Is there a tool for monitoring and annotating SVN checkins?

Question

Is there a tool (preferably web-based) that allows one to monitor an SVN repository (or rather, a subdirectory) to see all checkins and add notes to each one? The ability to filter and format checking messages would be an added bonus.

Background: In my current project, we'd like to have a log with verbose and informative data about each checkin to certain modules that are widely used. Unfortunately, it is not organizationally feasible to have a customized pre-commit hook, and so people frequently forget or are too lazy to write good checkin comments. Since checkin comments can't be changed later (right??), this would be the workaround.

Answer 1

Michael,

Won't Trac help you with this?

Or maybe TortoiseSVN?

Answer 2

Checking comments can definitely be changed afterwards - you need to add a pre-revprop-change hook to enable it, then you can right-click a revision in tortoise svn and choose to edit log message. The revprop change hook just has to exit with a 0 value. This might be tricky if you're already unable to change the hook scripts.

There's several log monitoring tools. I've used commit monitor successfully in the past, there's a free closed source one which is better, but I forget what it is now. You can also use something like sventon to give you an rss feed of logins to a particular branch.

Answer 3

There are in fact 2 ways to change a checkin comment, Jim T mentioned the approach to take if the repository is remote. If you have local access:

$ svnadmin setlog REPOS_PATH -r N FILE

should do the trick. Either way, check out the svn faq on the subject.

Being a stackoverflow "new user", i've just used up all my hyperlinks but i'll try and trudge on :)

I can second the recommendations of 'CommitMonitor' (if you are on Windows) and Sventon for monitoring the repository.

With regards to annotation, you might be able to get away with using one of the code review plugins for either Trac or Redmine. I believe they both have demo sites you could try it out on, although it might be complete overkill for what you are after.

Good luck!

Answer 4

There's Commit Monitor, but if your desire is to edit the log message after commit, then you're SOL if you can't get permission to add the pre-revprop-change hook to the repository.

Assuming changing the server environment is ruled out and you're a windows shop using TortoiseSVN, I think your best bet is to set the tsvn:logminsize property.