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10.1 CVS Command-Line Options

CVS supports a number of command-line options that you can use to control various aspects of CVS behavior. Command-specific options are described in Section 10.2, later in this chapter. This section focuses on options that you pass to the cvs executable itself, not to any specific CVS command.

The syntax of any CVS command is as follows:

cvs [cvs-options] [command] [command-options-and-arguments]

The cvs-options modify the behavior of the main CVS code, rather than the code for a specific command. The following options are valid:

-a

Authenticate all network traffic. Without this option, the initial connection for the command is authenticated, but later traffic along the same data stream is assumed to be from the same source.

This option is available only with GSS-API connections, but if you use ssh as your rsh replacement in the ext connection mode, ssh authenticates the data stream.

This option is supported if it is listed in cvs --help-options. The command-line client can be compiled to support it by using the --enable-client option to the configure script.

--allow-root=directory

Used as part of the inetd command string for server, kserver, and pserver connection methods. The directory is the repository root directory that the server allows connections to. Using --allow-root more than once in a command allows users to connect to any of the specified repositories.

-b=directory

Exists for backward compatibility with old versions of CVS and does nothing in current versions. It used to specify the directory for the RCS executables.

-d repository_path

Use repository_path as the path to the repository root directory. This option overrides both the CVSROOT environment variable and the contents of the Root file in the sandbox's CVS subdirectory. It also overrides the contents of the .cvsrc file.

The syntax for the repository path is :

[:method:][[[user][:password]@]hostname[:[port]]]/path

Chapter 9 contains a full explanation of each element of the repository path. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 contain simpler explanations of repository paths.

-e editor

Use the specified editor when CVS calls an editor for log information during the commit or import process. This option overrides the EDITOR, CVSEDITOR, and VISUAL environment variables and the contents of the .cvsrc file.

-f

Prevent CVS from reading the ~/.cvsrc file and using the options in it.

--help or -H

If called as cvs -H or cvs --help, CVS displays a general CVS help message.

If called as cvs -H command or cvs --help command, CVS displays the available options and help information for the specified command.

--help-commands

List the available CVS commands with brief descriptions of their purposes.

--help-options

List the available cvs-options with brief descriptions of their purposes.

--help-synonyms

List the valid synonyms (short names) for the CVS commands.

-l

Do not log the current command to the history file in the repository's CVSROOT directory. The command will not show in subsequent cvs history output.

-n

Execute only commands that do not change the repository. Using this option with cvs update can provide a status report on the current sandbox.

-q

Run in quiet mode. This option causes CVS to display only some of the informational messages.

-Q

Run in very quiet mode. This option causes CVS to display only the most critical information.

-r

Set files checked out to the sandbox as read-only. This option only sets newly checked-out files. If a file is being watched with cvs watch, read-only is the default. This option overrides settings in the .cvsrc file.

-s variable=value

Set a user variable for use with one of the scripting files in CVSROOT. The user variables are explained in Section 11.3 in Chapter 11 and in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.

-t

Display messages that trace the execution of the command. This option can be used with -n to determine precisely what a command does.

-T directory

Use the named directory to store temporary files. This option overrides environment variables or settings in the .cvsrc file.

--version or -v

Display CVS version and copyright information.

-w

Set files checked out to the sandbox as readable and writable. This option only sets the permissions of newly checked-out files and overrides the CVSREAD environment variable. This option overrides settings in the .cvsrc file.

-x

Encrypt all data that travels across the network between the client and the server. This option is currently available in GSS-API or Kerberos mode only, but if you use ssh as your rsh replacement in the ext connection mode, ssh encrypts the data stream.

This option is available only if the client supports it. It is supported if it is listed in cvs --help-options. You can compile the command-line client to support it by using the --enable-client and --enable-encryption options to the configure script.

-z #

Compress all network traffic by using the specfied gzip compression level (the # symbol represents a gzip level number). The compression levels range from 0 (no compression) to 9 (maximum compression). This option overrides settings in the .cvsrc file.

This option is available only if the client supports it. It is supported if it is listed in cvs --help-options. You can compile the command-line client to support it by using the --enable-client option to the configure script.


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