How to convert an existing directory to an Svn WC w/o replacing local files?

Question

I have a large Subversion repository with nearly 15gb of data spread across ~500,000 files. Now I need to checkout this repository to a remote host which would take days to complete.

The host I'm checking out to already has a complete copy of the data in the repository. But seeing as the files weren't checked out directly from the repo, they do not constitute a working copy (no ".svn" folders).

I'd like to avoid copying all this data across the network, especially when it already exists on the target host. Is there a trick I can use that will turn a preexisting directory into a working copy without replacing the local files with identical copies from the repository?

Thanks!

Answer 1

There is the relocate command: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.1/re27.html

EDIT: If the local files aren't linked to a repository then you could create a local repository, import the files into it and then use the relocate command.

Alternatively if you have physical access to both machines you can you check out the repository locally and then copy the files to the remote machine via a external HD.

Answer 2

You could just checkout the repository locally, then transfer only the .svn directories (careful, they contain copies of the workspace files, obviously you don't want to copy those). That should work, as you would have the exact files of a correct working copy.

Of course you'd have to write some kind of script to transfer the .svn files. On a Unix system you could do it with find and friends.

Answer 3

I don't believe there's a solution without transferring those 15 GBs to the destination. It would probably be faster and easier to copy the repository there and do a local checkout.

Answer 4

You could try using rsync if you already have a working copy under svn control somewhere else on the network.

Answer 5

Use:

svn co http://myRepo --force