The file $REAL_CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history is used to log information for the history command (the section called “history--Show status of files and users”). This file must be created to turn on logging.
The file format of the history file is documented only in comments in the cvsnt source code, but generally programs should use the cvs history command to access it anyway, in case the format changes with future releases of cvsnt.
For new installations it is preferred to setup auditiing rather than use the history file. In a future release the history file will be deprecated.