Syntax Conventions

The following notation is used in VisionByte command syntax.

Notation

Meaning

Syntax

Example

literal

Must appear exactly as shown.

vb version

vb version

[OPTIONS]

Optional flags or parameters.

vb info [OPTIONS]

vb info -v

[-a|-b]

Either option may be used; at most one is allowed, and both may be omitted.

vb version [-v|--verbose]

vb version -v

vb version --verbose

vb version

{-a|-b}

Exactly one of the enclosed elements is required. Do not type the braces.

vb checkout {VERSION|--latest}

vb checkout --latest

vb checkout 2d1e8bd3f5

The preceding element can be repeated.

vb commit [FILE ...]

vb commit file1.txt file2.txt

Common Parameter Meanings

The following placeholders appear frequently in command syntax. Examples show typical values.

Parameter

Meaning

Example

FILE FILENAME PATH DIRECTORY DIR

File name or path.

main.c

src

VERSION

Identifier of a check-in, such as a branch name, tag, or unique hash prefix.

trunk

2d1e8bd3f5

NAME

Name of an object such as a setting, user, branch, or alias.

smtp-host

feature-x

REPOSITORY REPO

Repository file name or path. In the global registry context, a repository name.

project.vbyte

/repo/project.vbyte

SUBCOMMAND

Subcommand that selects a specific action.

send

export

DATETIME

Timestamp. Supported forms: “now” or “YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSS”; “T” may be a space; optional timezone offset.

now

2025-01-02 03:04:05+08:00

PATTERN

Glob or LIKE pattern used for matching names.

*.png

*@example.com

TAG

Symbolic tag name applied to a check-in or artifact.

release-1.2.3

v1.0

CSG

Comma-separated list of glob patterns (Comma Separated Glob).

*.o,*.obj,*.exe

GLOBLIST

Comma-separated list of glob patterns.

*.css,*.js

SHA1 SHA3 BLAKE3

Hex digest of the corresponding hash algorithm; used for checksums or artifact identifiers.

2fd4e1c67...

STASHID

Identifier of a stash entry (see vb stash list).

2

AREA

Configuration area name (for example: all, email, interwiki, project, shun, skin, ticket, user, alias, subscriber).

project

email

ARTIFACT-ID

Artifact hash identifier.

2d1e8bd3f5

HASH

Hash value, typically an artifact or check-in hash prefix.

3f2e1d4c9a

CMD COMMAND

External command to execute (optionally with arguments).

make test

ssh -p 2222

SETTING

Name of a configuration setting.

autosync

clean-glob

COMMENT

Free-form comment text (for example, a check-in or stash comment).

Fix typo in docs

TECHNOTE-ID

Technote identifier (artifact hash).

8cdbf5a2