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(cvsbook.info)Run Control Files

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Run Control Files
=================

There are a few files on the client (working copy) side that affect
CVS's behavior.  In some cases, they are analogs of repository
administrative files; in other cases, they control behaviors that are
only appropriate for the client side.

`.cvsrc'
--------

Specifies options that you want to be used automatically with every CVS
command.  The format of each line is

COMMAND OPTIONS

where each COMMAND is an unabbreviated CVS command, such as checkout or
update (but not co or up).  The OPTIONS are those that you want to
always be in effect when you run that command.  Here is a common
`.cvsrc' line:

     update -d -P

To specify global options, simple use cvs as the COMMAND.

`.cvsignore'
------------

Specifies additional ignore patterns.  (See Note: cvsignore in the
Note: Repository Administrative Files section in this chapter for the
syntax.)

You can have a .cvsignore file in your home directory, which will apply
every time you use CVS.  You can also have directory-specific ones in
each project directory of a working copy (these last only apply to the
directory where the .cvsignore is located, and not to its
subdirectories).

(See Note: $CVSIGNORE in the section Note: Environment Variables in
this chapter, for a fuller discussion of ignore processing.)

`.cvspass'
----------

Stores passwords for each repository accessed via the pserver method.
Each line is of the form:

REPOSITORY LIGHTLY_SCRAMBLED_PASSWORD

The password is essentially stored in cleartext - a very mild
scrambling is done to prevent accidental compromises (such as the root
user unintentionally looking inside the file).  However, this scrambling
will not deter any serious-minded person from gaining the password if
they get access to the file.

The .cvspass file is portable.  You can copy it from one machine to
another and have all of your passwords at the new machine, without ever
having run cvs login there.  (See also the Note: login and Note:
logout commands.)

`.cvswrappers'
--------------

This is a client side version of the cvswrappers file.  (See the Note:
Repository Administrative Files section in this chapter.)  There can
be a `.cvswrappers' file in your home directory and in each directory
of a working copy directory, just as with `.cvsignore'.