svn

Apache Subversion version control client

TLDR

Checkout a repository to a local directory

$ svn checkout [url] [path/to/directory]

Update the working copy to the latest revision

$ svn update

Add a file to version control

$ svn add [path/to/file]

Commit changes with a message

$ svn commit -m "[message]"

Show the status of the working copy

$ svn status

Show differences between working copy and repository

$ svn diff [path/to/file]

View the commit log for a file or directory

$ svn log [path]

Revert local changes to a file

$ svn revert [path/to/file]

SYNOPSIS

svn subcommand [options] [args]

svn is the official command-line client for Apache Subversion, a centralized version control system. It manages files and directories over time, tracking modifications and allowing retrieval of previous versions.The client communicates with a Subversion repository to perform operations like checking out working copies, committing changes, updating to latest revisions, and merging branches. Subversion supports atomic commits, versioned directories, and efficient binary file handling.Working copies maintain metadata in .svn directories, tracking the base revision and local modifications. The svn client uses this metadata to determine what has changed and what needs synchronization with the repository.

PARAMETERS

checkout (co)

Check out a working copy from a repository.

update (up)

Bring changes from the repository into the working copy.

add

Put files and directories under version control.

delete (del, rm)

Remove files and directories from version control.

commit (ci)

Send changes from your working copy to the repository.

status (st)

Print the status of working copy files and directories.

diff (di)

Display local modifications or differences between revisions.

log

Display commit log messages.

revert

Undo local modifications to a file or directory.

merge

Apply differences between two sources to a working copy path.

copy (cp)

Copy a file or directory in a working copy or repository.

move (mv)

Move or rename a file or directory.

info

Display information about a local or remote item.

blame (annotate)

Show author and revision information inline for each line.

-m, --message msg

Specify a log message for the commit.

-r, --revision rev

Specify a revision number or range (e.g., -r 100, -r 100:200).

-c, --change rev

Apply change from revision (syntactic sugar for -r rev-1:rev).

-q, --quiet

Print nothing, or only summary information.

-v, --verbose

Print extra information.

--depth arg

Limit operation scope: empty, files, immediates, or infinity.

--username user

Specify a username for authentication.

--password pass

Specify a password for authentication.

--non-interactive

Do no interactive prompting (useful for scripts).

INSTALL

sudo apt install subversion

sudo dnf install subversion

sudo pacman -S subversion

sudo apk add subversion

sudo zypper install subversion

brew install subversion

nix profile install nixpkgs#subversion

CAVEATS

Unlike Git, Subversion requires network access for most operations since history is stored on the server. The .svn directories in every subdirectory can cause issues when copying working copies. Use svn export instead of copying if you need a clean directory without version control metadata.

HISTORY

Subversion was created by CollabNet in 2000 as a replacement for CVS, addressing its limitations like atomic commits and versioned directories. The project was led by Karl Fogel, Ben Collins-Sussman, and Jim Blandy. Version 1.0 was released in February 2004. Subversion became an Apache Software Foundation project in 2010. While Git has largely supplanted it for open-source development, Subversion remains popular in enterprise environments.

svn