text</var>' failed</code></dt>
<dd><p>The exact format of this message may vary depending on
your system.  It indicates a bug in <small class="sc">CVS</small>, which can
be handled as described in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs <var class="var">command</var>: authorization failed: server <var class="var">host</var> rejected access</code></dt>
<dd><p>This is a generic response when trying to connect to a
pserver server which chooses not to provide a
specific reason for denying authorization.  Check that
the username and password specified are correct and
that the <code class="code">CVSROOT</code> specified is allowed by &lsquo;<samp class="samp">--allow-root</samp>&rsquo;
or &lsquo;<samp class="samp">--allow-root-regexp</samp>&rsquo;
in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>.  See <a class="ref" href="#Password-authenticated">Direct connection with password authentication</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs <var class="var">command</var>: conflict: removed <var class="var">file</var> was modified by second party</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message indicates that you removed a file, and
someone else modified it.  To resolve the conflict,
first run &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs add <var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo;.  If desired, look
at the other party&rsquo;s modification to decide whether you
still want to remove it.  If you don&rsquo;t want to remove
it, stop here.  If you do want to remove it, proceed
with &lsquo;<samp class="samp">cvs remove <var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo; and commit your
removal.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cannot change permissions on temporary directory</code></dt>
<dd><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Operation not permitted
</pre></div>
<p>This message has been happening in a non-reproducible,
occasional way when we run the client/server testsuite,
both on Red Hat Linux 3.0.3 and 4.1.  We haven&rsquo;t been
able to figure out what causes it, nor is it known
whether it is specific to Linux (or even to this
particular machine!).  If the problem does occur on
other unices, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Operation not permitted</samp>&rsquo; would be
likely to read &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Not owner</samp>&rsquo; or whatever the system
in question uses for the unix <code class="code">EPERM</code> error.  If
you have any information to add, please let us know as
described in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.  If you experience this error
while using <small class="sc">CVS</small>, retrying the operation which
produced it should work fine.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [server aborted]: Cannot check out files into the repository itself</code></dt>
<dd><p>The obvious cause for this message (especially for
non-client/server <small class="sc">CVS</small>) is that the <small class="sc">CVS</small> root
is, for example, <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot</samp> and you try
to check out files when you are in a subdirectory, such
as <samp class="file">/usr/local/cvsroot/test</samp>.  However, there is a
more subtle cause, which is that the temporary
directory on the server is set to a subdirectory of the
root (which is also not allowed).  If this is the
problem, set the temporary directory to somewhere else,
for example <samp class="file">/var/tmp</samp>; see <code class="code">TMPDIR</code> in
<a class="ref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>, for how to set the
temporary directory.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cannot commit files as 'root'</code></dt>
<dd><p>See &lsquo;<samp class="samp">'root' is not allowed to commit files</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cannot open CVS/Entries for reading: No such file or directory</code></dt>
<dd><p>This generally indicates a <small class="sc">CVS</small> internal error, and
can be handled as with other <small class="sc">CVS</small> bugs
(see <a class="pxref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>).  Usually there is a workaround&mdash;the
exact nature of which would depend on the situation but
which hopefully could be figured out.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [init aborted]: cannot open CVS/Root: No such file or directory</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message is harmless.  Provided it is not
accompanied by other errors, the operation has
completed successfully.  This message should not occur
with current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, but it is documented
here for the benefit of <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 and older.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs server: cannot open /root/.cvsignore: Permission denied</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [server aborted]: can't chdir(/root): Permission denied</code></dt>
<dd><p>See <a class="ref" href="#Connection">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [checkout aborted]: cannot rename file <var class="var">file</var> to CVS/,,<var class="var">file</var>: Invalid argument</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message has been reported as intermittently
happening with <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 on Solaris 2.5.  The cause is
unknown; if you know more about what causes it, let us
know as described in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [<var class="var">command</var> aborted]: cannot start server via rcmd</code></dt>
<dd><p>This, unfortunately, is a rather nonspecific error
message which <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 will print if you are
running the <small class="sc">CVS</small> client and it is having trouble
connecting to the server.  Current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small>
should print a much more specific error message.  If
you get this message when you didn&rsquo;t mean to run the
client at all, you probably forgot to specify
<code class="code">:local:</code>, as described in <a class="ref" href="#Repository">The Repository</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">ci: <var class="var">file</var>,v: bad diff output line: Binary files - and /tmp/T2a22651 differ</code></dt>
<dd><p><small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 and older will print this message
when trying to check in a binary file if
<small class="sc">RCS</small> is not correctly installed.  Re-read the
instructions that came with your <small class="sc">RCS</small> distribution
and the <small class="sc">INSTALL</small> file in the <small class="sc">CVS</small>
distribution.  Alternately, upgrade to a current
version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, which checks in files itself
rather than via <small class="sc">RCS</small>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs checkout: could not check out <var class="var">file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>With <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9, this can mean that the <code class="code">co</code> program
(part of <small class="sc">RCS</small>) returned a failure.  It should be
preceded by another error message, however it has been
observed without another error message and the cause is
not well-understood.  With the current version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>,
which does not run <code class="code">co</code>, if this message occurs
without another error message, it is definitely a <small class="sc">CVS</small>
bug (see <a class="pxref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [login aborted]: could not find out home directory</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that you need to set the environment
variables that <small class="sc">CVS</small> uses to locate your home directory.
See the discussion of <code class="code">HOME</code>, <code class="code">HOMEDRIVE</code>, and <code class="code">HOMEPATH</code> in
<a class="ref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs update: could not merge revision <var class="var">rev</var> of <var class="var">file</var>: No such file or directory</code></dt>
<dd><p><small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 and older will print this message if there was
a problem finding the <code class="code">rcsmerge</code> program.  Make
sure that it is in your <code class="code">PATH</code>, or upgrade to a
current version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, which does not require
an external <code class="code">rcsmerge</code> program.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [update aborted]: could not patch <var class="var">file</var>: No such file or directory</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that there was a problem finding the
<code class="code">patch</code> program.  Make sure that it is in your
<code class="code">PATH</code>.  Note that despite appearances the message
is <em class="emph">not</em> referring to whether it can find <var class="var">file</var>.
If both the client and the server are running a current
version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, then there is no need for an
external patch program and you should not see this
message.  But if either client or server is running
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9, then you need <code class="code">patch</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs update: could not patch <var class="var">file</var>; will refetch</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that for whatever reason the client was
unable to apply a patch that the server sent.  The
message is nothing to be concerned about, because
inability to apply the patch only slows things down and
has no effect on what <small class="sc">CVS</small> does.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">dying gasps from <var class="var">server</var> unexpected</code></dt>
<dd><p>There is a known bug in the server for <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.18
and older which can cause this.  For me, this was
reproducible if I used the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-t</samp>&rsquo; global option.  It
was fixed by Andy Piper&rsquo;s 14 Nov 1997 change to
src/filesubr.c, if anyone is curious.
If you see the message,
you probably can just retry the operation which failed,
or if you have discovered information concerning its
cause, please let us know as described in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">end of file from server (consult above messages if any)</code></dt>
<dd><p>The most common cause for this message is if you are
using an external <code class="code">rsh</code> program and it exited with
an error.  In this case the <code class="code">rsh</code> program should
have printed a message, which will appear before the
above message.  For more information on setting up a
<small class="sc">CVS</small> client and server, see <a class="ref" href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [update aborted]: EOF in key in RCS file <var class="var">file</var>,v</code></dt>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [checkout aborted]: EOF while looking for end of string in RCS file <var class="var">file</var>,v</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that there is a syntax error in the given
<small class="sc">RCS</small> file.  Note that this might be true even if <small class="sc">RCS</small> can
read the file OK; <small class="sc">CVS</small> does more error checking of
errors in the RCS file.  That is why you may see this
message when upgrading from <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 to <small class="sc">CVS</small>
1.10.  The likely cause for the original corruption is
hardware, the operating system, or the like.  Of
course, if you find a case in which <small class="sc">CVS</small> seems to
corrupting the file, by all means report it,
(see <a class="pxref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>).
There are quite a few variations of this error message,
depending on exactly where in the <small class="sc">RCS</small> file <small class="sc">CVS</small>
finds the syntax error.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-mkmodules"></a><span><code class="code">cvs commit: Executing 'mkmodules'</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-mkmodules"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This means that your repository is set up for a version
of <small class="sc">CVS</small> prior to <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.8.  When using <small class="sc">CVS</small>
1.8 or later, the above message will be preceded by
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs commit: Rebuilding administrative file database
</pre></div>

<p>If you see both messages, the database is being rebuilt
twice, which is unnecessary but harmless.  If you wish
to avoid the duplication, and you have no versions of
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.7 or earlier in use, remove <code class="code">-i mkmodules</code>
every place it appears in your <code class="code">modules</code>
file.  For more information on the <code class="code">modules</code> file,
see <a class="ref" href="#modules">The modules file</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">missing author</code></dt>
<dd><p>Typically this can happen if you created an RCS file
with your username set to empty.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will, bogusly,
create an illegal RCS file with no value for the author
field.  The solution is to make sure your username is
set to a non-empty value and re-create the RCS file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [checkout aborted]: no such tag <var class="var">tag</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>This message means that <small class="sc">CVS</small> isn&rsquo;t familiar with
the tag <var class="var">tag</var>.  Usually the root cause is that you have
mistyped a tag name.  Ocassionally this can also occur because the
users creating tags do not have permissions to write to the
<samp class="file">CVSROOT/val-tags</samp> file (see <a class="pxref" href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a>, for more).
</p>
<p>Prior to <small class="sc">CVS</small> version 1.12.10, there were a few relatively
obscure cases where a given tag could be created in an archive
file in the repository but <small class="sc">CVS</small> would require the user to
try a few other <small class="sc">CVS</small> commands involving that tag
until one was found whch caused <small class="sc">CVS</small> to update
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-CVSROOT_002fval_002dtags-file_002c-forcing-tags-into"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-val_002dtags-file_002c-forcing-tags-into"></a>
the <samp class="file">val-tags</samp> file, at which point the originally failing command
would begin to work.  This same method can be used to repair a <samp class="file">val-tags</samp>
file that becomes out of date due to the permissions problem mentioned above.
This updating is only required once per tag - once a tag is listed in
<samp class="file">val-tags</samp>, it stays there.
</p>
<p>Note that using &lsquo;<samp class="samp">tag -f</samp>&rsquo; to not require tag matches did not and
does not override this check (see <a class="pxref" href="#Common-options">Common command options</a>). 
</p> 
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">*PANIC* administration files missing</code></dt>
<dd><p>This typically means that there is a directory named
<small class="sc">CVS</small> but it does not contain the administrative files
which <small class="sc">CVS</small> puts in a CVS directory.  If the problem is
that you created a CVS directory via some mechanism
other than <small class="sc">CVS</small>, then the answer is simple, use a name
other than <small class="sc">CVS</small>.  If not, it indicates a <small class="sc">CVS</small> bug
(see <a class="pxref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">rcs error: Unknown option: -x,v/</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message will be followed by a usage message for
<small class="sc">RCS</small>.  It means that you have an old version of
<small class="sc">RCS</small> (probably supplied with your operating
system), as well as an old version of <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.18 and earlier only work with <small class="sc">RCS</small> version 5 and
later; current versions of <small class="sc">CVS</small> do not run <small class="sc">RCS</small> programs.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [server aborted]: received broken pipe signal</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message can be caused by a loginfo program that fails to
read all of the log information from its standard input.
If you find it happening in any other circumstances,
please let us know as described in <a class="ref" href="#BUGS">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">'root' is not allowed to commit files</code></dt>
<dd><p>When committing a permanent change, <small class="sc">CVS</small> makes a log entry of
who committed the change.  If you are committing the change logged
in as &quot;root&quot; (not under &quot;su&quot; or other root-priv giving program),
<small class="sc">CVS</small> cannot determine who is actually making the change.
As such, by default, <small class="sc">CVS</small> disallows changes to be committed by users
logged in as &quot;root&quot;.  (You can disable this option by passing the
<code class="code">--enable-rootcommit</code> option to <samp class="file">configure</samp> and recompiling <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
On some systems this means editing the appropriate <samp class="file">config.h</samp> file
before building <small class="sc">CVS</small>.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [server aborted]: Secondary out of sync with primary!</code></dt>
<dd>
<p>This usually means that the version of <small class="sc">CVS</small> running on a secondary
server is incompatible with the version running on the primary server
(see <a class="pxref" href="#Write-proxies">Distributing load across several CVS servers</a>).
This will not occur if the client supports redirection.
</p>
<p>It is not the version number that is significant here, but the list of
supported requests that the servers provide to the client.
For example, even if both servers were the same version,
if the secondary was compiled with GSSAPI support and the primary was not,
the list of supported requests provided by the two servers
would be different and the secondary would not work as a transparent
proxy to the primary.
Conversely, even if the two servers were radically different versions
but both provided the same list of valid requests to the client,
the transparent proxy would succeed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">Terminated with fatal signal 11</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message usually indicates that <small class="sc">CVS</small> (the server, if you&rsquo;re
using client/server mode) has run out of (virtual) memory.
Although <small class="sc">CVS</small> tries to catch the error and issue a more meaningful
message, there are many circumstances where that is not possible.
If you appear to have lots of memory available to the system,
the problem is most likely that you&rsquo;re running into a system-wide
limit on the amount of memory a single process can use or a
similar process-specific limit.
The mechanisms for displaying and setting such limits vary from
system to system, so you&rsquo;ll have to consult an expert for your
particular system if you don&rsquo;t know how to do that.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">Too many arguments!</code></dt>
<dd><p>This message is typically printed by the <samp class="file">log.pl</samp>
script which is in the <samp class="file">contrib</samp> directory in the
<small class="sc">CVS</small> source distribution.  In some versions of
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, <samp class="file">log.pl</samp> has been part of the default
<small class="sc">CVS</small> installation.  The <samp class="file">log.pl</samp> script gets
called from the <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> administrative file.
Check that the arguments passed in <samp class="file">loginfo</samp> match
what your version of <samp class="file">log.pl</samp> expects.  In
particular, the <samp class="file">log.pl</samp> from <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3 and
older expects the log file as an argument whereas the
<samp class="file">log.pl</samp> from <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.5 and newer expects the
log file to be specified with a &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; option.  Of
course, if you don&rsquo;t need <samp class="file">log.pl</samp> you can just
comment it out of <samp class="file">loginfo</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [update aborted]: unexpected EOF reading <var class="var">file</var>,v</code></dt>
<dd><p>See &lsquo;<samp class="samp">EOF in key in RCS file</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs [login aborted]: unrecognized auth response from <var class="var">server</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>This message typically means that the server is not set
up properly.  For example, if <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp> points
to a nonexistent cvs executable.  To debug it further,
find the log file which inetd writes
(<samp class="file">/var/log/messages</samp> or whatever inetd uses on
your system).  For details, see <a class="ref" href="#Connection">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a>, and
<a class="ref" href="#Password-authentication-server">Setting up the server for password authentication</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs commit: Up-to-date check failed for `<var class="var">file</var>'</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that someone else has committed a change to
that file since the last time that you did a <code class="code">cvs
update</code>.  So before proceeding with your <code class="code">cvs
commit</code> you need to <code class="code">cvs update</code>.  <small class="sc">CVS</small> will merge
the changes that you made and the changes that the
other person made.  If it does not detect any conflicts
it will report &lsquo;<samp class="samp">M <var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo; and you are ready
to <code class="code">cvs commit</code>.  If it detects conflicts it will
print a message saying so, will report &lsquo;<samp class="samp">C <var class="var">file</var></samp>&rsquo;,
and you need to manually resolve the
conflict.  For more details on this process see
<a class="ref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">Usage:	diff3 [-exEX3 [-i | -m] [-L label1 -L label3]] file1 file2 file3</code></dt>
<dd><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Only one of [exEX3] allowed
</pre></div>
<p>This indicates a problem with the installation of
<code class="code">diff3</code> and <code class="code">rcsmerge</code>.  Specifically
<code class="code">rcsmerge</code> was compiled to look for GNU diff3, but
it is finding unix diff3 instead.  The exact text of
the message will vary depending on the system.  The
simplest solution is to upgrade to a current version of
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, which does not rely on external
<code class="code">rcsmerge</code> or <code class="code">diff3</code> programs.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">warning: unrecognized response `<var class="var">text</var>' from cvs server</code></dt>
<dd><p>If <var class="var">text</var> contains a valid response (such as
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">ok</samp>&rsquo;) followed by an extra carriage return
character (on many systems this will cause the second
part of the message to overwrite the first part), then
it probably means that you are using the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:ext:</samp>&rsquo;
access method with a version of rsh, such as most
non-unix rsh versions, which does not by default
provide a transparent data stream.  In such cases you
probably want to try &lsquo;<samp class="samp">:server:</samp>&rsquo; instead of
&lsquo;<samp class="samp">:ext:</samp>&rsquo;.  If <var class="var">text</var> is something else, this
may signify a problem with your <small class="sc">CVS</small> server.
Double-check your installation against the instructions
for setting up the <small class="sc">CVS</small> server.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs commit: [<var class="var">time</var>] waiting for <var class="var">user</var>'s lock in <var class="var">directory</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>This is a normal message, not an error.  See
<a class="ref" href="#Concurrency">Several developers simultaneously attempting to run CVS</a>, for more details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-Exit-status_002c-of-editor"></a><span><code class="code">cvs commit: warning: editor session failed</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-editor"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>This means that the editor which <small class="sc">CVS</small> is using exits with a nonzero
exit status.  Some versions of vi will do this even when there was not
a problem editing the file.  If so, point the
<code class="code">CVSEDITOR</code> environment variable to a small script
such as:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#!/bin/sh
vi $*
exit 0
</pre></div>

</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs update: warning: <var class="var">file</var> was lost</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that the working copy of <var class="var">file</var> has been deleted
but it has not been removed from <small class="sc">CVS</small>.
This is nothing to be concerned about,
the update will just recreate the local file from the repository.
(This is a convenient way to discard local changes to a file:
just delete it and then run <code class="code">cvs update</code>.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="code">cvs update: warning: <var class="var">file</var> is not (any longer) pertinent</code></dt>
<dd><p>This means that the working copy of <var class="var">file</var> has been deleted,
it has not been removed from <small class="sc">CVS</small> in the current working directory,
but it has been removed from <small class="sc">CVS</small> in some other working directory.
This is nothing to be concerned about,
the update would have removed the local file anyway.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Connection">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Other-problems" accesskey="n" rel="next">Other common problems</a>, Previous: <a href="#Error-messages" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Partial list of error messages</a>, Up: <a href="#Troubleshooting" accesskey="u" rel="up">Troubleshooting</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Trouble-making-a-connection-to-a-CVS-server"><span>F.2 Trouble making a connection to a CVS server<a class="copiable-link" href="#Trouble-making-a-connection-to-a-CVS-server"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>This section concerns what to do if you are having
trouble making a connection to a <small class="sc">CVS</small> server.  If
you are running the <small class="sc">CVS</small> command line client
running on Windows, first upgrade the client to
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.12 or later.  The error reporting in
earlier versions provided much less information about
what the problem was.  If the client is non-Windows,
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9 should be fine.
</p>
<p>If the error messages are not sufficient to track down
the problem, the next steps depend largely on which
access method you are using.
</p>
<dl class="table">
<dt><a id="index-ext-method_002c-troubleshooting"></a><span><code class="code">:ext:</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-ext-method_002c-troubleshooting"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Try running the rsh program from the command line.  For
example: &quot;rsh servername cvs -v&quot; should print <small class="sc">CVS</small>
version information.  If this doesn&rsquo;t work, you need to
fix it before you can worry about <small class="sc">CVS</small> problems.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-server-method_002c-troubleshooting"></a><span><code class="code">:server:</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-server-method_002c-troubleshooting"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>You don&rsquo;t need a command line rsh program to use this
access method, but if you have an rsh program around,
it may be useful as a debugging tool.  Follow the
directions given for :ext:.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><a id="index-pserver-method_002c-troubleshooting"></a><span><code class="code">:pserver:</code><a class="copiable-link" href="#index-pserver-method_002c-troubleshooting"> &para;</a></span></dt>
<dd><p>Errors along the lines of &quot;connection refused&quot; typically indicate
that inetd isn&rsquo;t even listening for connections on port 2401
whereas errors like &quot;connection reset by peer&quot;,
&quot;received broken pipe signal&quot;, &quot;recv() from server: EOF&quot;,
or &quot;end of file from server&quot;
typically indicate that inetd is listening for
connections but is unable to start <small class="sc">CVS</small> (this is frequently
caused by having an incorrect path in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>
or by firewall software rejecting the connection).
&quot;unrecognized auth response&quot; errors are caused by a bad command
line in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>, typically an invalid option or forgetting
to put the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pserver</samp>&rsquo; command at the end of the line.
Another less common problem is invisible control characters that
your editor &quot;helpfully&quot; added without you noticing.
</p>
<p>One good debugging tool is to &quot;telnet servername
2401&quot;.  After connecting, send any text (for example
&quot;foo&quot; followed by return).  If <small class="sc">CVS</small> is working
correctly, it will respond with
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs [pserver aborted]: bad auth protocol start: foo
</pre></div>

<p>If instead you get:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Usage: cvs [cvs-options] command [command-options-and-arguments]
...
</pre></div>

<p>then you&rsquo;re missing the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pserver</samp>&rsquo; command at the end of the
line in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>; check to make sure that the entire command
is on one line and that it&rsquo;s complete.
</p>
<p>Likewise, if you get something like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Unknown command: `pserved'

CVS commands are:
        add          Add a new file/directory to the repository
...
</pre></div>

<p>then you&rsquo;ve misspelled &lsquo;<samp class="samp">pserver</samp>&rsquo; in some way.  If it isn&rsquo;t
obvious, check for invisible control characters (particularly
carriage returns) in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>.
</p>
<p>If it fails to work at all, then make sure inetd is working
right.  Change the invocation in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp> to run the
echo program instead of cvs.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">2401  stream  tcp  nowait  root /bin/echo echo hello
</pre></div>

<p>After making that change and instructing inetd to
re-read its configuration file, &quot;telnet servername
2401&quot; should show you the text hello and then the
server should close the connection.  If this doesn&rsquo;t
work, you need to fix it before you can worry about
<small class="sc">CVS</small> problems.
</p>
<p>On AIX systems, the system will often have its own
program trying to use port 2401.  This is AIX&rsquo;s problem
in the sense that port 2401 is registered for use with
<small class="sc">CVS</small>.  I hear that there is an AIX patch available
to address this problem.
</p>
<p>Another good debugging tool is the &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-d</samp>&rsquo;
(debugging) option to inetd.  Consult your system
documentation for more information.
</p>
<p>If you seem to be connecting but get errors like:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cvs server: cannot open /root/.cvsignore: Permission denied
cvs [server aborted]: can't chdir(/root): Permission denied
</pre></div>

<p>then you probably haven&rsquo;t specified &lsquo;<samp class="samp">-f</samp>&rsquo; in <samp class="file">inetd.conf</samp>.
(In releases prior to <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.11.1, this problem can be caused by
your system setting the <code class="code">$HOME</code> environment variable
for programs being run by inetd.  In this case, you can either
have inetd run a shell script that unsets <code class="code">$HOME</code> and then runs
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, or you can use <code class="code">env</code> to run <small class="sc">CVS</small> with a pristine
environment.)
</p>
<p>If you can connect successfully for a while but then can&rsquo;t,
you&rsquo;ve probably hit inetd&rsquo;s rate limit.
(If inetd receives too many requests for the same service
in a short period of time, it assumes that something is wrong
and temporarily disables the service.)
Check your inetd documentation to find out how to adjust the
rate limit (some versions of inetd have a single rate limit,
others allow you to set the limit for each service separately.)
</p></dd>
</dl>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendixsec-level-extent" id="Other-problems">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#Connection" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Trouble making a connection to a CVS server</a>, Up: <a href="#Troubleshooting" accesskey="u" rel="up">Troubleshooting</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h3 class="appendixsec" id="Other-common-problems"><span>F.3 Other common problems<a class="copiable-link" href="#Other-common-problems"> &para;</a></span></h3>

<p>Here is a list of problems which do not fit into the
above categories.  They are in no particular order.
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>On Windows, if there is a 30 second or so delay when
you run a <small class="sc">CVS</small> command, it may mean that you have
your home directory set to <samp class="file">C:/</samp>, for example (see
<code class="code">HOMEDRIVE</code> and <code class="code">HOMEPATH</code> in
<a class="ref" href="#Environment-variables">All environment variables which affect CVS</a>).  <small class="sc">CVS</small> expects the home
directory to not end in a slash, for example <samp class="file">C:</samp>
or <samp class="file">C:\cvs</samp>.

</li><li>If you are running <small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.9.18 or older, and
<code class="code">cvs update</code> finds a conflict and tries to
merge, as described in <a class="ref" href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a>, but
doesn&rsquo;t tell you there were conflicts, then you may
have an old version of <small class="sc">RCS</small>.  The easiest solution
probably is to upgrade to a current version of
<small class="sc">CVS</small>, which does not rely on external <small class="sc">RCS</small>
programs.
</li></ul>

<hr>
</div>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="Credits">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#BUGS" accesskey="n" rel="next">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a>, Previous: <a href="#Troubleshooting" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Troubleshooting</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Credits-1"><span>Appendix G Credits<a class="copiable-link" href="#Credits-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Contributors-_0028manual_0029"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Credits-_0028manual_0029"></a>
<p>Roland Pesch, then of Cygnus Support &lt;<code class="t">roland@wrs.com</code>&gt;
wrote the manual pages which were distributed with
<small class="sc">CVS</small> 1.3.  Much of their text was copied into this
manual.  He also read an early draft
of this manual and contributed many ideas and
corrections.
</p>
<p>The mailing-list <code class="code">info-cvs</code> is sometimes
informative. I have included information from postings
made by the following persons:
David G. Grubbs &lt;<code class="t">dgg@think.com</code>&gt;.
</p>
<p>Some text has been extracted from the man pages for
<small class="sc">RCS</small>.
</p>
<p>The <small class="sc">CVS</small> <small class="sc">FAQ</small> by David G. Grubbs has provided
useful material.  The <small class="sc">FAQ</small> is no longer maintained,
however, and this manual is about the closest thing there
is to a successor (with respect to documenting how to
use <small class="sc">CVS</small>, at least).
</p>
<p>In addition, the following persons have helped by
telling me about mistakes I&rsquo;ve made:
</p>
<div class="display">
<pre class="display-preformatted">Roxanne Brunskill &lt;<code class="t">rbrunski@datap.ca</code>&gt;,
Kathy Dyer &lt;<code class="t">dyer@phoenix.ocf.llnl.gov</code>&gt;,
Karl Pingle &lt;<code class="t">pingle@acuson.com</code>&gt;,
Thomas A Peterson &lt;<code class="t">tap@src.honeywell.com</code>&gt;,
Inge Wallin &lt;<code class="t">ingwa@signum.se</code>&gt;,
Dirk Koschuetzki &lt;<code class="t">koschuet@fmi.uni-passau.de</code>&gt;
and Michael Brown &lt;<code class="t">brown@wi.extrel.com</code>&gt;.
</pre></div>

<p>The list of contributors here is not comprehensive; for a more
complete list of who has contributed to this manual see
the file <samp class="file">doc/ChangeLog</samp> in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source
distribution.
</p>
<p>MirBSD is the de-facto (if not de-iure yet) new upstream of
<small class="sc">GNU</small> <small class="sc">CVS</small> since 2012 or so; this version is provided
in Debian as well. Responsible is:
</p>
<div class="display">
<pre class="display-preformatted">mirabilos &lt;<code class="t">m@mirbsd.org</code>&gt;
</pre></div>

<p>CVS Homepage: <a class="url" href="http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/">http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/</a>
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="BUGS">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#CVS-command-list" accesskey="n" rel="next">Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a>, Previous: <a href="#Credits" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Credits</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Dealing-with-bugs-in-CVS-or-this-manual"><span>Appendix H Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual<a class="copiable-link" href="#Dealing-with-bugs-in-CVS-or-this-manual"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Bugs-in-this-manual-or-CVS"></a>
<p>Neither <small class="sc">CVS</small> nor this manual is perfect, and they
probably never will be.  If you are having trouble
using <small class="sc">CVS</small>, or think you have found a bug, there
are a number of things you can do about it.  Note that
if the manual is unclear, that can be considered a bug
in the manual, so these problems are often worth doing
something about as well as problems with <small class="sc">CVS</small> itself.
</p>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Reporting-bugs"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Bugs_002c-reporting"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Errors_002c-reporting"></a>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>If you want someone to help you and fix bugs that you
report, there are companies which will do that for a
fee.  One such company is:

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Ximbiot"></a>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Support_002c-getting-CVS-support"></a>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">Ximbiot
319 S. River St.
Harrisburg, PA  17104-1657
USA
Email: info@ximbiot.com
Phone: (717) 579-6168
Fax:   (717) 234-3125
<a class="url" href="http://ximbiot.com/">http://ximbiot.com/</a>

</pre></div>

</li><li>If you got <small class="sc">CVS</small> through a distributor, such as an
operating system vendor or a vendor of freeware
<small class="sc">CD-ROM</small>s, you may wish to see whether the
distributor provides support.  Often, they will provide
no support or minimal support, but this may vary from
distributor to distributor.

</li><li>If you have the skills and time to do so, you may wish
to fix the bug yourself.  If you wish to submit your
fix for inclusion in future releases of <small class="sc">CVS</small>, see
the file <small class="sc">HACKING</small> in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source
distribution.  It contains much more information on the
process of submitting fixes.

</li><li>There may be resources on the net which can help.  A
good place to start is:

<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted"><a class="url" href="http://cvs.nongnu.org/">http://cvs.nongnu.org/</a>
</pre></div>

<p>If you are so inspired, increasing the information
available on the net is likely to be appreciated.  For
example, before the standard <small class="sc">CVS</small> distribution
worked on Windows 95, there was a web page with some
explanation and patches for running <small class="sc">CVS</small> on Windows
95, and various people helped out by mentioning this
page on mailing lists or newsgroups when the subject
came up.
</p>
</li><li>It is also possible to report bugs to <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>.
Note that someone may or may not want to do anything
with your bug report&mdash;if you need a solution consider
one of the options mentioned above.  People probably do
want to hear about bugs which are particularly severe
in consequences and/or easy to fix, however.  You can
also increase your odds by being as clear as possible
about the exact nature of the bug and any other
relevant information.  The way to report bugs is to
send email to <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>.  Note
that submissions to <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a> may be distributed
under the terms of the <small class="sc">GNU</small> General Public License, so if
you don&rsquo;t like this, don&rsquo;t submit them.  There is
usually no justification for sending mail directly to
one of the <small class="sc">CVS</small> maintainers rather than to
<a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>; those maintainers who want to hear
about such bug reports read <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>.  Also note
that sending a bug report to other mailing lists or
newsgroups is <em class="emph">not</em> a substitute for sending it to
<a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>.  It is fine to discuss <small class="sc">CVS</small> bugs on
whatever forum you prefer, but there are not
necessarily any maintainers reading bug reports sent
anywhere except <a class="email" href="mailto:bug-cvs@nongnu.org">bug-cvs@nongnu.org</a>.
</li></ul>

<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Known-bugs-in-this-manual-or-CVS"></a>
<p>People often ask if there is a list of known bugs or
whether a particular bug is a known one.  The file
<small class="sc">BUGS</small> in the <small class="sc">CVS</small> source distribution is one
list of known bugs, but it doesn&rsquo;t necessarily try to
be comprehensive.  Perhaps there will never be a
comprehensive, detailed list of known bugs.
</p>
<hr>
</div>
<div class="appendix-level-extent" id="CVS-command-list">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Next: <a href="#Index" accesskey="n" rel="next">Index</a>, Previous: <a href="#BUGS" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Dealing with bugs in CVS or this manual</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="appendix" id="Alphabetical-list-of-all-CVS-commands"><span>Appendix I Alphabetical list of all CVS commands<a class="copiable-link" href="#Alphabetical-list-of-all-CVS-commands"> &para;</a></span></h2>

<p>See <a class="xref" href="#Cederqvist">CVS manual Table of Contents</a>.
</p>

<hr>
</div>
<div class="unnumbered-level-extent" id="Index">
<div class="nav-panel">
<p>
Previous: <a href="#CVS-command-list" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Alphabetical list of all CVS commands</a> &nbsp; [<a href="#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<h2 class="unnumbered" id="Index-1"><span>Index<a class="copiable-link" href="#Index-1"> &para;</a></span></h2>
<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-Index"></a>

<div class="printindex cp-printindex">
<table class="cp-letters-header-printindex"><tr><th>Jump to: &nbsp; </th><td><a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-1"><b>_</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-2"><b>-</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-3"><b>!</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-4"><b>.</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-5"><b>/</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-6"><b>&amp;</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-7"><b>#</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-8"><b>&lt;</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-9"><b>=</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-10"><b>&gt;</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<br>
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-A"><b>A</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-B"><b>B</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-C"><b>C</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-D"><b>D</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-E"><b>E</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-F"><b>F</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-G"><b>G</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-H"><b>H</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-I"><b>I</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-J"><b>J</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-K"><b>K</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-L"><b>L</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-M"><b>M</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-N"><b>N</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-O"><b>O</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-P"><b>P</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-R"><b>R</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-S"><b>S</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-T"><b>T</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-U"><b>U</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-V"><b>V</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-W"><b>W</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-X"><b>X</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-Z"><b>Z</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
</td></tr></table>
<table class="cp-entries-printindex" border="0">
<tr><td></td><th class="entries-header-printindex">Index Entry</th><th class="sections-header-printindex">Section</th></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-1">_</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_005f_005f-files-_0028VMS_0029">__ files (VMS)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#update-output">update output</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-2">-</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002da_002c-in-modules-file">-a, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Alias-modules">Alias modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dd_002c-in-modules-file">-d, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002de_002c-in-modules-file">-e, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002de_002c-in-modules-file-1">-e, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-program-options">Module program options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dj-_0028merging-branches_0029">-j (merging branches)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dj-_0028merging-branches_0029_002c-and-keyword-substitution">-j (merging branches), and keyword substitution</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dk-_0028keyword-substitution_0029">-k (keyword substitution)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dkk_002c-to-avoid-conflicts-during-a-merge">-kk, to avoid conflicts during a merge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002do_002c-in-modules-file">-o, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002do_002c-in-modules-file-1">-o, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-program-options">Module program options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002ds_002c-in-modules-file">-s, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dt_002c-in-modules-file">-t, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002dt_002c-in-modules-file-1">-t, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-program-options">Module program options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-3">!</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0021_002c-in-modules-file">!, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Excluding-directories">Excluding directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-4">.</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002e_0023-files">.# files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#update-output">update output</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002ebashrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in">.bashrc, setting CVSROOT in</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002ecshrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in">.cshrc, setting CVSROOT in</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002ecvsrc-file">.cvsrc file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">~/.cvsrc</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002eprofile_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in">.profile, setting CVSROOT in</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002etcshrc_002c-setting-CVSROOT-in">.tcshrc, setting CVSROOT in</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-5">/</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_002fusr_002flocal_002fcvsroot_002c-as-example-repository">/usr/local/cvsroot, as example repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-6">&amp;</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0026_002c-in-modules-file">&amp;, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Ampersand-modules">Ampersand modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-7">#</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002elock_002c-removing">#cvs.lock, removing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002elock_002c-technical-details">#cvs.lock, technical details</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002epfl_002c-technical-details">#cvs.pfl, technical details</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-and-backups">#cvs.rfl, and backups</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Backing-up">Backing up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-removing">#cvs.rfl, removing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002erfl_002c-technical-details">#cvs.rfl, technical details</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002etfl">#cvs.tfl</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002ewfl_002c-removing">#cvs.wfl, removing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_0023cvs_002ewfl_002c-technical-details">#cvs.wfl, technical details</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-8">&lt;</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c_003c">&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-9">=</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d_003d">=======</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_symbol-10">&gt;</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e_003e">&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-A">A</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Abandoning-work">Abandoning work</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Editing-files">Editing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-abbreviations-for-months">abbreviations for months</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Access-a-branch">Access a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-add-_0028subcommand_0029">add (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Adding-files">Adding files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Adding-a-tag">Adding a tag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Adding-files">Adding files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Adding-files">Adding files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Admin-_0028subcommand_0029">Admin (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin">admin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Admin-commands_002c-logging">Admin commands, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postadmin">postadmin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Administrative-files-_0028intro_0029">Administrative files (intro)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Administrative-files-_0028reference_0029">Administrative files (reference)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Administrative-files">Administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Administrative-files_002c-editing-them">Administrative files, editing them</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Alias-modules">Alias modules</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Alias-modules">Alias modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ALL-keyword_002c-in-lieu-of-regular-expressions-in-script-hooks">&lsquo;<samp class="samp">ALL</samp>&rsquo; keyword, in lieu of regular expressions in script hooks</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ampersand-modules">Ampersand modules</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Ampersand-modules">Ampersand modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-annotate-_0028subcommand_0029">annotate (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#annotate">annotate</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Atomic-transactions_002c-lack-of">Atomic transactions, lack of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Attic">Attic</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Attic">Attic</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Authenticated-client_002c-using">Authenticated client, using</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Authenticating-server_002c-setting-up">Authenticating server, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Authentication_002c-stream">Authentication, stream</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Author-keyword">Author keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-authors-of-get_005fdate">authors of <code class="code">get_date</code></a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Automatically-ignored-files">Automatically ignored files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#cvsignore">cvsignore</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Avoiding-editor-invocation">Avoiding editor invocation</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-B">B</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Backing-up_002c-repository">Backing up, repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Backing-up">Backing up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Base-directory_002c-in-CVS-directory">Base directory, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-BASE_002c-as-reserved-tag-name">BASE, as reserved tag name</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-BASE_002c-special-date">BASE, special date</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-BASE_002c-special-tag">BASE, special tag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Baserev-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Baserev file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Baserev_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Baserev.tmp file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-beginning-of-time_002c-for-POSIX">beginning of time, for <abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr></a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch">Seconds since the Epoch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Bellovin_002c-Steven-M_002e">Bellovin, Steven M.</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Berets_002c-Jim">Berets, Jim</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Berry_002c-K_002e">Berry, K.</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Bill-of-materials">Bill of materials</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Builds">Builds</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Binary-files">Binary files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Binary-files">Binary files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch-merge-example">Branch merge example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch-number">Branch number</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch-number-1">Branch number</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-and-revisions">Branches and revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch-tags_002c-deleting">Branch tags, deleting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch-tags_002c-moving">Branch tags, moving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-accessing">Branch, accessing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-check-out">Branch, check out</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-creating-a">Branch, creating a</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-identifying">Branch, identifying</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-retrieving">Branch, retrieving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branch_002c-vendor_002d">Branch, vendor-</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branches-motivation">Branches motivation</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-motivation">Branches motivation</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branches_002c-copying-changes-between">Branches, copying changes between</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branches_002c-sticky">Branches, sticky</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Branching">Branching</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Bringing-a-file-up-to-date">Bringing a file up to date</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Bugs-in-this-manual-or-CVS">Bugs in this manual or CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Bugs_002c-reporting">Bugs, reporting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Builds">Builds</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Builds">Builds</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-C">C</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-calendar-date-item">calendar date item</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-case_002c-ignored-in-dates">case, ignored in dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Changes_002c-copying-between-branches">Changes, copying between branches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Changing-a-log-message">Changing a log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Check-out-a-branch">Check out a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Checked-out-copy_002c-keeping">Checked out copy, keeping</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">Keeping a checked out copy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Checking-out-source">Checking out source</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-checkout-_0028subcommand_0029">checkout (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#checkout">checkout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Checkout-program">Checkout program</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Checkout_002c-as-term-for-getting-ready-to-edit">Checkout, as term for getting ready to edit</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Editing-files">Editing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Checkout_002c-example">Checkout, example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-checkoutlist">checkoutlist</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#checkoutlist">checkoutlist</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Choosing_002c-reserved-or-unreserved-checkouts">Choosing, reserved or unreserved checkouts</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Choosing-a-model">Choosing a model</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Cleaning-up">Cleaning up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Cleaning-up">Cleaning up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Client_002fServer-Operation">Client/Server Operation</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Client_002fServer-Operation_002c-port-specification">Client/Server Operation, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Client_002fServer-Operation_002c-port-specification-1">Client/Server Operation, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-co-_0028subcommand_0029">co (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#checkout">checkout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Command-reference">Command reference</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Command-structure">Command structure</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Structure">Structure</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Comment-leader">Comment leader</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-comments_002c-in-dates">comments, in dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commit-_0028subcommand_0029">commit (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commit">commit</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commit-files_002c-see-Info-files">commit files, see Info files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commit-files">commit files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable">COMMITID, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-COMMITID_002c-internal-variable-1">COMMITID, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo"><samp class="file">commitinfo</samp></a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029">commitinfo (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-exit-status">commitinfo (admin file), exit status</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">commitinfo (admin file), updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo_002c-command-environment"><samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>, command environment</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-commitinfo_002c-working-directory"><samp class="file">commitinfo</samp>, working directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Commits_002c-administrative-support-files">Commits, administrative support files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commit-files">commit files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Commits_002c-precommit-verification-of">Commits, precommit verification of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Committing-changes-to-files">Committing changes to files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Committing_002c-when-to">Committing, when to</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#When-to-commit">When to commit</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Common-options">Common options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Common-syntax-of-info-files_002c-format-strings">Common syntax of info files, format strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Common-syntax-of-info-files_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">Common syntax of info files, updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating Commit Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-compatibility-notes_002c-commitinfo-admin-file">compatibility notes, commitinfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-compatibility-notes_002c-config-admin-file">compatibility notes, config admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-compatibility-notes_002c-loginfo-admin-file">compatibility notes, loginfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-compatibility-notes_002c-taginfo-admin-file">compatibility notes, taginfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-compatibility-notes_002c-verifymsg-admin-file">compatibility notes, verifymsg admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Compatibility_002c-between-CVS-versions">Compatibility, between CVS versions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Compatibility">Compatibility</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Compression">Compression</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Compression-1">Compression</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Compression-levels_002c-restricting-on-server">Compression levels, restricting on server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-COMSPEC_002c-environment-variable">COMSPEC, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-config-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-import">config (admin file), import</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-config-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">config (admin file), updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-config_002c-in-CVSROOT">config, in CVSROOT</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-configuration-file">configuration file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-configuration-file-1">configuration file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring keyword expansion</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Configuring-keyword-expansion">Configuring keyword expansion</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Conflict-markers">Conflict markers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Conflict-resolution">Conflict resolution</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Conflicts-_0028merge-example_0029">Conflicts (merge example)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-connection-method-options">connection method options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Contributors-_0028CVS-program_0029">Contributors (CVS program)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Contributors-_0028manual_0029">Contributors (manual)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Credits">Credits</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Copying-a-repository">Copying a repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-a-repository">Moving a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Copying-changes">Copying changes</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Correcting-a-log-message">Correcting a log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Creating-a-project">Creating a project</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Starting-a-new-project">Starting a new project</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Credits-_0028CVS-program_0029">Credits (CVS program)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Credits-_0028manual_0029">Credits (manual)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Credits">Credits</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS-1_002e6_002c-and-watches">CVS 1.6, and watches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Watches-Compatibility">Watches Compatibility</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS-command-structure">CVS command structure</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Structure">Structure</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS-directory_002c-in-repository">CVS directory, in repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#CVS-in-repository">CVS in repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS-directory_002c-in-working-directory">CVS directory, in working directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS-passwd-file">CVS passwd file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable">CVS_CLIENT_LOG, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fCLIENT_005fPORT">CVS_CLIENT_PORT</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fIGNORE_005fREMOTE_005fROOT_002c-environment-variable">CVS_IGNORE_REMOTE_ROOT, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fLOCAL_005fBRANCH_005fNUM_002c-environment-variable">CVS_LOCAL_BRANCH_NUM, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fPASSFILE_002c-environment-variable">CVS_PASSFILE, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fPID_002c-environment-variable">CVS_PID, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT">CVS_PROXY_PORT</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fPROXY_005fPORT-1">CVS_PROXY_PORT</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fRCMD_005fPORT_002c-environment-variable">CVS_RCMD_PORT, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fRSH-method-option">CVS_RSH method option</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fRSH_002c-environment-variable">CVS_RSH, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSECONDARY_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable">CVS_SECONDARY_LOG, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER-method-option">CVS_SERVER method option</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fLOG_002c-environment-variable">CVS_SERVER_LOG, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_005fSLEEP_002c-environment-variable">CVS_SERVER_SLEEP, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_002c-and-fork-method">CVS_SERVER, and fork method</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-fork">Connecting via fork</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fSERVER_002c-environment-variable">CVS_SERVER, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_005fUSER_002c-environment-variable">CVS_USER, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002c-history-of">CVS, history of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002c-introduction-to">CVS, introduction to</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002c-versions-of">CVS, versions of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Compatibility">Compatibility</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fBase-directory">CVS/Base directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fBaserev-file">CVS/Baserev file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fBaserev_002etmp-file">CVS/Baserev.tmp file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fEntries-file">CVS/Entries file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fEntries_002eBackup-file">CVS/Entries.Backup file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fEntries_002eLog-file">CVS/Entries.Log file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fEntries_002eStatic-file">CVS/Entries.Static file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fNotify-file">CVS/Notify file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fNotify_002etmp-file">CVS/Notify.tmp file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fRepository-file">CVS/Repository file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fRoot-file">CVS/Root file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fTag-file">CVS/Tag file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVS_002fTemplate-file">CVS/Template file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-cvsadmin">cvsadmin</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin">admin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSEDITOR_002c-environment-variable">CVSEDITOR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSEDITOR_002c-environment-variable-1">CVSEDITOR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSEDITOR_002c-internal-variable">CVSEDITOR, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSHeader-keyword">CVSHeader keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-cvsignore-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-global">cvsignore (admin file), global</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#cvsignore">cvsignore</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSIGNORE_002c-environment-variable">CVSIGNORE, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSREAD_002c-environment-variable">CVSREAD, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSREAD_002c-overriding">CVSREAD, overriding</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSREADONLYFS_002c-environment-variable">CVSREADONLYFS, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-cvsroot">cvsroot</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT-_0028file_0029">CVSROOT (file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Administrative-files">Administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-environment-variable">CVSROOT, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-internal-variable">CVSROOT, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-module-name">CVSROOT, module name</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-multiple-repositories">CVSROOT, multiple repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-overriding">CVSROOT, overriding</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002c-storage-of-files">CVSROOT, storage of files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#CVSROOT-storage">CVSROOT storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002fconfig">CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002fEmptydir-directory">CVSROOT/Emptydir directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002fval_002dtags-file_002c-and-read_002donly-access-to-projects">CVSROOT/val-tags file, and read-only access to projects</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSROOT_002fval_002dtags-file_002c-forcing-tags-into">CVSROOT/val-tags file, forcing tags into</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Error-messages">Error messages</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSUMASK_002c-environment-variable">CVSUMASK, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-cvswrappers-_0028admin-file_0029">cvswrappers (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Wrappers">Wrappers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSWRAPPERS_002c-environment-variable">CVSWRAPPERS, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Wrappers">Wrappers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-CVSWRAPPERS_002c-environment-variable-1">CVSWRAPPERS, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-D">D</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-date-format_002c-iso-8601">date format, <small class="sc">ISO</small> 8601</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-date-input-formats">date input formats</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Date-input-formats">Date input formats</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Date-keyword">Date keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Dates">Dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-day-of-week-item">day of week item</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Day-of-week-items">Day of week items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Dead-state">Dead state</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Attic">Attic</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Decimal-revision-number">Decimal revision number</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-DEFAULT-keyword_002c-in-lieu-of-regular-expressions-in-script-hooks">&lsquo;<samp class="samp">DEFAULT</samp>&rsquo; keyword, in lieu of regular expressions in script hooks</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Defining-a-module">Defining a module</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Defining-the-module">Defining the module</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Defining-modules-_0028intro_0029">Defining modules (intro)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Defining-modules-_0028reference-manual_0029">Defining modules (reference manual)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#modules">modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Deleting-branch-tags">Deleting branch tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Deleting-files">Deleting files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Deleting-revisions">Deleting revisions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Deleting-sticky-tags">Deleting sticky tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Deleting-tags">Deleting tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Descending-directories">Descending directories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Device-nodes">Device nodes</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Diff">Diff</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Viewing-differences">Viewing differences</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-diff-_0028subcommand_0029">diff (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#diff">diff</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Differences_002c-merging">Differences, merging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Directories_002c-moving">Directories, moving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-directories">Moving directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Directories_002c-removing">Directories, removing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Removing-directories">Removing directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Directory_002c-descending">Directory, descending</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Disjoint-repositories">Disjoint repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-displacement-of-dates">displacement of dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings">Relative items in date strings</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Distributing-log-messages">Distributing log messages</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-driver_002ec-_0028merge-example_0029">driver.c (merge example)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-E">E</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-edit-_0028subcommand_0029">edit (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Editing-files">Editing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Editing-administrative-files">Editing administrative files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Editing-the-modules-file">Editing the modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Defining-the-module">Defining the module</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Editor_002c-avoiding-invocation-of">Editor, avoiding invocation of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-EDITOR_002c-environment-variable">EDITOR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-EDITOR_002c-environment-variable-1">EDITOR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-EDITOR_002c-internal-variable">EDITOR, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-EDITOR_002c-overriding">EDITOR, overriding</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-editors-_0028subcommand_0029">editors (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Watch-information">Watch information</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Eggert_002c-Paul">Eggert, Paul</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-emerge">emerge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Emptydir_002c-in-CVSROOT-directory">Emptydir, in CVSROOT directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Encryption">Encryption</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Entries-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Entries file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Entries_002eBackup-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Entries.Backup file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Entries_002eLog-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Entries.Log file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Entries_002eStatic-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Entries.Static file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-environment-variables_002c-passed-to-administrative-files">environment variables, passed to administrative files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-epoch_002c-for-POSIX">epoch, for <abbr class="acronym">POSIX</abbr></a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Seconds-since-the-Epoch">Seconds since the Epoch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Errors_002c-reporting">Errors, reporting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Example-of-a-work_002dsession">Example of a work-session</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#A-sample-session">A sample session</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Example-of-merge">Example of merge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Example_002c-branch-merge">Example, branch merge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Excluding-directories_002c-in-modules-file">Excluding directories, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Excluding-directories">Excluding directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-commitinfo">Exit status, of commitinfo</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-CVS">Exit status, of CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Exit-status">Exit status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-editor">Exit status, of editor</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Error-messages">Error messages</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-taginfo-admin-file">Exit status, of taginfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Exit-status_002c-of-verifymsg">Exit status, of <samp class="file">verifymsg</samp></a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-export-_0028subcommand_0029">export (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#export">export</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Export-program">Export program</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ext-method_002c-setting-up">ext method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ext-method_002c-troubleshooting">ext method, troubleshooting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connection">Connection</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-F">F</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Fetching-source">Fetching source</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-File-had-conflicts-on-merge">File had conflicts on merge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-File-locking">File locking</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-File-permissions_002c-general">File permissions, general</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-File-permissions_002c-Windows_002dspecific">File permissions, Windows-specific</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Windows-permissions">Windows permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-File-status">File status</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Files_002c-moving">Files, moving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-files">Moving files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Files_002c-reference-manual">Files, reference manual</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Administrative-files">Administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Fixing-a-log-message">Fixing a log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Forcing-a-tag-match">Forcing a tag match</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-fork-method_002c-setting-up">fork method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-fork">Connecting via fork</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-fork_002c-access-method">fork, access method</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-fork">Connecting via fork</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Form-for-log-message">Form for log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rcsinfo">rcsinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Format-of-CVS-commands">Format of CVS commands</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Structure">Structure</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings">format strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-commitinfo-admin-file">format strings, commitinfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-common-syntax">format strings, common syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-config-admin-file">format strings, config admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-loginfo-admin-file">format strings, loginfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-postadmin-admin-file">format strings, postadmin admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postadmin">postadmin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-postproxy-admin-file">format strings, postproxy admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-posttag-admin-file">format strings, posttag admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#posttag">posttag</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-postwatch-admin-file">format strings, postwatch admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postwatch">postwatch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-preproxy-admin-file">format strings, preproxy admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#preproxy">preproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-taginfo-admin-file">format strings, taginfo admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-format-strings_002c-verifymsg-admin-file">format strings, verifymsg admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-G">G</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-general-date-syntax">general date syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Getting-started">Getting started</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#A-sample-session">A sample session</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Global-cvsignore">Global cvsignore</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#cvsignore">cvsignore</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Global-options">Global options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Group_002c-UNIX-file-permissions_002c-in-repository">Group, UNIX file permissions, in repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-gserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification">gserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-gserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1">gserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-gserver-method_002c-setting-up">gserver method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">GSSAPI authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-GSSAPI">GSSAPI</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">GSSAPI authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Gzip">Gzip</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Gzip-1">Gzip</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-H">H</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Hard-links">Hard links</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HEAD_002c-as-reserved-tag-name">HEAD, as reserved tag name</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HEAD_002c-special-tag">HEAD, special tag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Header-keyword">Header keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-history-_0028subcommand_0029">history (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#history">history</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-History-browsing">History browsing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#History-browsing">History browsing</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-History-file">History file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#history-file">history file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-History-files">History files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository-files">Repository files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-History-of-CVS">History of CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HistoryLogPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">HistoryLogPath, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HistorySearchPath_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">HistorySearchPath, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HOME_002c-environment-variable">HOME, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HOMEDRIVE_002c-environment-variable">HOMEDRIVE, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HOMEPATH_002c-environment-variable">HOMEPATH, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-HTTP-proxies_002c-connecting-via">HTTP proxies, connecting via</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-I">I</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Id-keyword">Id keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ident-_0028shell-command_0029">Ident (shell command)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Using-keywords">Using keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Identifying-a-branch">Identifying a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Identifying-files">Identifying files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ignored-files">Ignored files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#cvsignore">cvsignore</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ignoring-files">Ignoring files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#cvsignore">cvsignore</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-import-_0028subcommand_0029">import (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#import">import</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-import_002c-config-admin-file">import, config admin file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Importing-files">Importing files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#From-files">From files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Importing-files_002c-from-other-version-control-systems">Importing files, from other version control systems</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#From-other-version-control-systems">From other version control systems</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Importing-modules">Importing modules</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#First-import">First import</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Index">Index</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Index">Index</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-inetd_002c-configuring-for-pserver">inetd, configuring for pserver</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files">info files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Scripts">Trigger Scripts</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-commitinfo">info files, commitinfo</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-common-syntax">info files, common syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-common-syntax_002c-format-strings">info files, common syntax, format strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-common-syntax_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">info files, common syntax, updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating Commit Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits">info files, precommit verification of commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-info-files_002c-security">info files, security</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Script-Security">Trigger Script Security</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Informing-others">Informing others</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Informing-others">Informing others</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-init-_0028subcommand_0029">init (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Installed-images-_0028VMS_0029">Installed images (VMS)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Internal-variables">Internal variables</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Introduction-to-CVS">Introduction to CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-iso-8601-date-format"><small class="sc">ISO</small> 8601 date format</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Isolation">Isolation</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#History-browsing">History browsing</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-items-in-date-strings">items in date strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-J">J</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Join">Join</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-K">K</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">Keeping a checked out copy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">Keeping a checked out copy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Kerberos_002c-using-gserver-method">Kerberos, using gserver method</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">GSSAPI authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Kerberos_002c-using-kerberized-rsh">Kerberos, using kerberized rsh</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Kerberos_002c-using-kserver-method">Kerberos, using kserver method</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Kerberos authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keyword-expansion">Keyword expansion</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keyword-List">Keyword List</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-substitution">Keyword substitution</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keyword-substitution_002c-and-merging">Keyword substitution, and merging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Keyword-substitution_002c-changing-modes">Keyword substitution, changing modes</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-KeywordExpand_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">KeywordExpand, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Kflag">Kflag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Substitution-modes">Substitution modes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-kinit">kinit</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Kerberos authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Known-bugs-in-this-manual-or-CVS">Known bugs in this manual or CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-kserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification">kserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-kserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1">kserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-kserver-method_002c-setting-up">kserver method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Kerberos authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-L">L</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-language_002c-in-dates">language, in dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-language_002c-in-dates-1">language, in dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Layout-of-repository">Layout of repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Left_002dhand-options">Left-hand options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Linear-development">Linear development</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Link_002c-symbolic_002c-importing">Link, symbolic, importing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#import-output">import output</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-List_002c-mailing-list">List, mailing list</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Local-keyword">Local keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-local-method_002c-setting-up">local method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-LocalKeyword_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">LocalKeyword, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locally-Added">Locally Added</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locally-Modified">Locally Modified</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locally-Removed">Locally Removed</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-LockDir_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">LockDir, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locker-keyword">Locker keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locking-files">Locking files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-and-backups">Locks, cvs, and backups</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Backing-up">Backing up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-introduction">Locks, cvs, introduction</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Locks_002c-cvs_002c-technical-details">Locks, cvs, technical details</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Locks">Locks</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-log-_0028subcommand_0029">log (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#log">log</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-information_002c-saving">Log information, saving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#history-file">history file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-keyword">Log keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior">Log keyword, configuring substitution behavior</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior-1">Log keyword, configuring substitution behavior</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-keyword_002c-configuring-substitution-behavior-2">Log keyword, configuring substitution behavior</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-message-entry">Log message entry</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-message-template">Log message template</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rcsinfo">rcsinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-message_002c-correcting">Log message, correcting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-message_002c-verifying">Log message, verifying</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Log-messages">Log messages</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-logging_002c-commits">logging, commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-logging_002c-commits-1">logging, commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-logging_002c-commits-2">logging, commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rcsinfo">rcsinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-LogHistory_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">LogHistory, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Login-_0028subcommand_0029">Login (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-loginfo-_0028admin-file_0029">loginfo (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-loginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">loginfo (admin file), updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-LOGNAME_002c-environment-variable">LOGNAME, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Logout-_0028subcommand_0029">Logout (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ls-_0028subcommand_0029">ls (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#ls-_0026-rls">ls &amp; rls</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-M">M</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-MacKenzie_002c-David">MacKenzie, David</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Mail_002c-automatic-mail-on-commit">Mail, automatic mail on commit</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Informing-others">Informing others</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Mailing-list">Mailing list</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Mailing-log-messages">Mailing log messages</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Main-trunk-and-branches">Main trunk and branches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-make">make</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Builds">Builds</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Many-repositories">Many repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Markers_002c-conflict">Markers, conflict</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-MaxCommentLeaderLength">MaxCommentLeaderLength</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-MaxCommentLeaderLength_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">MaxCommentLeaderLength, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-MaxCompressionLevel_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">MaxCompressionLevel, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Mdocdate-keyword">Mdocdate keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merge_002c-an-example">Merge, an example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merge_002c-branch-example">Merge, branch example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merging">Merging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-a-branch">Merging a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merging-a-file">Merging a file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Merging_002c-and-keyword-substitution">Merging, and keyword substitution</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-and-keywords">Merging and keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Meyering_002c-Jim">Meyering, Jim</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-MinCompressionLevel_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">MinCompressionLevel, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-minutes_002c-time-zone-correction-by">minutes, time zone correction by</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Time-of-day-items">Time of day items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-mkmodules">mkmodules</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Error-messages">Error messages</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Modifications_002c-copying-between-branches">Modifications, copying between branches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Module-status">Module status</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Module_002c-defining">Module, defining</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Defining-the-module">Defining the module</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Modules-_0028admin-file_0029">Modules (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#modules">modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Modules-file">Modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Intro-administrative-files">Intro administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Modules-file-program-options">Modules file program options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-program-options">Module program options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Modules-file_002c-changing">Modules file, changing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Defining-the-module">Defining the module</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-modules_002edb">modules.db</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#CVSROOT-storage">CVSROOT storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-modules_002edir">modules.dir</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#CVSROOT-storage">CVSROOT storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-modules_002epag">modules.pag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#CVSROOT-storage">CVSROOT storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-month-names-in-date-strings">month names in date strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Calendar-date-items">Calendar date items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-months_002c-written_002dout">months, written-out</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Motivation-for-branches">Motivation for branches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-motivation">Branches motivation</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Moving-a-repository">Moving a repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-a-repository">Moving a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Moving-branch-tags">Moving branch tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Moving-directories">Moving directories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-directories">Moving directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Moving-files">Moving files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-files">Moving files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Moving-tags">Moving tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-N">N</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Name-keyword">Name keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Name_002c-symbolic-_0028tag_0029">Name, symbolic (tag)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Needs-Checkout">Needs Checkout</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Needs-Merge">Needs Merge</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Needs-Patch">Needs Patch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Newsgroups">Newsgroups</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-notify-_0028admin-file_0029">notify (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-Notified">Getting Notified</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Notify-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Notify file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Notify_002etmp-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Notify.tmp file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Number_002c-branch">Number, branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Number_002c-branch-1">Number, branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-and-revisions">Branches and revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Number_002c-revision_002d">Number, revision-</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-numbers_002c-written_002dout">numbers, written-out</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-O">O</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Option-defaults">Option defaults</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#g_t_007e_002f_002ecvsrc">~/.cvsrc</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-options_002c-connection-method">options, connection method</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Options_002c-global">Options, global</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Options_002c-in-modules-file">Options, in modules file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-ordinal-numbers">ordinal numbers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Outdating-revisions">Outdating revisions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overlap">Overlap</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overriding-CVSREAD">Overriding CVSREAD</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overriding-CVSROOT">Overriding CVSROOT</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overriding-EDITOR">Overriding EDITOR</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overriding-RCSBIN">Overriding RCSBIN</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Overview">Overview</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Overview">Overview</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ownership_002c-saving-in-CVS">Ownership, saving in CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-P">P</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Parallel-repositories">Parallel repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-passwd-_0028admin-file_0029">passwd (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Password-client_002c-using">Password client, using</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Password-server_002c-setting-up">Password server, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-PATH_002c-environment-variable">PATH, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Per_002ddirectory-sticky-tags_002fdates">Per-directory sticky tags/dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Permissions_002c-general">Permissions, general</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Permissions_002c-saving-in-CVS">Permissions, saving in CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Permissions_002c-Windows_002dspecific">Permissions, Windows-specific</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Windows-permissions">Windows permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Pinard_002c-F_002e">Pinard, F.</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Policy">Policy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#When-to-commit">When to commit</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-port_002c-specifying-for-remote-repositories">port, specifying for remote repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-port_002c-specifying-for-remote-repositories-1">port, specifying for remote repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-postadmin-_0028admin-file_0029">postadmin (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postadmin">postadmin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-postproxy-_0028admin-file_0029">postproxy (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-posttag-_0028admin-file_0029">posttag (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#posttag">posttag</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-postwatch-_0028admin-file_0029">postwatch (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postwatch">postwatch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-preproxy-_0028admin-file_0029">preproxy (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#preproxy">preproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Primary-server">Primary server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Write-proxies">Write proxies</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Primary-server-1">Primary server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-PrimaryServer_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">PrimaryServer, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Write-proxies">Write proxies</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-PrimaryServer_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1">PrimaryServer, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxies_002c-HTTP_002c-connecting-via">proxies, HTTP, connecting via</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxies_002c-web_002c-connecting-via">proxies, web, connecting via</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxy_002c-method-option">proxy, method option</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxy_002c-write">proxy, write</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Write-proxies">Write proxies</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxy_002c-write-1">proxy, write</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-proxyport_002c-method-option">proxyport, method option</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification">pserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-_0028client_002fserver-connection-method_0029_002c-port-specification-1">pserver (client/server connection method), port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-_0028subcommand_0029">pserver (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-_0028subcommand_0029-1">pserver (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-method_002c-setting-up">pserver method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-client">Password authentication client</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pserver-method_002c-troubleshooting">pserver method, troubleshooting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connection">Connection</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-pure-numbers-in-date-strings">pure numbers in date strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Pure-numbers-in-date-strings">Pure numbers in date strings</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-PVCS_002c-importing-files-from">PVCS, importing files from</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#From-other-version-control-systems">From other version control systems</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-R">R</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCS-history-files">RCS history files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository-files">Repository files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCS-revision-numbers">RCS revision numbers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCS_002dstyle-locking">RCS-style locking</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCS_002c-importing-files-from">RCS, importing files from</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#From-other-version-control-systems">From other version control systems</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">RCSBIN, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-internal-variable">RCSBIN, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCSBIN_002c-overriding">RCSBIN, overriding</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RCSfile-keyword">RCSfile keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rcsinfo-_0028admin-file_0029">rcsinfo (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rcsinfo">rcsinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rdiff-_0028subcommand_0029">rdiff (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rdiff">rdiff</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-_002dr">Read-only files, and -r</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-CVSREAD">Read-only files, and CVSREAD</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-files_002c-and-watches">Read-only files, and watches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Setting-a-watch">Setting a watch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-files_002c-in-repository">Read-only files, in repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-mode">Read-only mode</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-repository-access">Read-only repository access</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Read_002donly-access">Read-only access</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Read_002donly-repository-mode">Read-only repository mode</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-readers-_0028admin-file_0029">readers (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Read_002donly-access">Read-only access</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Recursive-_0028directory-descending_0029">Recursive (directory descending)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Redirect_002c-method-option">Redirect, method option</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reference-manual-_0028files_0029">Reference manual (files)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Administrative-files">Administrative files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reference-manual-for-variables">Reference manual for variables</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reference_002c-commands">Reference, commands</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Regular-expression-syntax">Regular expression syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Regular-modules">Regular modules</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Regular-modules">Regular modules</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-relative-items-in-date-strings">relative items in date strings</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Relative-items-in-date-strings">Relative items in date strings</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-release-_0028subcommand_0029">release (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#release">release</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Releases_002c-revisions-and-versions">Releases, revisions and versions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Versions-revisions-releases">Versions revisions releases</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Releasing-your-working-copy">Releasing your working copy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Cleaning-up">Cleaning up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Remote-repositories_002c-port-specification">Remote repositories, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Remote-repositories_002c-port-specification-1">Remote repositories, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Remove-_0028subcommand_0029">Remove (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-a-change">Removing a change</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-branch-tags">Removing branch tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-directories">Removing directories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Removing-directories">Removing directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-files">Removing files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Removing-files">Removing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-tags">Removing tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Removing-your-working-copy">Removing your working copy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Cleaning-up">Cleaning up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Renaming-directories">Renaming directories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-directories">Moving directories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Renaming-files">Renaming files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-files">Moving files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Renaming-tags">Renaming tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Replacing-a-log-message">Replacing a log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reporting-bugs">Reporting bugs</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repositories_002c-multiple">Repositories, multiple</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-repositories">Multiple repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repositories_002c-remote">Repositories, remote</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repositories_002c-remote_002c-port-specification">Repositories, remote, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repositories_002c-remote_002c-port-specification-1">Repositories, remote, port specification</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository-_0028intro_0029">Repository (intro)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Repository file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository_002c-backing-up">Repository, backing up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Backing-up">Backing up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository_002c-example">Repository, example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository_002c-how-data-is-stored">Repository, how data is stored</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository-storage">Repository storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository_002c-moving">Repository, moving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Moving-a-repository">Moving a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Repository_002c-setting-up">Repository, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-RereadLogAfterVerify_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">RereadLogAfterVerify, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reserved-checkouts">Reserved checkouts</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Resetting-sticky-tags">Resetting sticky tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Resolving-a-conflict">Resolving a conflict</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Conflicts-example">Conflicts example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Restoring-old-version-of-removed-file">Restoring old version of removed file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Resurrecting-old-version-of-dead-file">Resurrecting old version of dead file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Retrieve-a-branch">Retrieve a branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Accessing-branches">Accessing branches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Retrieving-an-old-revision-using-tags">Retrieving an old revision using tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Reverting-to-repository-version">Reverting to repository version</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Editing-files">Editing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-keyword">Revision keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-management">Revision management</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-management">Revision management</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-numbers-_0028branches_0029">Revision numbers (branches)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-and-revisions">Branches and revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-tree">Revision tree</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Revision-numbers">Revision numbers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revision-tree_002c-making-branches">Revision tree, making branches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branching-and-merging">Branching and merging</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revisions_002c-merging-differences-between">Revisions, merging differences between</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Revisions_002c-versions-and-releases">Revisions, versions and releases</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Versions-revisions-releases">Versions revisions releases</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Right_002dhand-options">Right-hand options</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rls-_0028subcommand_0029">rls (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#ls-_0026-rls">ls &amp; rls</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Root-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Root file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Specifying-a-repository">Specifying a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rsh">rsh</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rsh-replacements-_0028Kerberized_002c-SSH_002c-_0026c_0029">rsh replacements (Kerberized, SSH, &amp;c)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rtag-_0028subcommand_0029">rtag (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tagging-by-date_002ftag">Tagging by date/tag</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-rtag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-creating-a-branch-using">rtag (subcommand), creating a branch using</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-S">S</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Salz_002c-Rich">Salz, Rich</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Authors-of-get_005fdate">Authors of get_date</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Saving-space">Saving space</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin-options">admin options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-SCCS_002c-importing-files-from">SCCS, importing files from</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#From-other-version-control-systems">From other version control systems</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-postadmin">script hook, postadmin</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postadmin">postadmin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-postproxy">script hook, postproxy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-posttag">script hook, posttag</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#posttag">posttag</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-postwatch">script hook, postwatch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postwatch">postwatch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-preproxy">script hook, preproxy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#preproxy">preproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hook_002c-taginfo">script hook, taginfo</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hooks">script hooks</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Scripts">Trigger Scripts</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hooks_002c-commitinfo">script hooks, commitinfo</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hooks_002c-common-syntax">script hooks, common syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hooks_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits">script hooks, precommit verification of commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-script-hooks_002c-security">script hooks, security</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Script-Security">Trigger Script Security</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Secondary-server">Secondary server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Write-proxies">Write proxies</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Secondary-server-1">Secondary server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-secondary-server_002c-pull-updates">secondary server, pull updates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Security_002c-file-permissions-in-repository">Security, file permissions in repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Security_002c-GSSAPI">Security, GSSAPI</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#GSSAPI-authenticated">GSSAPI authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Security_002c-Kerberos">Security, Kerberos</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Kerberos-authenticated">Kerberos authenticated</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Security_002c-of-pserver">Security, of pserver</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-security">Password authentication security</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Security_002c-setuid">Security, setuid</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-server-_0028subcommand_0029">server (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#server-_0026-pserver">server &amp; pserver</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-server-method_002c-setting-up">server method, setting up</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-server-method_002c-troubleshooting">server method, troubleshooting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connection">Connection</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Server_002c-CVS">Server, CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Remote-repositories">Remote repositories</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Server_002c-temporary-directories">Server, temporary directories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Server-temporary-directory">Server temporary directory</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Setgid">Setgid</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Setting-up-a-repository">Setting up a repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-repository">Creating a repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Setuid">Setuid</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Source-keyword">Source keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Source_002c-getting-CVS-source">Source, getting CVS source</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Source_002c-getting-from-CVS">Source, getting from CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-the-source">Getting the source</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Special-files">Special files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Specifying-dates">Specifying dates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Spreading-information">Spreading information</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Informing-others">Informing others</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-SSH-_0028rsh-replacement_0029">SSH (rsh replacement)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Connecting-via-rsh">Connecting via rsh</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Starting-a-project-with-CVS">Starting a project with CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Starting-a-new-project">Starting a new project</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-State-keyword">State keyword</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Status-of-a-file">Status of a file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Status-of-a-module">Status of a module</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Sticky-date">Sticky date</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Sticky-tags_002c-resetting">Sticky tags, resetting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Sticky-tags_002fdates_002c-per_002ddirectory">Sticky tags/dates, per-directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Storing-log-messages">Storing log messages</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#loginfo">loginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Stream-authentication">Stream authentication</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Structure">Structure</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Structure">Structure</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Subdirectories">Subdirectories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Recursive-behavior">Recursive behavior</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-suck-_0028subcommand_0029">suck (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#suck">suck</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Support_002c-getting-CVS-support">Support, getting CVS support</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Symbolic-link_002c-importing">Symbolic link, importing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#import-output">import output</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Symbolic-links">Symbolic links</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Special-Files">Special Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Symbolic-name-_0028tag_0029">Symbolic name (tag)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Syntax-of-info-files_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">Syntax of info files, updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-Commit-Files">Updating Commit Files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-syntax-of-trigger-script-hooks">syntax of trigger script hooks</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-SystemAuth_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">SystemAuth, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-T">T</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029">tag (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tagging-the-working-directory">Tagging the working directory</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-creating-a-branch-using">tag (subcommand), creating a branch using</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Creating-a-branch">Creating a branch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-tag-_0028subcommand_0029_002c-introduction">tag (subcommand), introduction</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tag-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Tag file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tag-program">Tag program</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Module-options">Module options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029">taginfo (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-exit-status">taginfo (admin file), exit status</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-taginfo-_0028admin-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">taginfo (admin file), updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags">Tags</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-deleting">Tags, deleting</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-example">Tags, example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-logging">Tags, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-logging-1">Tags, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#posttag">posttag</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-moving">Tags, moving</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-renaming">Tags, renaming</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Modifying-tags">Modifying tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-retrieving-old-revisions">Tags, retrieving old revisions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-sticky">Tags, sticky</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Sticky-tags">Sticky tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-symbolic-name">Tags, symbolic name</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tags">Tags</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tags_002c-verifying">Tags, verifying</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#taginfo">taginfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-tc_002c-Trivial-Compiler-_0028example_0029">tc, Trivial Compiler (example)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#A-sample-session">A sample session</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Team-of-developers">Team of developers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Template-file_002c-in-CVS-directory">Template file, in CVS directory</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Working-directory-storage">Working directory storage</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Template-for-log-message">Template for log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#rcsinfo">rcsinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Temporary-directories_002c-and-server">Temporary directories, and server</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Server-temporary-directory">Server temporary directory</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-directory_002c-set-in-config">temporary directory, set in config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-command-line">temporary file directory, set via command line</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-config">temporary file directory, set via config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-environment-variable">temporary file directory, set via environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-file-directory_002c-set-via-environment-variable-1">temporary file directory, set via environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-files_002c-location-of">temporary files, location of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-files_002c-location-of-1">temporary files, location of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-temporary-files_002c-location-of-2">temporary files, location of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Third_002dparty-sources">Third-party sources</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Time">Time</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Common-options">Common options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-time-of-day-item">time of day item</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Time-of-day-items">Time of day items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-time-zone-correction">time zone correction</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Time-of-day-items">Time of day items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-time-zone-item">time zone item</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#General-date-syntax">General date syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-time-zone-item-1">time zone item</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Time-zone-items">Time zone items</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Timezone_002c-in-output">Timezone, in output</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#log">log</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Timezone_002c-in-output-1">Timezone, in output</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#log-examples">log examples</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable">TMPDIR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-TMPDIR_002c-environment-variable-1">TMPDIR, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-TmpDir_002c-in-config">TmpDir, in config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-TopLevelAdmin_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">TopLevelAdmin, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Trace">Trace</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Global-options">Global options</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Traceability">Traceability</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#History-browsing">History browsing</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Transactions_002c-atomic_002c-lack-of">Transactions, atomic, lack of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Concurrency">Concurrency</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-trigger-script-hooks_002c-common-syntax">trigger script hooks, common syntax</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#syntax">syntax</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-trigger-scripts">trigger scripts</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Scripts">Trigger Scripts</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-trigger-scripts_002c-commitinfo">trigger scripts, commitinfo</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-trigger-scripts_002c-precommit-verification-of-commits">trigger scripts, precommit verification of commits</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#commitinfo">commitinfo</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-trigger-scripts_002c-security">trigger scripts, security</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Trigger-Script-Security">Trigger Script Security</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Trivial-Compiler-_0028example_0029">Trivial Compiler (example)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#A-sample-session">A sample session</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Typical-repository">Typical repository</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Repository">Repository</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-U">U</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Umask_002c-for-repository-files">Umask, for repository files</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Undoing-a-change">Undoing a change</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Merging-two-revisions">Merging two revisions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-unedit-_0028subcommand_0029">unedit (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Editing-files">Editing files</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Unknown">Unknown</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Unreserved-checkouts">Unreserved checkouts</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Unresolved-Conflict">Unresolved Conflict</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Up_002dto_002ddate">Up-to-date</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-update-_0028subcommand_0029">update (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#update">update</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Update_002c-introduction">Update, introduction</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-update_002c-to-display-file-status">update, to display file status</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-status">File status</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Updating-a-file">Updating a file</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-UseArchiveCommentLeader">UseArchiveCommentLeader</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keyword-list">Keyword list</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-UseArchiveCommentLeader_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">UseArchiveCommentLeader, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-UseNewInfoFmtStrings_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">UseNewInfoFmtStrings, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-User-aliases">User aliases</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-User-variables">User variables</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-USER_002c-environment-variable">USER, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-USER_002c-internal-variable">USER, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-UserAdminOptions_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig">UserAdminOptions, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#admin">admin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-UserAdminOptions_002c-in-CVSROOT_002fconfig-1">UserAdminOptions, in CVSROOT/config</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-users-_0028admin-file_0029">users (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-Notified">Getting Notified</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-V">V</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-val_002dtags-file_002c-and-read_002donly-access-to-projects">val-tags file, and read-only access to projects</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#File-permissions">File permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-val_002dtags-file_002c-forcing-tags-into">val-tags file, forcing tags into</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Error-messages">Error messages</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Variables">Variables</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Vendor">Vendor</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Vendor-branch">Vendor branch</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Tracking-sources">Tracking sources</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-verifymsg-_0028admin-file_0029"><samp class="file">verifymsg</samp> (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-verifymsg-_0028admin_002fcommit-file_0029_002c-updating-legacy-repositories">verifymsg (admin/commit file), updating legacy repositories</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-verifymsg_002c-changing-the-log-message"><samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, changing the log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg">verifymsg</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-verifymsg_002c-changing-the-log-message-1"><samp class="file">verifymsg</samp>, changing the log message</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-verifymsg_002c-example">verifymsg, example</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#verifymsg-example">verifymsg example</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-version-_0028subcommand_0029">version (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Invoking-CVS">Invoking CVS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Versions_002c-of-CVS">Versions, of CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Compatibility">Compatibility</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Versions_002c-revisions-and-releases">Versions, revisions and releases</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Versions-revisions-releases">Versions revisions releases</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Viewing-differences">Viewing differences</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Viewing-differences">Viewing differences</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-VISUAL_002c-environment-variable">VISUAL, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Committing-your-changes">Committing your changes</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-VISUAL_002c-environment-variable-1">VISUAL, environment variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-VISUAL_002c-internal-variable">VISUAL, internal variable</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Variables">Variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-W">W</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-watch-add-_0028subcommand_0029">watch add (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-Notified">Getting Notified</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Watch-family-of-commands_002c-logging">Watch family of commands, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postwatch">postwatch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-watch-off-_0028subcommand_0029">watch off (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Setting-a-watch">Setting a watch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-watch-on-_0028subcommand_0029">watch on (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Setting-a-watch">Setting a watch</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-watch-remove-_0028subcommand_0029">watch remove (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Getting-Notified">Getting Notified</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-watchers-_0028subcommand_0029">watchers (subcommand)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Watch-information">Watch information</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Watches">Watches</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Watches">Watches</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-wdiff-_0028import-example_0029">wdiff (import example)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#First-import">First import</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Web-pages_002c-maintaining-with-CVS">Web pages, maintaining with CVS</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Keeping-a-checked-out-copy">Keeping a checked out copy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-web-proxies_002c-connecting-via">web proxies, connecting via</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#The-connection-method">The connection method</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-What-_0028shell-command_0029">What (shell command)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Using-keywords">Using keywords</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-What-branches-are-good-for">What branches are good for</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Branches-motivation">Branches motivation</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-What-is-CVS-not_003f">What is CVS not?</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS-not_003f">What is CVS not?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#What-is-CVS_003f">What is CVS?</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-When-to-commit">When to commit</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#When-to-commit">When to commit</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Windows_002c-and-permissions">Windows, and permissions</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Windows-permissions">Windows permissions</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Work_002dsession_002c-example-of">Work-session, example of</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#A-sample-session">A sample session</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Working-copy">Working copy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Multiple-developers">Multiple developers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Working-copy_002c-removing">Working copy, removing</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Cleaning-up">Cleaning up</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Wrappers">Wrappers</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Wrappers">Wrappers</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-write-proxy">write proxy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Write-proxies">Write proxies</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-write-proxy-1">write proxy</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#config">config</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Write-proxy_002c-logging">Write proxy, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#preproxy">preproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Write-proxy_002c-logging-1">Write proxy, logging</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Write-proxy_002c-pull-updates">Write proxy, pull updates</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#postproxy">postproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Write-proxy_002c-verifying">Write proxy, verifying</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#preproxy">preproxy</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-writers-_0028admin-file_0029">writers (admin file)</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Read_002donly-access">Read-only access</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-X">X</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Ximbiot">Ximbiot</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-xinetd_002c-configuring-for-pserver">xinetd, configuring for pserver</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#Password-authentication-server">Password authentication server</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><th id="Index_cp_letter-Z">Z</th></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Zone_002c-time_002c-in-output">Zone, time, in output</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#log">log</a></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td class="printindex-index-entry"><a href="#index-Zone_002c-time_002c-in-output-1">Zone, time, in output</a></td><td class="printindex-index-section"><a href="#log-examples">log examples</a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
</table>
<table class="cp-letters-footer-printindex"><tr><th>Jump to: &nbsp; </th><td><a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-1"><b>_</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-2"><b>-</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-3"><b>!</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-4"><b>.</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-5"><b>/</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-6"><b>&amp;</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-7"><b>#</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-8"><b>&lt;</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-9"><b>=</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_symbol-10"><b>&gt;</b></a>
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<br>
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-A"><b>A</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-B"><b>B</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-C"><b>C</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-D"><b>D</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-E"><b>E</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-F"><b>F</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-G"><b>G</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-H"><b>H</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-I"><b>I</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-J"><b>J</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-K"><b>K</b></a>
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<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-L"><b>L</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-M"><b>M</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-N"><b>N</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-O"><b>O</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-P"><b>P</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-R"><b>R</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-S"><b>S</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-T"><b>T</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-U"><b>U</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-V"><b>V</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-W"><b>W</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-X"><b>X</b></a>
 &nbsp; 
<a class="summary-letter-printindex" href="#Index_cp_letter-Z"><b>Z</b></a>
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</td></tr></table>
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Youez - 2016 - github.com/yon3zu
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