CVS Options

The CVS command line can include the following:

cvs options

which apply to the overall CVS program

a cvs command

which defines a particular task carried out by CVS

command options

to specify certain working modes for the CVS command.

command arguments

to specify which file to act on.

The options must be put relative to the CVS command as the same option name can mean different things: CVS options go to the left of the CVS command, command options go to the right of the CVS command. Here is a list of essential CVS options:

-d cvs_root_directory

Use cvs_root_directory as the root directory pathname of the master source repository. Overrides the setting of the CVSROOT environment variable. This value should be specified as an absolute pathname. In the Cactus checkout procedure, you specify the Cactus CVS server:
-d :pserver:cvs_anon@cvs.cactuscode.org:/cactus/

-z compression-level

When transferring files across the network use gzip with compression level compression-level to compress and decompress data as it is transferred. Requires the presence of the GNU gzip program in the current search path at both ends of the link.

-n

Do not change any file. Attempt to execute the CVS command but only to issue reports. Does not remove, update, etc. any files. Very effective for testing.

-v

Displays version information of the installed CVS.

-H cvs-command

Displays usage information about the specified CVS command. Without cvs-command, a list of all available commands is returned.

Here is a list of essential command options with the commands they are used with. They go after the CVS command. For a more complete list of all options, please refer to the manual page.

-P

Prune (remove) directories that are empty after being updated, on checkout, or update. Normally, an empty directory (one that is void of revision controlled files) is left alone. Specifying -P will cause these directories to be silently removed from the sources you have checked out. This does not remove the directory from the repository, only from your checked out copy.

-m "Text"

Specify a logging message explaining changes, etc. on commit, import. If you do not specify a message, your default editor is invoked to allow you to enter one.

-d

Use this option with the update command to create any directories if they are missing from your local copy. This is normally the case if another user has added files or directories to the repository. By default the update command only acts on files in your local copy. Note that omitting this option is a frequent cause of files missing during compilation. (You can change this default behavior of CVS by putting a .cvsrc in your home directory with the contents ``update -d''.)