<h2>Command Line Interface Reference</h2>

The <code>fossil</code> program supplies most of the actual
documentation about its options, so a good way to start documenting
the program is to nab the output of <code>fossil help
for all of its (exposed) cli.

<i>This was suggested under the <b>Reference</b> heading in
[Documentation outline].

If you are trying to find information about fossil's web capabilities,
see the <a Home</a> and
<a Wiki</a> pages for pointers.

<h3>Things to note</h3>
Fossil cli commands do not use special delimeters, they use spaces.
This is traditional with VCS/SCM.  Some <i>options</i> to fossil commands
<i>do</i> use special delimiters, particularly the '-' (hyphen, or dash)
character.  This is very similar to Tcl.

Any fossil command is acceptable once enough of it has been
entered to make the intent unambiguous.  'clo' is a proper prefix of
both the 'clone' and 'close' commands, for instance, but 'clon' is
enough to make the intent&#8212;the 'clone' command&#8212;unambiguous.

You should probably start interacting with fossil at the command line
by asking it what it can do:

<code>$ fossil help</code><nowiki><pre>
Usage: fossil help COMMAND.
Available COMMANDs:
add            commit         http           rebuild        tag
all            configuration  info           reconstruct    timeline
cgi            deconstruct    leaves         redo           ui
changes        del            ls             revert         undo
checkout       descendants    merge          rm             unset
ci             diff           new            server         update
clean          extra          open           settings       user
clone          gdiff          pull           status         version
close          help           push           sync           wiki
This is fossil version [c6a9e4ed41] 2008-11-04 12:13:09 UTC


<b>What follows</b> is a survey of what you get if you type
for all of the
commands listed above.  There are links to individual pages for each
of them; pages with content (not all of them are done) go into the command
in a bit more depth than the program help.
<nowiki><pre>

Usage: </nowiki><code>[fossil add]</code><nowiki> FILE...

Make arrangements to add one or more files to the current checkout
at the next commit.


Usage: fossil add (list|pull|push|sync)</pre><code><i>Note that this
should be for the "</nowiki>[fossil all]<nowiki>" command, not the "add"
command.  This bug has been fixed as of

The ~/.fossil file records the location of all repositories for a
user.  This command performs certain operations on all repositories
that can be useful before or after a period of disconnection operation.
Available operations are:

   list       Display the location of all repositories

   pull       Run a "pull" operation on all repositories

   push       Run a "push" on all repositories

   rebuild    Rebuild on all repositories

   sync       Run a "sync" on all repositories

Respositories are automatically added to the set of known repositories
when one of the following commands against the repository: clone, info,
pull, push, or sync


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil cgi]<nowiki> SCRIPT

The SCRIPT argument is the name of a file that is the CGI script
that is being run.  The command name, "cgi", may be omitted if
the GATEWAY_INTERFACE environment variable is set to "CGI" (which
should always be the case for CGI scripts run by a webserver.)  The
SCRIPT file should look something like this:


     repository:

The second line defines the name of the repository.  After locating
the repository, fossil will generate a webpage on stdout based on
the values of standard CGI environment variables.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil changes]<nowiki>

Report on the edit status of all files in the current checkout.
See also the "status" and "extra" commands.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil checkout]<nowiki> VERSION ?-f|--force?

Check out a version specified on the command-line.  This command
will not overwrite edited files in the current checkout unless
the --force option appears on the command-line.

See also the "update" command.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil commit]<nowiki> ?-m COMMENT? ?--nosign? ?FILE...?
       fossil ci  ...  (as above)

Create a new version containing all of the changes in the current
checkout.  You will be prompted to enter a check-in comment unless
the "-m" option is used to specify a comment line.  You will be
prompted for your GPG passphrase in order to sign the new manifest
unless the "--nosign" options is used.  All files that have
changed will be committed unless some subset of files is specified
on the command line.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil clean]<nowiki> ?-all?

Delete all "extra" files in the source tree.  "Extra" files are
files that are not officially part of the checkout.  See also
the "extra" command. This operation cannot be undone.

You will be prompted before removing each file. If you are
sure you wish to remove all "extra" files you can specify the
optional -all flag.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil clone]<nowiki> URL FILENAME

Make a clone of a repository specified by URL in the local
file named FILENAME.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil close]<nowiki> ?-f|--force?

The opposite of "open".  Close the current database connection.
Require a -f or --force flag if there are unsaved changed in the
current check-out.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil configure]<nowiki> METHOD ...

Where METHOD is one of: export import merge pull push reset.  All methods
accept the -R or --repository option to specific a repository.

   fossil configuration export AREA FILENAME

        Write to FILENAME exported configuraton information for AREA.
        AREA can be one of:  all ticket skin project

   fossil configuration import FILENAME

        Read a configuration from FILENAME, overwriting the current
        configuration.

   fossil configuration merge FILENAME

        Read a configuration from FILENAME and merge its values into
        the current configuration.  Existing values take priority over
        values read from FILENAME.

   fossil configuration pull AREA ?URL?

        Pull and install the configuration from a different server
        identified by URL.  If no URL is specified, then the default
        server is used.

   fossil configuration push AREA ?URL?

        Push the local configuration into the remote server identified
        by URL.  Admin privilege is required on the remote server for
        this to work.

   fossil configuration reset AREA

        Restore the configuration to the default.  AREA as above.

WARNING: Do not import, merge, or pull configurations from an untrusted
source.  The inbound configuration is not checked for safety and can
introduce security vulnerabilities.


COMMAND: deconstruct
Usage: </nowiki>[fossil deconstruct]<nowiki> ?-R|--repository REPOSITORY? DESTINATION

Populates the indicated DESTINATION directory with copies of all
artifcats contained within the repository.  Artifacts are named AA/bbbbb
where AA is the first 2 characters of the artifact ID and bbbbb is the
remaining 38 characters.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil rm]<nowiki> FILE...
   or: fossil del FILE...
Remove one or more files from the tree.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil descendants]<nowiki> ?BASELINE-ID?

Find all leaf descendants of the baseline specified or if the argument
is omitted, of the baseline currently checked out.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil diff]<nowiki>|gdiff ?-i? ?-r REVISION? FILE...

Show the difference between the current version of a file (as it
exists on disk) and that same file as it was checked out.

diff will show a textual diff while gdiff will attempt to run a
graphical diff command that you have setup. If the choosen command
is not yet configured, the internal textual diff command will be
used.

If -i is supplied for either diff or gdiff, the internal textual
diff command will be executed.

Here are a few external diff command settings, for example:

  fossil setting diff-command diff

  fossil setting gdiff-command tkdiff
  fossil setting gdiff-command eskill22
  fossil setting gdiff-command tortoisemerge
  fossil setting gdiff-command meld
  fossil setting gdiff-command xxdiff
  fossil setting gdiff-command kdiff3


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil extra]<nowiki>

Print a list of all files in the source tree that are not part of
the current checkout.  See also the "clean" command.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil help]<nowiki> COMMAND

Display information on how to use COMMAND


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil http]<nowiki> REPOSITORY

Handle a single HTTP request appearing on stdin.  The resulting webpage
is delivered on stdout.  This method is used to launch an HTTP request
handler from inetd, for example.  The argument is the name of the
repository.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil info]<nowiki> ?ARTIFACT-ID|FILENAME?

With no arguments, provide information about the current tree.
If an argument is specified, provide information about the object
in the respository of the current tree that the argument refers
to.  Or if the argument is the name of a repository, show
information about that repository.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil leaves]<nowiki>

Find leaves of all branches.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil ls]<nowiki>

Show the names of all files in the current checkout


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil merge]<nowiki> VERSION

The argument is a version that should be merged into the current
checkout.

Only file content is merged.  The result continues to use the
file and directory names from the current check-out even if those
names might have been changed in the branch being merged in.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil new]<nowiki> FILENAME

Create a repository for a new project in the file named FILENAME.
This command is distinct from "clone".  The "clone" command makes
a copy of an existing project.  This command starts a new project.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil open]<nowiki> FILENAME

Open a connection to the local repository in FILENAME.  A checkout
for the repository is created with its root at the working directory.
See also the "close" command.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil pull]<nowiki> ?URL? ?-R|--respository REPOSITORY?

Pull changes in a remote repository into the local repository.
The repository is identified by the -R or --repository option.
If there is no such option then the open repository is used.
The URL of the remote server is specified on the command line
If no URL is specified then the URL used by the most recent
"pull", "push", or "sync" command is used.

The URL is of the following form:


The "USER@" and ":PORT" substrings are optional.
The "USER" substring specifies the login user.  You will be
prompted for the password on the command-line.  The PORT
specifies the TCP port of the server.  The default port is
80.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil push]<nowiki> ?URL? ?-R|--repository REPOSITORY?

Push changes in the local repository over into a remote repository.
See the "pull" command for additional information.

Usage: </nowiki>[fossil rebuild]<nowiki> REPOSITORY

Reconstruct the named repository database from the core
records.  Run this command after updating the fossil
executable in a way that changes the database schema.


COMMAND: reconstruct
Usage: </nowiki>[fossil reconstruct]<nowiki> REPOSITORY ORIGIN

Creates the REPOSITORY and populates it with the artifacts in the
indicated ORIGIN directory.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil redo]<nowiki> ?FILENAME...?

Redo the an update or merge operation that has been undone by the
undo command.  If FILENAME is specified then restore the changes
associated with the named file(s) but otherwise leave the update
or merge undone.

A single level of undo/redo is supported.  The undo/redo stack
is cleared by the commit and checkout commands.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil revert]<nowiki> ?--yes? ?-r REVISION? FILE

Revert to the current repository version of FILE, or to
the version associated with baseline REVISION if the -r flag
appears.  This command will confirm your operation unless the
file is missing or the --yes option is used.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil server]<nowiki> ?-P|--port TCPPORT? ?REPOSITORY?
   Or: fossil ui ?-P|--port TCPPORT? ?REPOSITORY?

Open a socket and begin listening and responding to HTTP requests on
TCP port 8080, or on any other TCP port defined by the -P or
--port option.  The optional argument is the name of the repository.
The repository argument may be omitted if the working directory is
within an open checkout.

The "ui" command automatically starts a web browser after initializing
the web server.


COMMAND: settings
COMMAND: unset
Usage: </nowiki>[fossil setting]<nowiki> ?PROPERTY? ?VALUE? ?-global?
       fossil unset PROPERTY ?-global?

The "setting" command with no arguments lists all properties and their
values.  With just a property name it shows the value of that property.
With a value argument it changes the property for the current repository.

The "unset" command clears a property setting.

   autosync         If enabled, automatically pull prior to
                    commit or update and automatically push
                    after commit or tag or branch creation.

   diff-command     External command to run when performing a diff.
                    If undefined, the internal text diff will be used.

   editor           Text editor command used for check-in comments.

   gdiff-command    External command to run when performing a graphical
                    diff. If undefined, text diff will be used.

   localauth        If enabled, require that HTTP connections from
                    be authenticated by password.  If
                    false, all HTTP requests from localhost have
                    unrestricted access to the repository.

   clearsign        When enabled (the default), fossil will attempt to
                    sign all commits with gpg.  When disabled, commits will
                    be unsigned.

   pgp-command      Command used to clear-sign manifests at check-in.
                    The default is "gpg --clearsign -o ".

   proxy            URL of the HTTP proxy.  If undefined or "off" then
                    the "http_proxy" environment variable is consulted.
                    If the http_proxy environment variable is undefined
                    then a direct HTTP connection is used.

   web-browser      A shell command used to launch your preferred
                    web browser when given a URL as an argument.
                    Defaults to "start" on windows, "open" on Mac,
                    and "firefox" on Unix.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil status]<nowiki>

Report on the status of the current checkout.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil sync]<nowiki> ?URL? ?-R|--repository REPOSITORY?

Synchronize the local repository with a remote repository.  This is
the equivalent of running both "push" and "pull" at the same time.
See the "pull" command for additional information.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil tag]<nowiki> SUBCOMMAND ...

Run various subcommands to control tags and properties

    fossil tag add ?--raw? TAGNAME BASELINE ?VALUE?

        Add a new tag or property to BASELINE. The tag will
        be usable instead of a BASELINE in commands such as
        update and merge.

    fossil tag branch ?--raw? ?--nofork? TAGNAME BASELINE ?VALUE?

        A fork will be created so that the new checkin
        is a sibling of BASELINE and identical to it except
        for a generated comment. Then the new tag will
        be added to the new checkin and propagated to
        all direct children.  Additionally all symbolic
        tags of that checkin inherited from BASELINE will
        be cancelled.

        However, if the option --nofork is given, no
        fork will be created and the tag/property will be
        added to BASELINE directly. No tags will be canceled.

    fossil tag cancel ?--raw? TAGNAME BASELINE

        Remove the tag TAGNAME from BASELINE, and also remove
        the propagation of the tag to any descendants.

    fossil tag find ?--raw? TAGNAME

        List all baselines that use TAGNAME

    fossil tag list ?--raw? ?BASELINE?

        List all tags, or if BASELINE is supplied, list
        all tags and their values for BASELINE.

The option --raw allows the manipulation of all types of
tags used for various internal purposes in fossil. You
should not use this option to make changes unless you are
sure what you are doing.

If you need to use a tagname that might be confused with
a hexadecimal baseline or artifact ID, you can explicitly
disambiguate it by prefixing it with "tag:". For instance:

  fossil update decaf

will be taken as an artifact or baseline ID and fossil will
probably complain that no such revision was found. However

  fossil update tag:decaf

will assume that "decaf" is a tag/branch name.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil timeline]<nowiki> ?WHEN? ?BASELINE|DATETIME? ?-n|--count N?

Print a summary of activity going backwards in date and time
specified or from the current date and time if no arguments
are given.  Show as many as N (default 20) check-ins.  The
WHEN argument can be any unique abbreviation of one of these
keywords:

    before
    after
    descendants | children
    ancestors | parents

The BASELINE can be any unique prefix of 4 characters or more.
The DATETIME should be in the ISO8601 format.  For
examples: "2007-08-18 07:21:21".  You can also say "current"
for the current version or "now" for the current time.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil undo]<nowiki> ?FILENAME...?

Undo the most recent update or merge operation.  If FILENAME is
specified then restore the content of the named file(s) but otherwise
leave the update or merge in effect.

A single level of undo/redo is supported.  The undo/redo stack
is cleared by the commit and checkout commands.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil update]<nowiki> ?VERSION? ?--latest?

The optional argument is a version that should become the current
version.  If the argument is omitted, then use the leaf of the
tree that begins with the current version, if there is only a
single leaf.  If there are a multiple leaves, the latest is used
if the --latest flag is present.

This command is different from the "checkout" in that edits are
not overwritten.  Edits are merged into the new version.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil user]<nowiki> SUBCOMMAND ...  ?-R|--repository FILE?

Run various subcommands on users of the open repository or of
the repository identified by the -R or --repository option.

   fossil user capabilities USERNAME ?STRING?

       Query or set the capabilities for user USERNAME

   fossil user default ?USERNAME?

       Query or set the default user.  The default user is the
       user for command-line interaction.

   fossil user list

       List all users known to the repository

   fossil user new ?USERNAME?

       Create a new user in the repository.  Users can never be
       deleted.  They can be denied all access but they must continue
       to exist in the database.

   fossil user password USERNAME

       Change the web access password for a user.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil version]<nowiki>

Print the source code version number for the fossil executable.


Usage: </nowiki>[fossil wiki]<nowiki> (export|create|commit|list) WikiName

Run various subcommands to fetch wiki entries.

    fossil wiki export PAGENAME ?FILE?

       Sends the latest version of the PAGENAME wiki
       entry to the given file or standard output.

    fossil wiki commit PAGENAME ?FILE?

       Commit changes to a wiki page from FILE or from standard.

    fossil wiki create PAGENAME ?FILE?

       Create a new wiki page with initial content taken from
       FILE or from standard input.

    fossil wiki list

       Lists all wiki entries, one per line, ordered
       case-insentively by name.

TODOs:

    fossil wiki export ?-u ARTIFACT? WikiName ?FILE?

       Outputs the selected version of WikiName.

    fossil wiki delete ?-m MESSAGE? WikiName

       The same as deleting a file entry, but i don't know if fossil
       supports a commit message for Wiki entries.

    fossil wiki ?-u? ?-d? ?-s=[|]? list

       Lists the artifact ID and/or Date of last change along with
       each entry name, delimited by the -s char.

    fossil wiki diff ?ARTIFACT? ?-f infile[=stdin]? EntryName

       Diffs the local copy of a page with a given version (defaulting
       to the head version).


<hr>

<h3>Caveats</h3>
This is not actually a reference, it's the start of a reference.
There are wikilinks to uncreated pages for the commands.  This was
created by running the fossil help for each command listed by running
fossil help...  Duplicate commands are only listed once (I
<i>think</i>).  There are several bits of <b>fossil</b> that are not addressed
in the help for commands (special wiki directories, special users, etc.)
so they are currently not addressed here,  Clarity and brevity may be
sacrificed for expediency at the authors indiscretion.  All spelling and
grammatical mistakes are somebody elses fault. Title and taxes extra.
Not valid in Hooptigonia.