CVS on OS X Mavericks

Solution 1:

The easiest way for most programs is to install with a package manager like Macports, Homebrew or Fink. The porters will have worked out the issues about porting the code to OSX so it should be as simple as follows (for Macports)

1. Install macports, download the .pkg file and run it
2. Install Xcode and its command line tools
3. Add /opt/local/bin to your path - the installer attempts to do this for you so you probably just need to check
4. Install the port sudo port install cvs
5. Run cvs either with the full path /opt/local/bin/cvs or use your PATH

Solution 2:

A unix-ish package manager is clearly the way to go. I have moved from fink and Macports to homebrew, which has a recipe for cvs:

brew install cvs

For historical completeness, you formerly had to use the (slightly hard to find) recipe for cvs: brew install homebrew/dupes/cvs.

After only very minimal testing, it seems to work.

Solution 3:

edit: As remarked in the comments git requires a working cvs client which makes this approach just a nice interop layer but not a solution to the problem of a missing csv client.

Another option would be to use git as a cvs client and directly push to the CVS server.

Depending on your needs this could be sufficient cvs interop + a advantage of using git locally.