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(cvs.info)File status

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File status
===========

   Based on what operations you have performed on a checked out file,
and what operations others have performed to that file in the
repository, one can classify a file in a number of states.  The states,
as reported by the `status' command, are:

Up-to-date
     The file is identical with the latest revision in the repository
     for the branch in use.

Locally Modified
     You have edited the file, and not yet committed your changes.

Locally Added
     You have added the file with `add', and not yet committed your
     changes.

Locally Removed
     You have removed the file with `remove', and not yet committed
     your changes.

Needs Checkout
     Someone else has committed a newer revision to the repository.
     The name is slightly misleading; you will ordinarily use `update'
     rather than `checkout' to get that newer revision.

Needs Patch
     Like Needs Checkout, but the CVS server will send a patch rather
     than the entire file.  Sending a patch or sending an entire file
     accomplishes the same thing.

Needs Merge
     Someone else has committed a newer revision to the repository, and
     you have also made modifications to the file.

File had conflicts on merge
     This is like Locally Modified, except that a previous `update'
     command gave a conflict.  If you have not already done so, you
     need to resolve the conflict as described in Note: Conflicts
     example.

Unknown
     CVS doesn't know anything about this file.  For example, you have
     created a new file and have not run `add'.

   To help clarify the file status, `status' also reports the `Working
revision' which is the revision that the file in the working directory
derives from, and the `Repository revision' which is the latest
revision in the repository for the branch in use.

   The options to `status' are listed in Note: Invoking CVS.  For
information on its `Sticky tag' and `Sticky date' output, see Note:
Sticky tags.  For information on its `Sticky options' output, see the
`-k' option in Note: update options.

   You can think of the `status' and `update' commands as somewhat
complementary.  You use `update' to bring your files up to date, and you
can use `status' to give you some idea of what an `update' would do (of
course, the state of the repository might change before you actually run
`update').  In fact, if you want a command to display file status in a
more brief format than is displayed by the `status' command, you can
invoke

     $ cvs -n -q update

   The `-n' option means to not actually do the update, but merely to
display statuses; the `-q' option avoids printing the name of each
directory.  For more information on the `update' command, and these
options, see Note: Invoking CVS.