svn copy -r [revision number] [url] [path]

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies you use most.

Learn more about Collectives

Teams

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Learn more about Teams

So, I've done this before and I just can't seem to figure out what's broken this time...

I'm trying to restore a file from SVN. I went and found the revision where it was deleted (or at least last existed. I verified by using svn list -r)

Here is my command:

svn copy -r 925 url/to/repo/foldername htdocs/foldername
I keep getting an error:
svn: '/!svn/bc/973/.../htdocs/templates' path not found
From my understanding that means its looking in revision 973 (which is HEAD) instead of 925. 
What am I missing here?
                I'll add my +1 if you can provide an explanation of why it's wrong to use -r XYZ instead of url@XYZ (maybe this is an svn bug?).
– Richard Hansen
                Feb 18, 2012 at 22:53
                @RichardHansen: I think the only reason is "Because that's the way it works."  I think the SVN project has been moving toward being more forgiving in these areas, and in fact the latest version is much more forgiving about -c vs. -r, etc... I don't know if they've made that particular change or not, though.  For an official answer for "why?" I think you'd have to ask the Subversion development team.
– Jonathan Hall
                Feb 18, 2012 at 23:50
                I found an explanation:  Peg and Operative Revisions.  Short version:  Using -r REV without @REV means "the ancestor (revsion REV) of the current file" while @REV without -r rev means "the file at REV".  This semantic difference is significant because svn tracks copies (and renames).
– Richard Hansen
                Feb 19, 2012 at 0:20
        Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow!
Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.