.\" This is the man page for CVS.  It is auto-generated from the
.\" cvs.man.header, cvs.texinfo, & cvs.man.footer files.  Please make changes
.\" there.  A full copyright & license notice may also be found in cvs.texinfo.
.\"
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.\" Copyright 2004-2005 The Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
.\"                     Derek R. Price, & Ximbiot <http://ximbiot.com>.
.\"
.\" This documentation is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
.\" it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
.\" the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
.\" any later version.
.\"
.\" This documentation is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
.\" but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
.\" MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
.\" GNU General Public License for more details.
.\"
.\" You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
.\" along with this documentation; if not, write to the Free Software
.\" Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
.de Id
.ds Rv \\$3
.ds Dt \\$4
..
.TH CVS 1 "\*(Dt"
.\" Full space in nroff; half space in troff
.de SP
.if n .sp
.if t .sp .5
..
.\" quoted command
.de `
.RB ` "\|\\$1\|" '\\$2
..
.SH "NAME"
cvs \- Concurrent Versions System
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.TP
\fBcvs\fP [ \fIcvs_options\fP ]
.I cvs_command
[
.I command_options
] [
.I command_args
]
.SH "NOTE"
.IX "revision control system" "\fLcvs\fR"
.IX  cvs  ""  "\fLcvs\fP \- concurrent versions system"
.IX  "concurrent versions system \- \fLcvs\fP"
.IX  "release control system"  "cvs command"  ""  "\fLcvs\fP \- concurrent versions system"
.IX  "source control system"  "cvs command"  ""  "\fLcvs\fP \- concurrent versions system"
.IX  revisions  "cvs command"  ""  "\fLcvs\fP \- source control"
This manpage is a summary of some of the features of
\fBcvs\fP.  It is auto-generated from an appendix of the CVS manual.
For more in-depth documentation, please consult the
Cederqvist manual (via the
.B info CVS
command or otherwise,
as described in the SEE ALSO section of this manpage).  Cross-references
in this man page refer to nodes in the same.
.SH "CVS commands"
.SS "Guide to CVS commands"
.SP
This appendix describes the overall structure of
\fBcvs\fR commands, and describes some commands in
detail (others are described elsewhere; for a quick
reference to \fBcvs\fR commands, see node `Invoking CVS\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.SH "Structure"
.SS "Overall structure of CVS commands"
.IX "Structure"
.IX "CVS command structure"
.IX "Command structure"
.IX "Format of CVS commands"
.SP
The overall format of all \fBcvs\fR commands is:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fBcvs\fR
.IP "" 2
The name of the \fBcvs\fR program.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fBcvs_options\fR
.IP "" 2
Some options that affect all sub-commands of \fBcvs\fR.  These are
described below.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fBcvs_command\fR
.IP "" 2
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 \fBcvs_command\fR: \fBcvs -H\fR elicits a
list of available commands, and \fBcvs -v\fR displays version
information on \fBcvs\fR itself.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fBcommand_options\fR
.IP "" 2
Options that are specific for the command.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fBcommand_args\fR
.IP "" 2
Arguments to the commands.
.SP
There is unfortunately some confusion between
\fBcvs_options\fR and \fBcommand_options\fR.
When given as a \fBcvs_option\fR, some options only
affect some of the commands.  When given as a
\fBcommand_option\fR 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.
.SP
.SH "Exit status"
.SS "CVS\(aqs exit status"
.IX "Exit status, of CVS"
.SP
\fBcvs\fR can indicate to the calling environment whether it
succeeded or failed by setting its \fIexit status\fR.
The exact way of testing the exit status will vary from
one operating system to another.  For example in a unix
shell script the \fB$?\fR variable will be 0 if the
last command returned a successful exit status, or
greater than 0 if the exit status indicated failure.
.SP
If \fBcvs\fR 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 \fBcvs diff\fR 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
\fBcvs diff\fR will be changed to behave like the
other \fBcvs\fR commands.
.SP
.SH "~/.cvsrc"
.SS "Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file"
.IX "\&.cvsrc file"
.IX "Option defaults"
.SP
There are some \fBcommand_options\fR 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
\fB.cvsrc\fR support, actually) is that many people find the
default output of the \fBdiff\fR command to be very
hard to read, and that either context diffs or unidiffs
are much easier to understand.
.SP
The \fB~/.cvsrc\fR file is a way that you can add
default options to \fBcvs_commands\fR within cvs,
instead of relying on aliases or other shell scripts.
.SP
The format of the \fB~/.cvsrc\fR file is simple.  The
file is searched for a line that begins with the same
name as the \fBcvs_command\fR 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 \fIbefore\fR any
options from the command line.
.SP
If a command has two names (e.g., \fBcheckout\fR and
\fBco\fR), 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\(aqs
\fB~/.cvsrc\fR file:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
log -N
.IP "" 2
diff -uN
.IP "" 2
rdiff -u
.IP "" 2
update -Pd
.IP "" 2
checkout -P
.IP "" 2
release -d

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
the command \fBcvs checkout foo\fR would have the
\fB-P\fR option added to the arguments, as well as
\fBcvs co foo\fR.
.SP
With the example file above, the output from \fBcvs
diff foobar\fR will be in unidiff format.  \fBcvs diff
-c foobar\fR will provide context diffs, as usual.
Getting "old" format diffs would be slightly more
complicated, because \fBdiff\fR doesn\(aqt have an option
to specify use of the "old" format, so you would need
\fBcvs -f diff foobar\fR.
.SP
In place of the command name you can use \fBcvs\fR to
specify global options (see node `Global options\(aq in the CVS manual).  For
example the following line in \fB.cvsrc\fR
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
cvs -z6

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
causes \fBcvs\fR to use compression level 6.
.SP
.SH "Global options"
.IX "Options, global"
.IX "Global options"
.IX "Left-hand options"
.SP
The available \fBcvs_options\fR (that are given to the
left of \fBcvs_command\fR) are:
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB--allow-root=\fIrootdir\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Specify legal \fBcvsroot\fR directory.  See
`Password authentication server\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IX "Authentication, stream"
.IX "Stream authentication"
.IP "" 0
\fB-a\fR
.IP "" 2
Authenticate all communication between the client and
the server.  Only has an effect on the \fBcvs\fR client.
As of this writing, this is only implemented when using
a GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI authenticated\(aq in the CVS manual).
Authentication prevents certain sorts of attacks
involving hijacking the active \fBtcp\fR connection.
Enabling authentication does not enable encryption.
.SP
.IX "RCSBIN, overriding"
.IX "Overriding RCSBIN"
.IP "" 0
\fB-b \fIbindir\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
In \fBcvs\fR 1.9.18 and older, this specified that
\fBrcs\fR programs are in the \fIbindir\fR directory.
Current versions of \fBcvs\fR do not run \fBrcs\fR
programs; for compatibility this option is accepted,
but it does nothing.
.SP
.IX "TMPDIR, overriding"
.IX "Overriding TMPDIR"
.IP "" 0
\fB-T \fItempdir\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use \fItempdir\fR as the directory where temporary files are
located.  Overrides the setting of the \fB$TMPDIR\fR environment
variable and any precompiled directory.  This parameter should be
specified as an absolute pathname.
(When running client/server, \fB-T\fR affects only the local process;
specifying \fB-T\fR for the client has no effect on the server and
vice versa.)
.SP
.IX "CVSROOT, overriding"
.IX "Overriding CVSROOT"
.IP "" 0
\fB-d \fIcvs_root_directory\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use \fIcvs_root_directory\fR as the root directory
pathname of the repository.  Overrides the setting of
the \fB$CVSROOT\fR environment variable.  See `Repository\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IX "EDITOR, overriding"
.IX "Overriding EDITOR"
.IP "" 0
\fB-e \fIeditor\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use \fIeditor\fR to enter revision log information.  Overrides the
setting of the \fB$CVSEDITOR\fR and \fB$EDITOR\fR
environment variables.  For more information, see
`Committing your changes\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-f\fR
.IP "" 2
Do not read the \fB~/.cvsrc\fR file.  This
option is most often used because of the
non-orthogonality of the \fBcvs\fR option set.  For
example, the \fBcvs log\fR option \fB-N\fR (turn off
display of tag names) does not have a corresponding
option to turn the display on.  So if you have
\fB-N\fR in the \fB~/.cvsrc\fR entry for \fBlog\fR,
you may need to use \fB-f\fR to show the tag names.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-H\fR
.IP "" 2
.IP "" 0
\fB--help\fR
.IP "" 2
Display usage information about the specified \fBcvs_command\fR
(but do not actually execute the command).  If you don\(aqt specify
a command name, \fBcvs -H\fR displays overall help for
\fBcvs\fR, including a list of other help options.
.SP
.IX "Read-only mode"
.IP "" 0
\fB-n\fR
.IP "" 2
Do not change any files.  Attempt to execute the
\fBcvs_command\fR, but only to issue reports; do not remove,
update, or merge any existing files, or create any new files.
.SP
Note that \fBcvs\fR will not necessarily produce exactly
the same output as without \fB-n\fR.  In some cases
the output will be the same, but in other cases
\fBcvs\fR will skip some of the processing that would
have been required to produce the exact same output.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-Q\fR
.IP "" 2
Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only
generate output for serious problems.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-q\fR
.IP "" 2
Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages,
such as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are
suppressed.
.SP
.IX "Read-only files, and -r"
.IP "" 0
\fB-r\fR
.IP "" 2
Make new working files read-only.  Same effect
as if the \fB$CVSREAD\fR environment variable is set
(see node `Environment variables\(aq in the CVS manual).  The default is to
make working files writable, unless watches are on
(see node `Watches\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-s \fIvariable\fB=\fIvalue\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Set a user variable (see node `Variables\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IX "Trace"
.IP "" 0
\fB-t\fR
.IP "" 2
Trace program execution; display messages showing the steps of
\fBcvs\fR activity.  Particularly useful with \fB-n\fR to explore the
potential impact of an unfamiliar command.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-v\fR
.IP "" 2
.IP "" 0
\fB--version\fR
.IP "" 2
Display version and copyright information for \fBcvs\fR.
.SP
.IX "CVSREAD, overriding"
.IX "Overriding CVSREAD"
.IP "" 0
\fB-w\fR
.IP "" 2
Make new working files read-write.  Overrides the
setting of the \fB$CVSREAD\fR environment variable.
Files are created read-write by default, unless \fB$CVSREAD\fR is
set or \fB-r\fR is given.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-x\fR
.IP "" 2
.IX "Encryption"
Encrypt all communication between the client and the
server.  Only has an effect on the \fBcvs\fR client.  As
of this writing, this is only implemented when using a
GSSAPI connection (see node `GSSAPI authenticated\(aq in the CVS manual) or a
Kerberos connection (see node `Kerberos authenticated\(aq in the CVS manual).
Enabling encryption implies that message traffic is
also authenticated.  Encryption support is not
available by default; it must be enabled using a
special configure option, \fB--enable-encryption\fR,
when you build \fBcvs\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-z \fIgzip-level\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
.IX "Compression"
.IX "Gzip"
Set the compression level.
Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low compression) to
9 (low speed, high compression), or 0 to disable
compression (the default).
Only has an effect on the \fBcvs\fR client.
.SP
.SP
.SH "Common options"
.SS "Common command options"
.IX "Common options"
.IX "Right-hand options"
.SP
This section describes the \fBcommand_options\fR that
are available across several \fBcvs\fR commands.  These
options are always given to the right of
\fBcvs_command\fR. 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 \fBcvs\fR command to the other).
.SP
\fBThe \fBhistory\fB command is an exception; it supports
many options that conflict even with these standard options.\fR
.SP
.IX "Dates"
.IX "Time"
.IX "Specifying dates"
.IP "" 0
\fB-D \fIdate_spec\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use the most recent revision no later than \fIdate_spec\fR.
\fIdate_spec\fR is a single argument, a date description
specifying a date in the past.
.SP
The specification is \fIsticky\fR when you use it to make a
private copy of a source file; that is, when you get a working
file using \fB-D\fR, \fBcvs\fR records the date you specified, so that
further updates in the same directory will use the same date
(for more information on sticky tags/dates, see node `Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
\fB-D\fR is available with the \fBannotate\fR, \fBcheckout\fR,
\fBdiff\fR, \fBexport\fR, \fBhistory\fR,
\fBrdiff\fR, \fBrtag\fR, and \fBupdate\fR commands.
(The \fBhistory\fR command uses this option in a
slightly different way; see node `history options\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IX "Timezone, in input"
.IX "Zone, time, in input"
A wide variety of date formats are supported by
\fBcvs\fR.  The most standard ones are ISO8601 (from the
International Standards Organization) and the Internet
e-mail standard (specified in RFC822 as amended by
RFC1123).
.SP
ISO8601 dates have many variants but a few examples
are:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 4
1972-09-24
.IP "" 4
1972-09-24 20:05

.PD
.IP "" 2
.SP
There are a lot more ISO8601 date formats, and \fBcvs\fR
accepts many of them, but you probably don\(aqt want to
hear the \fIwhole\fR long story :-).
.SP
In addition to the dates allowed in Internet e-mail
itself, \fBcvs\fR also allows some of the fields to be
omitted.  For example:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 4
24 Sep 1972 20:05
.IP "" 4
24 Sep

.PD
.IP "" 2
.SP
The date is interpreted as being in the
local timezone, unless a specific timezone is
specified.
.SP
These two date formats are preferred.  However,
\fBcvs\fR currently accepts a wide variety of other date
formats.  They are intentionally not documented here in
any detail, and future versions of \fBcvs\fR might not
accept all of them.
.SP
One such format is
\fB\fImonth\fB/\fIday\fB/\fIyear\fB\fR.  This may
confuse people who are accustomed to having the month
and day in the other order; \fB1/4/96\fR is January 4,
not April 1.
.SP
Remember to quote the argument to the \fB-D\fR
flag so that your shell doesn\(aqt interpret spaces as
argument separators.  A command using the \fB-D\fR
flag can look like this:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 4
$ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo

.PD
.IP "" 2
.SP
.IX "Forcing a tag match"
.IP "" 0
\fB-f\fR
.IP "" 2
When you specify a particular date or tag to \fBcvs\fR commands, they
normally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not
exist prior to the date) that you specified.  Use the \fB-f\fR 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).
.SP
Note that even with \fB-f\fR, a tag that you specify
must exist (that is, in some file, not necessary in
every file).  This is so that \fBcvs\fR will continue to
give an error if you mistype a tag name.
.SP
\fB-f\fR is available with these commands:
\fBannotate\fR, \fBcheckout\fR, \fBexport\fR,
\fBrdiff\fR, \fBrtag\fR, and \fBupdate\fR.
.SP
\fBWARNING:  The \fBcommit\fB and \fBremove\fB
commands also have a
\fB-f\fB option, but it has a different behavior for
those commands.  See `commit options\(aq in the CVS manual, and
`Removing files\(aq in the CVS manual.\fR
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-k \fIkflag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Alter the default processing of keywords.
See `Keyword substitution\(aq in the CVS manual, for the meaning of
\fIkflag\fR.  Your \fIkflag\fR specification is
\fIsticky\fR when you use it to create a private copy
of a source file; that is, when you use this option
with the \fBcheckout\fR or \fBupdate\fR commands,
\fBcvs\fR associates your selected \fIkflag\fR with the
file, and continues to use it with future update
commands on the same file until you specify otherwise.
.SP
The \fB-k\fR option is available with the \fBadd\fR,
\fBcheckout\fR, \fBdiff\fR, \fBrdiff\fR, \fBimport\fR and
\fBupdate\fR commands.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-l\fR
.IP "" 2
Local; run only in current working directory, rather than
recursing through subdirectories.
.SP
Available with the following commands: \fBannotate\fR, \fBcheckout\fR,
\fBcommit\fR, \fBdiff\fR, \fBedit\fR, \fBeditors\fR, \fBexport\fR,
\fBlog\fR, \fBrdiff\fR, \fBremove\fR, \fBrtag\fR,
\fBstatus\fR, \fBtag\fR, \fBunedit\fR, \fBupdate\fR, \fBwatch\fR,
and \fBwatchers\fR.
.SP
.IX "Editor, avoiding invocation of"
.IX "Avoiding editor invocation"
.IP "" 0
\fB-m \fImessage\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use \fImessage\fR as log information, instead of
invoking an editor.
.SP
Available with the following commands: \fBadd\fR,
\fBcommit\fR and \fBimport\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-n\fR
.IP "" 2
Do not run any tag program.  (A program can be
specified to run in the modules
database (see node `modules\(aq in the CVS manual); this option bypasses it).
.SP
\fBThis is not the same as the \fBcvs -n\fB
program option, which you can specify to the left of a cvs command!\fR
.SP
Available with the \fBcheckout\fR, \fBexport\fR,
and \fBrtag\fR commands.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-P\fR
.IP "" 2
Prune empty directories.  See `Removing directories\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-p\fR
.IP "" 2
Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output,
rather than writing them in the current directory.  Available
with the \fBcheckout\fR and \fBupdate\fR commands.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-R\fR
.IP "" 2
Process directories recursively.  This is on by default.
.SP
Available with the following commands: \fBannotate\fR, \fBcheckout\fR,
\fBcommit\fR, \fBdiff\fR, \fBedit\fR, \fBeditors\fR, \fBexport\fR,
\fBrdiff\fR, \fBremove\fR, \fBrtag\fR,
\fBstatus\fR, \fBtag\fR, \fBunedit\fR, \fBupdate\fR, \fBwatch\fR,
and \fBwatchers\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-r \fItag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
.IX "HEAD, special tag"
.IX "BASE, special tag"
Use the revision specified by the \fItag\fR argument instead of the
default \fIhead\fR revision.  As well as arbitrary tags defined
with the \fBtag\fR or \fBrtag\fR command, two special tags are
always available: \fBHEAD\fR refers to the most recent version
available in the repository, and \fBBASE\fR refers to the
revision you last checked out into the current working directory.
.SP
The tag specification is sticky when you use this
with \fBcheckout\fR or \fBupdate\fR to make your own
copy of a file: \fBcvs\fR remembers the tag and continues to use it on
future update commands, until you specify otherwise (for more information
on sticky tags/dates, see node `Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as
described in `Tags\(aq in the CVS manual, or the name of a branch, as
described in `Branching and merging\(aq in the CVS manual.
When a command expects a specific revision,
the name of a branch is interpreted as the most recent
revision on that branch.
.SP
Specifying the \fB-q\fR global option along with the
\fB-r\fR command option is often useful, to suppress
the warning messages when the \fBrcs\fR file
does not contain the specified tag.
.SP
\fBThis is not the same as the overall \fBcvs -r\fB option,
which you can specify to the left of a \fBcvs\fB command!\fR
.SP
\fB-r\fR is available with the \fBannotate\fR, \fBcheckout\fR,
\fBcommit\fR, \fBdiff\fR, \fBhistory\fR, \fBexport\fR, \fBrdiff\fR, 
\fBrtag\fR, and \fBupdate\fR commands.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-W\fR
.IP "" 2
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 \fB.cvswrappers\fR file.
Available with the following commands: \fBimport\fR,
and \fBupdate\fR.
.SP
.SP
.SH "add"
.SS "Add files and directories to the repository"
.IX "add (subcommand)"
.SP
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synopsis: add [-k rcs-kflag] [-m message] files...
.IP "\(bu" 2
Requires: repository, working directory.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Changes: repository, working directory.
.SP
The \fBadd\fR command is used to present new files
and directories for addition into the \fBcvs\fR
repository.  When \fBadd\fR is used on a directory,
a new directory is created in the repository
immediately.  When used on a file, only the working
directory is updated.  Changes to the repository are
not made until the \fBcommit\fR command is used on
the newly added file. 
.SP
The \fBadd\fR command also resurrects files that
have been previously removed.  This can be done
before or after the \fBcommit\fR command is used
to finalize the removal of files.  Resurrected files
are restored into the working directory at the time
the \fBadd\fR command is executed.
.SP
.SH "add options"
.SP
These standard options are supported by \fBadd\fR
(see node `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual, for a complete description of
them):
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-k \fIkflag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Process keywords according to \fIkflag\fR.  See
`Keyword substitution\(aq in the CVS manual.
This option is sticky; future updates of
this file in this working directory will use the same
\fIkflag\fR.  The \fBstatus\fR command can be viewed
to see the sticky options.  For more information on
the \fBstatus\fR command, see node `Invoking CVS\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-m \fImessage\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use \fImessage\fR as the log message, instead of
invoking an editor.
.SP
.SH "add examples"
.SP
.SS "Adding a directory"
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ mkdir doc
.IP "" 2
$ cvs add doc
.IP "" 2
Directory /path/to/repository/doc added to the repository

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
.SS "Adding a file"
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ >TODO
.IP "" 2
$ cvs add TODO
.IP "" 2
cvs add: scheduling file \`TODO\(aq for addition
.IP "" 2
cvs add: use \(aqcvs commit\(aq to add this file permanently

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
.SS "Undoing a \fBremove\fR command"
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ rm -f makefile
.IP "" 2
$ cvs remove makefile
.IP "" 2
cvs remove: scheduling \`makefile\(aq for removal
.IP "" 2
cvs remove: use \(aqcvs commit\(aq to remove this file permanently
.IP "" 2
$ cvs add makefile
.IP "" 2
U makefile
.IP "" 2
cvs add: makefile, version 1.2, resurrected

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
.SH "admin"
.SS "Administration"
.IX "Admin (subcommand)"
.SP
.IP "\(bu" 2
Requires: repository, working directory.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Changes: repository.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synonym: rcs
.SP
This is the \fBcvs\fR interface to assorted
administrative facilities.  Some of them have
questionable usefulness for \fBcvs\fR but exist for
historical purposes.  Some of the questionable options
are likely to disappear in the future.  This command
\fIdoes\fR work recursively, so extreme care should be
used.
.SP
.IX "cvsadmin"
On unix, if there is a group named \fBcvsadmin\fR,
only members of that group can run \fBcvs admin\fR
(except for the \fBcvs admin -k\fR command, which can
be run by anybody).  This group should exist on the
server, or any system running the non-client/server
\fBcvs\fR.  To disallow \fBcvs admin\fR for all users,
create a group with no users in it.  On NT, the
\fBcvsadmin\fR feature does not exist and all users
can run \fBcvs admin\fR.
.SP
.SH "admin options"
.SP
Some of these options have questionable usefulness for
\fBcvs\fR but exist for historical purposes.  Some even
make it impossible to use \fBcvs\fR until you undo the
effect!
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-A\fIoldfile\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Might not work together with \fBcvs\fR.  Append the
access list of \fIoldfile\fR to the access list of the
\fBrcs\fR file.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-a\fIlogins\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Might not work together with \fBcvs\fR.  Append the
login names appearing in the comma-separated list
\fIlogins\fR to the access list of the \fBrcs\fR file.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-b[\fIrev\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
Set the default branch to \fIrev\fR.  In \fBcvs\fR, you
normally do not manipulate default branches; sticky
tags (see node `Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual) are a better way to decide
which branch you want to work on.  There is one reason
to run \fBcvs admin -b\fR: to revert to the vendor\(aqs
version when using vendor branches (see node `Reverting
local changes\(aq in the CVS manual).
There can be no space between \fB-b\fR and its argument.
.SP
.IX "Comment leader"
.IP "" 0
\fB-c\fIstring\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Sets the comment leader to \fIstring\fR.  The comment
leader is not used by current versions of \fBcvs\fR or
\fBrcs\fR 5.7.  Therefore, you can almost surely not
worry about it.  See `Keyword substitution\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-e[\fIlogins\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
Might not work together with \fBcvs\fR.  Erase the login
names appearing in the comma-separated list
\fIlogins\fR from the access list of the RCS file.  If
\fIlogins\fR is omitted, erase the entire access list.
There can be no space between \fB-e\fR and its argument.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-I\fR
.IP "" 2
Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a
terminal.  This option does not work with the
client/server \fBcvs\fR and is likely to disappear in
a future release of \fBcvs\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-i\fR
.IP "" 2
Useless with \fBcvs\fR.  This creates and initializes a
new \fBrcs\fR file, without depositing a revision.  With
\fBcvs\fR, add files with the \fBcvs add\fR command
(see node `Adding files\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-k\fIsubst\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Set the default keyword
substitution to \fIsubst\fR.  See `Keyword
substitution\(aq in the CVS manual.  Giving an explicit \fB-k\fR option to
\fBcvs update\fR, \fBcvs export\fR, or \fBcvs
checkout\fR overrides this default.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-l[\fIrev\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
Lock the revision with number \fIrev\fR.  If a branch
is given, lock the latest revision on that branch.  If
\fIrev\fR is omitted, lock the latest revision on the
default branch.  There can be no space between
\fB-l\fR and its argument.
.SP
This can be used in conjunction with the
\fBrcslock.pl\fR script in the \fBcontrib\fR
directory of the \fBcvs\fR 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 \fBREADME\fR 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).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-L\fR
.IP "" 2
Set locking to strict.  Strict locking means that the
owner of an RCS file is not exempt from locking for
checkin.  For use with \fBcvs\fR, strict locking must be
set; see the discussion under the \fB-l\fR option above.
.SP
.IX "Changing a log message"
.IX "Replacing a log message"
.IX "Correcting a log message"
.IX "Fixing a log message"
.IX "Log message, correcting"
.IP "" 0
\fB-m\fIrev\fB:\fImsg\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Replace the log message of revision \fIrev\fR with
\fImsg\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-N\fIname\fB[:[\fIrev\fB]]\fR
.IP "" 2
Act like \fB-n\fR, except override any previous
assignment of \fIname\fR.  For use with magic branches,
see `Magic branch numbers\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-n\fIname\fB[:[\fIrev\fB]]\fR
.IP "" 2
Associate the symbolic name \fIname\fR with the branch
or revision \fIrev\fR.  It is normally better to use
\fBcvs tag\fR or \fBcvs rtag\fR instead.  Delete the
symbolic name if both \fB:\fR and \fIrev\fR are
omitted; otherwise, print an error message if
\fIname\fR is already associated with another number.
If \fIrev\fR is symbolic, it is expanded before
association.  A \fIrev\fR consisting of a branch number
followed by a \fB.\fR stands for the current latest
revision in the branch.  A \fB:\fR with an empty
\fIrev\fR stands for the current latest revision on the
default branch, normally the trunk.  For example,
\fBcvs admin -n\fIname\fB:\fR associates \fIname\fR with the
current latest revision of all the RCS files;
this contrasts with \fBcvs admin -n\fIname\fB:$\fR which
associates \fIname\fR with the revision numbers
extracted from keyword strings in the corresponding
working files.
.SP
.IX "Deleting revisions"
.IX "Outdating revisions"
.IX "Saving space"
.IP "" 0
\fB-o\fIrange\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Deletes (\fIoutdates\fR) the revisions given by
\fIrange\fR.
.SP
Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless
you know \fIexactly\fR what you are doing (for example
see the warnings below about how the
\fIrev1\fR:\fIrev2\fR syntax is confusing).
.SP
If you are short on disc this option might help you.
But think twice before using it\(emthere 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 \fBcvs\fR
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.
.SP
Specify \fIrange\fR in one of the following ways:
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB\fIrev1\fB::\fIrev2\fB\fR
.IP "" 4
Collapse all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that
\fBcvs\fR only stores the differences associated with going
from rev1 to rev2, not intermediate steps.  For
example, after \fB-o 1.3::1.5\fR 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:
\fB-o 1.3::1.4\fR and \fB-o 1.3::1.3\fR have no
effect, because there are no intermediate revisions to
remove.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB::\fIrev\fB\fR
.IP "" 4
Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch
containing \fIrev\fR and \fIrev\fR itself.  The
branchpoint and \fIrev\fR are left intact.  For
example, \fB-o ::1.3.2.6\fR 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.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB\fIrev\fB::\fR
.IP "" 4
Collapse revisions between \fIrev\fR and the end of the
branch containing \fIrev\fR.  Revision \fIrev\fR is
left intact but the head revision is deleted.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB\fIrev\fB\fR
.IP "" 4
Delete the revision \fIrev\fR.  For example, \fB-o
1.3\fR is equivalent to \fB-o 1.2::1.4\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB\fIrev1\fB:\fIrev2\fB\fR
.IP "" 4
Delete the revisions from \fIrev1\fR to \fIrev2\fR,
inclusive, on the same branch.  One will not be able to
retrieve \fIrev1\fR or \fIrev2\fR or any of the
revisions in between.  For example, the command
\fBcvs admin -oR_1_01:R_1_02 \&.\fR 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
\fIthe same\fR 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 \fIrev1\fR::\fIrev2\fR instead.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB:\fIrev\fB\fR
.IP "" 4
Delete revisions from the beginning of the
branch containing \fIrev\fR up to and including
\fIrev\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 2
\fB\fIrev\fB:\fR
.IP "" 4
Delete revisions from revision \fIrev\fR, including
\fIrev\fR itself, to the end of the branch containing
\fIrev\fR.
.SP
None of the revisions to be deleted may have
branches or locks.
.SP
If any of the revisions to be deleted have symbolic
names, and one specifies one of the \fB::\fR syntaxes,
then \fBcvs\fR 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 \fBcvs tag -d\fR, then run
\fBcvs admin -o\fR.  If one specifies the
non-\fB::\fR syntaxes, then \fBcvs\fR will delete the
revisions but leave the symbolic names pointing to
nonexistent revisions.  This behavior is preserved for
compatibility with previous versions of \fBcvs\fR, but
because it isn\(aqt very useful, in the future it may
change to be like the \fB::\fR case.
.SP
Due to the way \fBcvs\fR handles branches \fIrev\fR
cannot be specified symbolically if it is a branch.
See `Magic branch numbers\(aq in the CVS manual for an explanation.
.SP
Make sure that no-one has checked out a copy of the
revision you outdate.  Strange things will happen if he
starts to edit it and tries to check it back in.  For
this reason, this option is not a good way to take back
a bogus commit; commit a new revision undoing the bogus
change instead (see node `Merging two revisions\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-q\fR
.IP "" 2
Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-s\fIstate\fB[:\fIrev\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
Useful with \fBcvs\fR.  Set the state attribute of the
revision \fIrev\fR to \fIstate\fR.  If \fIrev\fR is a
branch number, assume the latest revision on that
branch.  If \fIrev\fR is omitted, assume the latest
revision on the default branch.  Any identifier is
acceptable for \fIstate\fR.  A useful set of states is
\fBExp\fR (for experimental), \fBStab\fR (for
stable), and \fBRel\fR (for released).  By default,
the state of a new revision is set to \fBExp\fR when
it is created.  The state is visible in the output from
\fIcvs log\fR (see node `log\(aq in the CVS manual), and in the
\fB$\fP\fPLog$\fR and \fB$\fP\fPState$\fR keywords
(see node `Keyword substitution\(aq in the CVS manual).  Note that \fBcvs\fR
uses the \fBdead\fR state for its own purposes (see node `Attic\(aq in the CVS manual); to
take a file to or from the \fBdead\fR state use
commands like \fBcvs remove\fR and \fBcvs add\fR
(see node `Adding and removing\(aq in the CVS manual), not \fBcvs admin -s\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-t[\fIfile\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
Useful with \fBcvs\fR.  Write descriptive text from the
contents of the named \fIfile\fR into the RCS file,
deleting the existing text.  The \fIfile\fR pathname
may not begin with \fB-\fR.  The descriptive text can be seen in the
output from \fBcvs log\fR (see node `log\(aq in the CVS manual).
There can be no space between \fB-t\fR and its argument.
.SP
If \fIfile\fR is omitted,
obtain the text from standard input, terminated by
end-of-file or by a line containing \fB.\fR by itself.
Prompt for the text if interaction is possible; see
\fB-I\fR.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-t-\fIstring\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Similar to \fB-t\fIfile\fB\fR. Write descriptive text
from the \fIstring\fR into the \fBrcs\fR file, deleting
the existing text.
There can be no space between \fB-t\fR and its argument.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-U\fR
.IP "" 2
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 \fBcvs\fR, strict locking must be
set; see the discussion under the \fB-l\fR option
above.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-u[\fIrev\fB]\fR
.IP "" 2
See the option \fB-l\fR above, for a discussion of
using this option with \fBcvs\fR.  Unlock the revision
with number \fIrev\fR.  If a branch is given, unlock
the latest revision on that branch.  If \fIrev\fR 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 \fBcommit\fR
notification (see node `Getting Notified\(aq in the CVS manual).
There can be no space between \fB-u\fR and its argument.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-V\fIn\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
In previous versions of \fBcvs\fR, this option meant to
write an \fBrcs\fR file which would be acceptable to
\fBrcs\fR version \fIn\fR, but it is now obsolete and
specifying it will produce an error.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-x\fIsuffixes\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
In previous versions of \fBcvs\fR, this was documented
as a way of specifying the names of the \fBrcs\fR
files.  However, \fBcvs\fR has always required that the
\fBrcs\fR files used by \fBcvs\fR end in \fB,v\fR, so
this option has never done anything useful.
.SP
.SP
.SH "annotate"
.SS "What revision modified each line of a file?"
.IX "annotate (subcommand)"
.SP
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synopsis: annotate [options] files\&...
.IP "\(bu" 2
Requires: repository.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synonym: blame
.IP "\(bu" 2
Changes: nothing.
.SP
For each file in \fIfiles\fR, print the head revision
of the trunk, together with information on the last
modification for each line.  
.SP
.SH "annotate options"
.SP
These standard options are supported by \fBannotate\fR
(see node `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual for a complete description of
them):
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-l\fR
.IP "" 2
Local directory only, no recursion.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-R\fR
.IP "" 2
Process directories recursively.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-f\fR
.IP "" 2
Use head revision if tag/date not found.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-F\fR
.IP "" 2
Annotate binary files.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-r \fIrevision\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Annotate file as of specified revision/tag.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-D \fIdate\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Annotate file as of specified date.
.SP
.SH "annotate example"
.SP
For example:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ cvs annotate ssfile
.IP "" 2
Annotations for ssfile
.IP "" 2
***************
.IP "" 2
1.1          (mary     27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1
.IP "" 2
1.2          (joe      28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
The file \fBssfile\fR currently contains two lines.
The \fBssfile line 1\fR line was checked in by
\fBmary\fR on March 27.  Then, on March 28, \fBjoe\fR
added a line \fBssfile line 2\fR, without modifying
the \fBssfile line 1\fR line.  This report doesn\(aqt
tell you anything about lines which have been deleted
or replaced; you need to use \fBcvs diff\fR for that
(see node `diff\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
The options to \fBcvs annotate\fR are listed in
`Invoking CVS\(aq in the CVS manual, and can be used to select the files
and revisions to annotate.  The options are described
in more detail there and in `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.SH "checkout"
.SS "Check out sources for editing"
.IX "checkout (subcommand)"
.IX "co (subcommand)"
.SP
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synopsis: checkout [options] modules\&...
.IP "\(bu" 2
Requires: repository.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Changes: working directory.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synonyms: co, get
.SP
Create or update a working directory containing copies of the
source files specified by \fImodules\fR.  You must execute
\fBcheckout\fR before using most of the other \fBcvs\fR
commands, since most of them operate on your working
directory.
.SP
The \fImodules\fR 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 \fBmodules\fR file.
See `modules\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
Depending on the modules you specify, \fBcheckout\fR 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.
.SP
Note that \fBcheckout\fR is used to create
directories.  The top-level directory created is always
added to the directory where \fBcheckout\fR 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
\fBcheckout\fR will show the relative path leading to
each file as it is extracted into your private work
area (unless you specify the \fB-Q\fR global option).
.SP
The files created by \fBcheckout\fR are created
read-write, unless the \fB-r\fR option to \fBcvs\fR
(see node `Global options\(aq in the CVS manual) is specified, the
\fBCVSREAD\fR environment variable is specified
(see node `Environment variables\(aq in the CVS manual), or a watch is in
effect for that file (see node `Watches\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
Note that running \fBcheckout\fR on a directory that was already
built by a prior \fBcheckout\fR is also permitted.
This is similar to specifying the \fB-d\fR option
to the \fBupdate\fR command in the sense that new
directories that have been created in the repository
will appear in your work area.
However, \fBcheckout\fR takes a module name whereas
\fBupdate\fR takes a directory name.  Also
to use \fBcheckout\fR this way it must be run from the
top level directory (where you originally ran
\fBcheckout\fR from), so before you run
\fBcheckout\fR to update an existing directory, don\(aqt
forget to change your directory to the top level
directory.
.SP
For the output produced by the \fBcheckout\fR command,
see node `update output\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.SH "checkout options"
.SP
These standard options are supported by \fBcheckout\fR
(see node `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual for a complete description of
them):
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-D \fIdate\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use the most recent revision no later than \fIdate\fR.
This option is sticky, and implies \fB-P\fR.  See
`Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual for more information on sticky tags/dates.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-f\fR
.IP "" 2
Only useful with the \fB-D \fIdate\fB\fR or \fB-r
\fItag\fB\fR flags.  If no matching revision is found,
retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring
the file).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-k \fIkflag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Process keywords according to \fIkflag\fR.  See
`Keyword substitution\(aq in the CVS manual.
This option is sticky; future updates of
this file in this working directory will use the same
\fIkflag\fR.  The \fBstatus\fR command can be viewed
to see the sticky options.  See `Invoking CVS\(aq in the CVS manual for
more information on the \fBstatus\fR command.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-l\fR
.IP "" 2
Local; run only in current working directory.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-n\fR
.IP "" 2
Do not run any checkout program (as specified
with the \fB-o\fR option in the modules file;
see node `modules\(aq in the CVS manual).
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-P\fR
.IP "" 2
Prune empty directories.  See `Moving directories\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-p\fR
.IP "" 2
Pipe files to the standard output.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-R\fR
.IP "" 2
Checkout directories recursively.  This option is on by default.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-r \fItag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Use revision \fItag\fR.  This option is sticky, and implies \fB-P\fR.
See `Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.
.SP
In addition to those, you can use these special command
options with \fBcheckout\fR:
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-A\fR
.IP "" 2
Reset any sticky tags, dates, or \fB-k\fR options.
Does not reset sticky \fB-k\fR options on modified files.
See `Sticky tags\(aq in the CVS manual for more information on sticky tags/dates.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-c\fR
.IP "" 2
Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output,
instead of creating or modifying any files or
directories in your working directory.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-d \fIdir\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Create a directory called \fIdir\fR for the working
files, instead of using the module name.  In general,
using this flag is equivalent to using \fBmkdir
\fIdir\fB; cd \fIdir\fB\fR followed by the checkout
command without the \fB-d\fR flag.
.SP
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\(aqt contain empty
intermediate directories.  In this case \fIonly\fR,
\fBcvs\fR tries to \`\`shorten\(aq\(aq pathnames to avoid those empty
directories.
.SP
For example, given a module \fBfoo\fR that contains
the file \fBbar.c\fR, the command \fBcvs co -d dir
foo\fR will create directory \fBdir\fR and place
\fBbar.c\fR inside.  Similarly, given a module
\fBbar\fR which has subdirectory \fBbaz\fR wherein
there is a file \fBquux.c\fR, the command \fBcvs co
-d dir bar/baz\fR will create directory \fBdir\fR and
place \fBquux.c\fR inside.
.SP
Using the \fB-N\fR flag will defeat this behavior.
Given the same module definitions above, \fBcvs co
-N -d dir foo\fR will create directories \fBdir/foo\fR
and place \fBbar.c\fR inside, while \fBcvs co -N -d
dir bar/baz\fR will create directories \fBdir/bar/baz\fR
and place \fBquux.c\fR inside.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-j \fItag\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
With two \fB-j\fR options, merge changes from the
revision specified with the first \fB-j\fR option to
the revision specified with the second \fBj\fR option,
into the working directory.
.SP
With one \fB-j\fR option, merge changes from the
ancestor revision to the revision specified with the
\fB-j\fR 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 \fB-j\fR option.
.SP
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:
\fB-j\fISymbolic_Tag\fB:\fIDate_Specifier\fB\fR.
.SP
See `Branching and merging\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-N\fR
.IP "" 2
Only useful together with \fB-d \fIdir\fB\fR.  With
this option, \fBcvs\fR will not \`\`shorten\(aq\(aq module paths
in your working directory when you check out a single
module.  See the \fB-d\fR flag for examples and a
discussion.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-s\fR
.IP "" 2
Like \fB-c\fR, but include the status of all modules,
and sort it by the status string.  See `modules\(aq in the CVS manual, for
info about the \fB-s\fR option that is used inside the
modules file to set the module status.
.SP
.SH "checkout examples"
.SP
Get a copy of the module \fBtc\fR:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ cvs checkout tc

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
Get a copy of the module \fBtc\fR as it looked one day
ago:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 2
$ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc

.PD
.IP "" 0
.SP
.SH "commit"
.SS "Check files into the repository"
.IX "commit (subcommand)"
.SP
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synopsis: commit [-lRf] [-m \(aqlog_message\(aq |
-F file] [-r revision] [files\&...]
.IP "\(bu" 2
Requires: working directory, repository.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Changes: repository.
.IP "\(bu" 2
Synonym: ci
.SP
Use \fBcommit\fR when you want to incorporate changes
from your working source files into the source
repository.
.SP
If you don\(aqt specify particular files to commit, all of
the files in your working current directory are
examined.  \fBcommit\fR is careful to change in the
repository only those files that you have really
changed.  By default (or if you explicitly specify the
\fB-R\fR option), files in subdirectories are also
examined and committed if they have changed; you can
use the \fB-l\fR option to limit \fBcommit\fR to the
current directory only.
.SP
\fBcommit\fR 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 \fBupdate\fR (see node `update\(aq in the CVS manual).
\fBcommit\fR does not call the \fBupdate\fR command
for you, but rather leaves that for you to do when the
time is right.
.SP
When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to
enter a log message that will be written to one or more
logging programs (see node `modules\(aq in the CVS manual, and see node `loginfo\(aq in the CVS manual)
and placed in the \fBrcs\fR file inside the
repository.  This log message can be retrieved with the
\fBlog\fR command; see node `log\(aq in the CVS manual.  You can specify the
log message on the command line with the \fB-m
\fImessage\fB\fR option, and thus avoid the editor invocation,
or use the \fB-F \fIfile\fB\fR option to specify
that the argument file contains the log message.
.SP
.SH "commit options"
.SP
These standard options are supported by \fBcommit\fR
(see node `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual for a complete description of
them):
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-l\fR
.IP "" 2
Local; run only in current working directory.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-R\fR
.IP "" 2
Commit directories recursively.  This is on by default.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-r \fIrevision\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Commit to \fIrevision\fR.  \fIrevision\fR must be
either a branch, or a revision on the main trunk that
is higher than any existing revision number
(see node `Assigning revisions\(aq in the CVS manual).  You
cannot commit to a specific revision on a branch.
.SP
\fBcommit\fR also supports these options:
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-F \fIfile\fB\fR
.IP "" 2
Read the log message from \fIfile\fR, instead
of invoking an editor.
.SP
.IP "" 0
\fB-f\fR
.IP "" 2
Note that this is not the standard behavior of
the \fB-f\fR option as defined in `Common options\(aq in the CVS manual.
.SP
Force \fBcvs\fR to commit a new revision even if you haven\(aqt
made any changes to the file.  If the current revision
of \fIfile\fR is 1.7, then the following two commands
are equivalent:
.SP
.PD 0
.SP
.IP "" 4
$ cvs commit -f \fIfile\fR
.IP "" 4
$ cvs commit -r 1.8 \fIfile\fR

.PD…