A.15 release--Indicate that a Module is no longer in use

• release [-d] directories...
• Requires: Working directory.
• Changes: Working directory, history log.

This command is meant to safely cancel the effect of `cvs checkout'. Since CVS doesn't lock files, it isn't strictly necessary to use this command. You can always simply delete your working directory, if you like; but you risk losing changes you may have forgotten, and you leave no trace in the CVS history file ( C.11 The history file) that you've abandoned your checkout.

Use `cvs release' to avoid these problems. This command checks that no uncommitted changes are present; that you are executing it from immediately above a CVS working directory; and that the repository recorded for your files is the same as the repository defined in the module database.

If all these conditions are true, `cvs release' leaves a record of its execution (attesting to your intentionally abandoning your checkout) in the CVS history log.

A.15.1 release options
A.15.2 release output
A.15.3 release examples