Setting up CLI CVS in Windows

Sourceforge provides documentation for setting up CLI CVS in Unix, and for setting up WinCVS in Windows, but not CLI CVS in Windows. This document is basically a frankensteining of those two documents.

First, you need to install the putty tools suite, and configure your public keys. All these steps link directly to the proper locations in the "setting up WinCVS" document.
Step 1: Install the Putty SSH suite
Step 2: Generate a SSH key pair
Step 3: Upload your SSH public key
Step 4: Configure Pageant (a component of Putty
Step 5: Test your Automated Authentication

Next, you need to set up your CVS client.

Step 1: Download a CVS client from http://www.cvshome.org/downloads.html. I reccomend you put the executable in your Putty directory.
Step 2: Modify your PATH environment variable to include your putty directory.
Step 3: Create a new environment variable called "CVS_RSH", and give it the value "plink.exe" This tells cvs to use Putty (specifically plink.exe) for authentication.
Step 4: Create another new environment variable called "CVSROOT", and give it the value ":ext:username@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/cwruser", where username is your Sourceforge name. This says to use external (ext) authentication (as defined in the last step), we're loggin in as username@cvs.sourceforge.net, and the repository is located at /cvsroot/cwruser.

Now test this out by opening a new command window, and typing "cvs checkout test", which will check out the test module from the cwruser CVS server. If that works, then you're set up correctly, and you're 1/3 done with the assignment. :)

If you're having problems...