checkout

Synopsis: checkout [OPTIONS] PROJECT(S)

• Alternate names – co, get
• Requires – Repository
• Changes – Current directory

Checks out a module from the repository into a working copy. The working copy is created if it doesn't exist already and updated if it does. (See also update.)

Options:

• -A – Resets any sticky tags, sticky dates, or sticky -k (RCS keyword substitution mode) options. This is like the -A option to update and is probably more often used there than with checkout.
• -c – Doesn't check anything out; just prints the CVSROOT/modules file, sorted, on standard output. This is a good way to get an overview of what projects are in a repository. However, a project without an entry in modules does not appear (this situation is quite normal because the name of the project's top-level directory in the repository functions as the project's "default" module name).
• -D DATE – Checks out the latest revisions no later than DATE. This option is sticky, so you won't be able to commit from the working copy without resetting the sticky date. (See -A.) This option also implies -P, described later.
• -d DIR – Creates the working copy in a directory named DIR, instead of creating a directory with the same name as the checked-out module. If you check out only a portion of a project and the portion is located somewhere beneath the project's top level, the locally empty intermediate directories are omitted. You can use -N to suppress this directory-collapsing behavior.
• -f – Forces checkout of the head revision if the specified tag or date is not found. Most often used in combination with -D or -r to ensure that something always gets checked out.
• -j REV[:DATE] or -j REV1[:DATE] -j REV2[:DATE] – Joins (merges) two lines of development. This is just like the -j option to update, where it is more commonly used. (See update for details.)
• -k MODE – Substitutes RCS keywords according to MODE (which can override the default modes for the files). (See the section Keyword Substitution (RCS Keywords) later in this chapter for valid modes.) The mode chosen will be sticky – future updates of the working copy will keep that mode.
• -l – Local. Checks out the top-level directory of the project only. Does not process subdirectories.
• -N – Suppresses collapsing of empty directories with -d option. (See -d.)
• -n – Doesn't run any checkout program that was specified with -o in CVSROOT/modules. (See the section Repository Administrative Files later in this chapter for more on this.)
• -P – Prunes empty directories from the working copy (like the -P option to update).
• -p – Checks files out to standard output, not into files (like the -p option to update).
• -R – Checks out subdirectories as well (the default). (See also the -f option.)
• -r TAG – Checks out the project as of revision TAG (it would make almost no sense to specify a numeric revision for TAG, although CVS lets you). This option is sticky and implies -P.
• -s – Like -c, but shows the status of each module and sorts by status. (See modules in the section Repository Administrative Files for more information.)