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Common command options

This section describes the `command_options' that are available across several CVS commands. These options are always given to the right of `cvs_command'. 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 CVS command to the other).

Warning: the `history' command is an exception; it supports many options that conflict even with these standard options.

-D date_spec
Use the most recent revision no later than date_spec. date_spec is a single argument, a date description specifying a date in the past.

The specification is sticky when you use it to make a private copy of a source file; that is, when you get a working file using `-D', CVS records the date you specified, so that further updates in the same directory will use the same date (unless you explicitly override it; see section update--Bring work tree in sync with repository).

A wide variety of date formats are supported by the underlying RCS facilities, similar to those described in co(1), but not exactly the same. The date_spec is interpreted as being in the local timezone, unless a specific timezone is specified. Examples of valid date specifications include: 

                    1 month ago
                    2 hours ago
                    400000 seconds ago
                    last year
                    last Monday
                    yesterday
                    a fortnight ago
                    3/31/92 10:00:07 PST
                    January 23, 1987 10:05pm
                    22:00 GMT

`-D' is available with the checkout, diff, export, history, rdiff, rtag, and update commands. (The history command uses this option in a slightly different way; see section history options).

Remember to quote the argument to the `-D' flag so that your shell doesn't interpret spaces as argument separators. A command using the `-D' flag can look like this: 

$ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo

-f
When you specify a particular date or tag to CVS commands, they normally ignore files that do not contain the tag (or did not exist prior to the date) that you specified. Use the `-f' 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).

`-f' is available with these commands: checkout, export, rdiff, rtag, and update.

Warning: The commit command also has a `-f' option, but it has a different behavior for that command. See section commit options.

-H
Help; describe the options available for this command. This is the only option supported for all CVS commands.

-k kflag
Alter the default RCS processing of keywords. See section Keyword substitution, for the meaning of kflag. Your kflag specification is sticky when you use it to create a private copy of a source file; that is, when you use this option with the checkout or update commands, CVS associates your selected kflag with the file, and continues to use it with future update commands on the same file until you specify otherwise.

The `-k' option is available with the add, checkout, diff and update commands.

-l
Local; run only in current working directory, rather than recursing through subdirectories.

Warning: this is not the same as the overall `cvs -l' option, which you can specify to the left of a cvs command!

Available with the following commands: checkout, commit, diff, export, log, remove, rdiff, rtag, status, tag, and update.

-m message
Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.

Available with the following commands: add, commit and import.

-n
Do not run any checkout/commit/tag program. (A program can be specified to run on each of these activities, in the modules database (see section The modules file); this option bypasses it).

Warning: this is not the same as the overall `cvs -n' option, which you can specify to the left of a cvs command!

Available with the checkout, commit, export, and rtag commands.

-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 your checked-out sources. This does not remove the directory from the repository, only from your checked out copy. Note that this option is implied by the `-r' or `-D' options of checkout and export.

-p
Pipe the files retrieved from the repository to standard output, rather than writing them in the current directory. Available with the checkout and update commands.

-Q
Cause the command to be really quiet; the command will only generate output for serious problems. Available with the following commands: checkout, import, export, rdiff, rtag, tag, and update.

-q
Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages, such as reports of recursion through subdirectories, are suppressed. Available with the following commands: checkout, import, export, rtag, tag, and update.

-r tag
Use the revision specified by the tag argument instead of the default head revision. As well as arbitrary tags defined with the tag or rtag command, two special tags are always available: `HEAD' refers to the most recent version available in the repository, and `BASE' refers to the revision you last checked out into the current working directory.

The tag specification is sticky when you use this option with checkout or update to make your own copy of a file: CVS remembers the tag and continues to use it on future update commands, until you specify otherwise. The tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag. See section Tags--Symbolic revisions.

Specifying the `-q' option along with the `-r' option is often useful, to suppress the warning messages when the RCS history file does not contain the specified tag.

Warning: this is not the same as the overall `cvs -r' option, which you can specify to the left of a cvs command!

`-r' is available with the checkout, commit, diff, history, export, rdiff, rtag, and update commands.

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