How To Install cvs-fast-export on Ubuntu 22.04

In this tutorial we learn how to install cvs-fast-export on Ubuntu 22.04. cvs-fast-export is Export an RCS or CVS history as a fast-import stream

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install cvs-fast-export on Ubuntu 22.04.

What is cvs-fast-export

cvs-fast-export is:

cvs-fast-export, formerly “parsecvs”, does what its new name implies: exports CVS repositories in a format suitable for git fast-import.

This program analyzes a collection of RCS files in a CVS repository (or outside of one) and, when possible, emits an equivalent history in the form of a fast-import stream. Not all possible histories can be rendered this way; the program tries to emit useful warnings when it can’t. The program can also produce a visualization of the resulting commit DAG in the DOT format handled by the graphviz suite.

The distribution includes a tool, cvssync, for fetching masters from CVS remote repositories so cvs-fast-export can see them. You will need rsync installed to use it.

A wrapper script called cvsconvert runs a conversion to git and looks for content mismatches with the original CVS. You will need CVS and Git installed to use it.

Also included is a tool called cvsstrip that strips content out of trees of RCS/CVS masters, leaving only metadata structure in place.

There are three methods to install cvs-fast-export on Ubuntu 22.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install cvs-fast-export Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install cvs-fast-export using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install cvs-fast-export

Install cvs-fast-export Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install cvs-fast-export using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install cvs-fast-export

Install cvs-fast-export Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install cvs-fast-export using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install cvs-fast-export

How To Uninstall cvs-fast-export on Ubuntu 22.04

To uninstall only the cvs-fast-export package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove cvs-fast-export

Uninstall cvs-fast-export And Its Dependencies

To uninstall cvs-fast-export and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 22.04, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove cvs-fast-export

Remove cvs-fast-export Configurations and Data

To remove cvs-fast-export configuration and data from Ubuntu 22.04 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge cvs-fast-export

Remove cvs-fast-export configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove cvs-fast-export configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge cvs-fast-export

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install cvs-fast-export package on Ubuntu 22.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.