Essential CVS

Name

watch — Synonyms: none

Synopsis

cvs [cvs-options] watch {on|off|add|remove} [-lR] [-a action] [files...]

Sets files to be watched or adds users to the file watch list. Users who are watching a file are notified via the script in the notify file in the repository’s CVSROOT directory when other users perform specific actions. Chapter 5 explains uses of the cvs watch family of commands.

Tip

CVS does not notify you of your own changes.

See also edit, editors, unedit, and watchers.

Command options

on and off

The on and off subcommands control whether the file or files are marked as being watched. If a file is marked as being watched, CVS sets it as read-only when it is checked out of the repository. Without this read-only setting, your developers might forget to use cvs edit when editing a file.

If the argument is a directory, all current files in the directory and all new files added to that directory in the future are set as being watched.

The on and off subcommands set whether a file is watchable, but they do not set who is watching it.

add and remove

Use the add and remove subcommands to set or remove files you want to watch. Use the -a option to specify which actions you want to be notified of.

The add and remove subcommands set whether or not you are watching a file.

-a action

Notify the user when the designated actions occur to the file. Each -a designates one possible action. The -a option can be repeated to designate multiple actions. The -a option is usable only with the add and ...