either download a
    <a href="https://www.fossil-scm.org/fossil/uv/download.html">precompiled
    binary</a>
    or <a href="build.wiki">compile it yourself</a> from sources.
    Install Fossil by putting the fossil binary
    someplace on your $PATH.</p>


<h2 id="workflow" name="fslclone">General Work Flow</h2>

    <p>Fossil works with repository files (a database with the project's
    complete history) and with checked-out local trees (the working directory
    you use to do your work).
    (See [./whyusefossil.wiki#definitions | definitions] for more background.)
    The workflow looks like this:</p>

    <ul>
        <li>Create or clone a repository file.  ([/help/init|fossil init] or
            [/help/clone | fossil clone])
        <li>Check out a local tree.  ([/help/open | fossil open])
        <li>Perform operations on the repository (including repository
            configuration).
    </ul>

    <p>The following sections will give you a brief overview of these
    operations.</p>

<h2 id="new">Starting A New Project</h2>

    <p>To start a new project with fossil, create a new empty repository
    this way: ([/help/init | more info]) </p>

    <blockquote>
    <b>fossil init </b><i> repository-filename</i>
    </blockquote>

<h2 id="clone">Cloning An Existing Repository</h2>

    <p>Most fossil operations interact with a repository that is on the
    local disk drive, not on a remote system.  Hence, before accessing
    a remote repository it is necessary to make a local copy of that
    repository.  Making a local copy of a remote repository is called
    "cloning".</p>

    "scp").  Note, however, that the repository file contains auxiliary
    information above and beyond the versioned files, including some
    sensitive information such as password hashes and email addresses.  If you
    want to share Fossil repositories directly, consider running the
    [/help/scrub|fossil scrub] command to remove sensitive information
    before transmitting the file.

<h2 id="import">Importing From Another Version Control System</h2>

    <p>Rather than start a new project, or clone an existing Fossil project,
    you might prefer to
    <a href="./inout.wiki">import an existing Git project</a>
    into Fossil using the [/help/import | fossil import] command.

<h2 id="checkout">Checking Out A Local Tree</h2>

    <p>To work on a project in fossil, you need to check out a local
    copy of the source tree.  Create the directory you want to be
    the root of your tree and cd into that directory.  Then
    do this: ([/help/open | more info])</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>[/help/update | update] honors the "autosync" option and
    does a "soft" switch, merging any local changes into the target
    version, whereas [/help/checkout | checkout] does not
    automatically sync and does a "hard" switch, overwriting local
    changes if told to do so.</p>

<h2 id="config">Configuring Your Local Repository</h2>

    <p>When you create a new repository, either by cloning an existing
    project or create a new project of your own, you usually want to do some
    local configuration.  This is easily accomplished using the web-server
    that is built into fossil.  Start the fossil web server like this:
    ([/help/ui | more info])</p>

    <p>By default, fossil does not require a login for HTTP connections
    coming in from the IP loopback address 127.0.0.1.  You can, and perhaps
    should, change this after you create a few users.</p>

    <p>When you are finished configuring, just press Control-C or use
    the <b>kill</b> command to shut down the mini-server.</p>

<h2 id="changes">Making Changes</h2>

    <p>To add new files to your project, or remove old files, use these
    commands:</p>

    <blockquote>
    <b>[/help/add | fossil add]</b> <i>file...</i><br>
    <b>[/help/rm | fossil rm]</b> <i>file...</i><br>

    In the default configuration, the [/help/commit|commit]
    command will also automatically [/help/push|push] your changes, but that
    feature can be disabled.  (More information about
    [./concepts.wiki#workflow|autosync] and how to disable it.)
    Remember that your coworkers can not see your changes until you
    commit and push them.</p>

<h2 id="sharing">Sharing Changes</h2>

    <p>When [./concepts.wiki#workflow|autosync] is turned off,
    the changes you [/help/commit | commit] are only
    on your local repository.
    To share those changes with other repositories, do:</p>

    <blockquote>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Is similar to update except that it does not honor the autosync
    setting, nor does it merge in local changes - it prefers to overwrite
    them and fails if local changes exist unless the <tt>--force</tt>
    flag is used.</p>

<h2 id="branch" name="merge">Branching And Merging</h2>

    <p>Use the --branch option to the [/help/commit | commit] command
    to start a new branch.  Note that in Fossil, branches are normally
    created when you commit, not before you start editing.  You can
    use the [/help/branch | branch new] command to create a new branch
    before you start editing, if you want, but most people just wait
    until they are ready to commit.

    <p>This will back out the changes that the merge or update made to the
    working checkout.  There is also a [/help/redo|redo] command if you undo by
    mistake.  Undo and redo only work for changes that have
    not yet been checked in using commit and there is only a single
    level of undo/redo.</p>


<h2 id="server">Setting Up A Server</h2>

    <p>Fossil can act as a stand-alone web server using one of these
    commands:</p>

    <blockquote>
    <b>[/help/server | fossil server]</b> <i>repository-filename</i><br>
    <b>[/help/ui | fossil ui]</b> <i>repository-filename</i>

    <li>[./server/any/cgi.md|CGI]
    <li>[./server/any/scgi.md|SCGI]
    </ul>

    <p>The [./selfhost.wiki | self-hosting fossil repositories] use
    CGI.


<h2 id="proxy">HTTP Proxies</h2>

    <p>If you are behind a restrictive firewall that requires you to use
    an HTTP proxy to reach the internet, then you can configure the proxy
    in three different ways.  You can tell fossil about your proxy using
    a command-line option on commands that use the network,
    <b>sync</b>, <b>clone</b>, <b>push</b>, and <b>pull</b>.</p>