Setting Up Command Line CVS

The command line is a tried-and-true way to do CVS. Maybe not as flashy as a GUI, but it works.

Command Line. If you want to use the command line under windows, you should download and install the Cygwin utilities. The linked page includes an installer; make sure that SSH is included in the install. Typically cygwin is installed under c:\cygwin, and the binary executable files are installed in c:\cygwin\bin. Make sure the PATH environment variable defined in the Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables. Include the directory that has the Cygwin binaries in it (typically c:\cygwin\bin) in the semicolon-delimited list of directories. The changes to the environment variables won't ripple through to any DOS windows that are already open; open a new DOS window and type "echo %PATH%", and ensure that the cygwin directory is included.

Once you have installed the utilities and ensured that the directory containing the cygwin executables in included in the PATH environment variable, type the following:

cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@xmsf.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/xmsf co -P moduleName

You will see text scroll across the screen as the download proceeds.

On Unix or Linux machines the CVS command is typically already installed. Under Mac OS X you may need to install the OS X Developer Tools. Downloading the developer tools requires a free developer registration with Apple. Once installed the cvs command is available from the Terminal application window.