Short CVS command summary

To obtain a local checked out copy of a portion of the repository, use:

    cvs checkout <module>

or

    cvs co <module>

To change the directory CVS creates for those files, use the -d option after "checkout" or "co". CVS will need to know the path to the repository, so make sure the environment variable CVSROOT is set (generally to /afs/ir/dev/cvs).

To release and delete a checked out copy, use:

    cvs release -d <directory>

To update a checked out copy from the repository, getting new versions of files and merging changes into modified versions of files as necessary, use:

    cvs update

(optionally giving it a specific filename or directory). To just see what's different between your copy and the repository without changing anything, use:

    cvs -n update

To commit changes to a file (or set of files) to the repository, use:

    cvs commit <file>

CVS will open an editor window (vi by default) into which you should enter a log message. If multiple files are given on the command line, they'll all have the same log message (provided they're all in the same directory).

To add a new file to the repository, create it first and then use:

    cvs add -m'Brief description.' <file>
    cvs commit <file>

To mark a file as deleted in the repository, use:

    cvs remove -f <file>
    cvs commit <file>

Warning: This will also delete the file in your local copy.

To see the changes between a locally modified file and the last committed revision, use:

    cvs diff <file>

(diff -u for a unified context diff).