Automating Daily SVN Reports Using SvnStat and Cron

How to Install and Configure SvnStat for Accurate Repo ReportsSvnStat is a compact, efficient tool for gathering statistics about Subversion (SVN) repository activity. It analyzes repository revisions and generates reports about commits, authors, paths, and activity over time. This guide walks through installing SvnStat, configuring it for accurate results, running analyses, and automating reports so teams can monitor SVN usage reliably.

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What SvnStat Does and when to use it

SvnStat parses an SVN dump or the repository history to produce a set of human-readable statistics: total revisions, commits per author, busiest paths, and activity over time (daily, weekly, monthly). Use SvnStat when you need lightweight, local reporting on SVN history without heavier analytics platforms. It’s particularly useful for:

• Auditing contributions and code ownership.
• Identifying hotspots in the repository (frequently changed directories/files).
• Generating regular summary reports for managers or compliance.
• Performing historical analysis after migrations or branch merges.

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Prerequisites

• A system with Unix-like environment (Linux, macOS, or WSL on Windows).
• Subversion (svn) command-line client installed.
• Python 3 (if you choose Python-based wrappers) — SvnStat itself is typically a Perl script; check your distribution.
• A local checkout of the repository or access to an SVN dump file (svnadmin dump).
• Basic familiarity with the command line and cron (or systemd timers) for automation.

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Installation

There are two common ways to obtain SvnStat: via your distribution package manager or from source. The exact package name may vary.

1. Install from package manager (Debian/Ubuntu example)

   • Update package lists:

     
     sudo apt update 

   • Install svn and any available svnstats package (package may be named svnstats, svnstat, or similar):

     
     sudo apt install subversion svnstats 

   • If no svnstats package exists in your distro, install from source.

2. Install from source

   • Download the SvnStat source archive (look for svnstats or svnstat; the common Perl-based svnstats project is often on CPAN/GitHub).
   • Extract and inspect README for dependencies (Perl modules such as Getopt::Long, Time::Piece, etc.).
   • Make the main script executable and place it in your PATH:

     
     tar xzf svnstats-*.tar.gz cd svnstats-* sudo cp svnstats.pl /usr/local/bin/svnstats sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/svnstats 

   • Install any required Perl modules (using cpan or your package manager).

Notes:

• If you find a project named SvnStat different from svnstats, follow its README; naming varies between distributions and repos.
• If you prefer a Python-based alternative, search for “svn-stats” packages, but this guide focuses on traditional SvnStat/svnstats style tools.

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Obtaining Repository Data

SvnStat can analyze either a live checkout, an SVN repository URL, or an SVN dump. Choose based on access and performance.

1. Using an SVN dump (recommended for large repos or offline analysis)

   • Create a dump on the server:

     
     svnadmin dump /path/to/repo > repo.dump 

   • Transfer repo.dump to the machine where you’ll run SvnStat.

2. Using repository URL (requires network access)

   • SvnStat may accept direct repository URLs (svn://, http://, https://). You may need read-only credentials.

3. Using a local checkout (fastest for small history windows)

   • Checkout the trunk or entire repository (note: checkout only includes current working copy — use dump or log for full history).

     
     svn checkout https://svn.example.com/project/trunk project 

For the most accurate historical reporting use an SVN dump or svn log covering all revisions.

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Basic Usage

After installing SvnStat, run it against your data source. Typical commands:

• From a dump file:

  
  svnstats --dump repo.dump --output report.html 

• From a repository URL:

  
  svnstats --repo https://svn.example.com/project --output report.html 

• Produce text reports:

  
  svnstats --dump repo.dump --format text > svnstats.txt 

Common useful flags (may vary by implementation):

• –start, –end : limit revision range or date range.
• –authors : produce per-author breakdown.
• –paths : list most-changed paths.
• –granularity : daily/weekly/monthly activity grouping. Check svnstats –help for exact options.

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Configuring for Accurate Reports

Accurate reporting requires careful configuration and attention to repository specifics.

1. Include full history

   • Ensure you analyze the entire revision range (from r1 to HEAD). When using a dump, include all revisions. When using a repo URL, set start revision to 1 if supported.

2. Normalize author names

   • Many contributors commit with multiple email formats or username variations. Create an author mapping file to normalize names:

     
     john = John Doe <[email protected]> j.doe = John Doe <[email protected]> 

   • Pass the mapping to SvnStat (option name varies; could be –authors-file).

3. Exclude binary or vendor directories

   • Large autogenerated or vendor directories (e.g., /vendor, /third_party, /node_modules) skew statistics. Use an exclude list to remove them from path statistics:

     
     --exclude /vendor --exclude /third_party 

   • Alternatively, post-filter path output.

4. Handle merges and copies

   • SVN records copies and merges; decide whether copies should count as separate changes. Some SvnStat implementations de-duplicate based on copy-from metadata. Configure options to follow or ignore copy history.

5. Time zones and dates

   • Ensure SvnStat interprets commit timestamps in the intended timezone (usually UTC). If authors across timezones are present, group by UTC or the desired timezone for consistent daily/weekly aggregates.

6. Large repositories: incremental runs

   • For very large repos, run full analysis once (create baseline data), then run incremental updates regularly (process revisions since last run) to save time. Check whether your SvnStat supports incremental mode or implement by tracking last analyzed revision.

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Interpreting Key Reports

SvnStat output typically includes:

• Total revisions and commits.
• Commits per author (activity and percent).
• Most changed files and directories.
• Activity timeline (commits/day, commits/week).
• Unique contributors over time.

Tips:

• Use commits per author as a proxy for activity, not code volume.
• Combine path churn with commit messages to identify problematic areas.
• Watch for outliers (bots or CI users) and exclude them if they distort human activity metrics.

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Example: Generate and Automate an HTML Report

1. Full one-time run (from dump):

   
   svnstats --dump repo.dump --authors-file authors.txt --exclude /vendor --output report.html 

2. Schedule daily incremental updates with cron (example runs a script):
   • Create /usr/local/bin/svnstats-daily.sh:

     
     #!/bin/bash REPO_DUMP=/data/repo.dump OUTPUT=/var/www/html/svn-report.html /usr/local/bin/svnstats --dump "$REPO_DUMP" --incremental --last-run-file /var/lib/svnstats/lastrev --authors-file /etc/svnstats/authors.txt --exclude /vendor --output "$OUTPUT" 

   • Make executable:

     
     sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/svnstats-daily.sh 

   • Add cron entry (run at 02:00 daily):

     
     0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/svnstats-daily.sh 

If your system uses systemd timers, create a timer/unit pair instead for better logging and reliability.

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Troubleshooting

• “Missing modules” error: install required Perl/Python modules via package manager or cpan/pip.
• Incorrect author aggregation: expand your author mapping file, including email variants.
• High memory/time on large dumps: use incremental mode or process on a machine with more RAM; filter out large vendor dirs first.
• Wrong timezone/date grouping: confirm SvnStat timezone option or convert timestamps during pre-processing.

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Alternatives & Complementary Tools

• svn log / svnstats scripts: custom scripts for specific analyses.
• StatSVN: another report generator that creates charts from svn log XML.
• Git conversion + gitstats: convert SVN to Git (git-svn) and use Git analytics tools if you need richer visualizations. Use SvnStat for quick, lightweight reports; consider heavier tools for dashboarding or deep analytics.

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Summary

SvnStat is a practical tool for producing readable SVN repository statistics when configured carefully: use full history, normalize authors, exclude irrelevant paths, and prefer dumps or incremental runs for large repositories. Automate regular runs to keep reports current and integrate them into your team’s reporting workflow.