p4cmd 2.10.1

Simple P4 python module

P4CMD 🌴

A Python Perforce package that doesn't bring in any other packages to work. Relies on the p4 CLI installed on the system.

pip install p4cmd

Getting started

Creating a client

Pass the root path of your Perforce workspace, or use the P4ROOT environment variable:

from p4cmd import p4cmd

# Direct path
p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Or with explicit credentials
p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame", user="my.user", client="my-workspace", server="ssl:perforce:1666")

import os
from p4cmd import p4cmd

os.environ["P4ROOT"] = "~/p4/MyGame"
p4 = p4cmd.P4Client.from_env()

If the path you pass doesn't contain a .p4config file, P4Client will walk up the directory tree until it finds one and use that as perforce_root.

P4Client API

Connection & settings

Method	Description
host_online(timeout=2.0)	Check if the Perforce server is reachable
get_ticket_expiration()	Seconds until the authentication ticket expires
get_p4_setting(setting)	Read a Perforce setting (e.g. "P4CLIENT")
find_p4_client()	Return the current workspace name
find_p4_port()	Return the server address
set_workspace(workspace)	Switch the active workspace
set_perforce_root(root)	Change the workspace root directory
set_max_parallel_connections(value)	Set max parallel connections for sync/submit (default 4)
get_all_workspaces()	List all workspaces for the current user

File operations

Method	Description
add_or_edit_files(file_list, changelist="default")	Add new files or check out existing ones — auto-detects which
add_or_edit_folders(folders, include_subfolders=True, changelist="default")	Same as above, for entire folders
add_files(file_list, changelist="default")	Mark files for add
edit_files(file_list, changelist="default")	Mark files for edit
delete_files(file_list, changelist="default")	Mark files for delete
rename_file(old_path, new_path, changelist="default")	P4 move/rename a file
copy_file(original_path, copied_path, changelist="default")	P4 copy a file
revert_files(file_list, unchanged_only=False)	Revert files
revert_folders(folder_list, unchanged_only=False)	Revert all files in folders
sync_files(file_list, revision=-1, verify=True, force=False)	Sync files to a specific revision
sync_folders(folder_list)	Sync entire folders
reconcile_offline_files(file_list, add=True, edit=True, delete=True, changelist="default")	Reconcile offline changes
reconcile_offline_folders(folder_list, add=True, edit=True, delete=True, changelist="default")	Reconcile offline changes in folders

Changelists

Method	Description
make_new_changelist(description)	Create a new numbered changelist
get_or_make_changelist(description, case_sensitive=False)	Find a CL by description, or create it
changelist_exists(changelist)	Check if a CL exists (by number or description)
update_changelist_description(changelist, new_description)	Update a CL's description
delete_changelist(changelist, ...)	Delete a CL (with options to obliterate, delete shelved files)
get_pending_changelists(description_filter="", ...)	List pending CLs, optionally filtered by description
get_files_in_changelist(changelist="default")	List depot paths in a CL
get_all_files_in_all_changelists()	List depot paths across all pending CLs
get_changelist_for_file(depot_path)	Find which CL contains a file
move_files_to_changelist(file_list, changelist="default")	Move files between changelists
combine_changelists(source_changelists, target_changelist)	Merge multiple CLs into one
revert_changelist(unchanged_only=False, changelist="default")	Revert all files in a CL
submit_changelist(changelist, revert_unchanged_files=True)	Submit a CL

Shelving

Method	Description
shelve_files(changelist, file_list=None, revert_after_shelve=False, force=False)	Shelve files
unshelve_files(changelist, file_list=None, target_changelist="default", force=False, delete_shelved_files=False)	Unshelve files
get_shelved_files()	List all shelved files and their CLs
delete_shelf(changelist)	Delete shelved files without deleting the CL

Path conversion & history

Method	Description
get_depot_paths(paths)	Convert local paths to depot paths
get_local_paths(paths)	Convert depot paths to local paths
get_history(paths)	Get change history for files

P4File conversion

Method	Description
files_to_p4files(file_list, allow_invalid_files=False)	Convert file paths to P4File objects with full status info
folder_to_p4files(folder, include_subfolders=True, allow_invalid_files=False, specific_file_filter="")	Same, for all files in a folder

P4File

P4File represents a single file and its Perforce status. You get these from files_to_p4files or folder_to_p4files. All attributes are available as both properties and legacy get_/set_ methods.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
local_file_path	str	Local filesystem path
depot_file_path	str	Depot path (//depot/...)
action	str	Current open action (add, edit, delete, move/add, move/delete)
head_action	str	Head revision action
have_revision	int	Local revision number
head_revision	int	Latest depot revision number
last_submit_time	str	Formatted timestamp of last submission
last_submitted_by	str	User who last submitted
checked_out_by	list	Users who have the file checked out
file_size	str	Raw file size from depot
raw_data	str	Raw fstat data

Status predicates

Method	Description
get_status()	Returns a Status constant (see below)
is_open_for_add()	File is marked for add
is_open_for_edit()	File is marked for edit
is_marked_for_delete()	File is marked for delete
is_checked_out()	File has any open action
is_untracked() / is_local_only()	File exists locally but not in depot
is_depot_only()	File exists in depot but was never synced
is_deleted()	Head revision is a delete
is_moved_deleted()	File was moved away
is_moved_added()	File was moved here
is_up_to_date()	Local and head revisions match
is_under_client_root()	File is within the workspace mapping
is_valid()	Has at least one path set
needs_syncing()	Behind head revision and needs sync
get_file_size(in_megabyte=True)	File size in MB or bytes

Status constants

from p4cmd.p4file import Status

Status.OPEN_FOR_ADD
Status.OPEN_FOR_EDIT
Status.OPEN_FOR_DELETE
Status.NEED_SYNC
Status.DEPOT_ONLY
Status.UP_TO_DATE
Status.UNTRACKED
Status.MOVED
Status.DELETED
Status.MOVED_DELETED
Status.UNKNOWN

Other methods

Method	Description
update_self(p4client)	Refresh all attributes from the server
update_last_submitted_by(p4client)	Refresh just the last_submitted_by field

Usage examples

Check out or add files

You can mix local and depot paths. If you pass a changelist description that doesn't exist, it will be created automatically.

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

files = ["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters/info_file.json",
         "//MyGame/Main/Templates/morefiles.json"]

p4.add_or_edit_files(files, changelist="My new changelist")

Inspect files in bulk

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4files = p4.folder_to_p4files("~/p4/MyGame/Animations")

files_to_sync = []
for pf in p4files:
    if pf.checked_out_by:
        print(f"depot: {pf.depot_file_path}")
        print(f"local: {pf.local_file_path}")
        print(f"status: {pf.get_status()}")
        print(f"checked out by: {pf.checked_out_by}")
    if pf.needs_syncing():
        files_to_sync.append(pf.local_file_path)

p4.sync_files(files_to_sync)

Changelists

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# List all pending changelists
all_cls = p4.get_pending_changelists()
# [35272, 33160, 32756, 30872, 27277, 'default']

# Filter by description
houdini_cls = p4.get_pending_changelists(description_filter="houdini")
# [35272, 33160, 'default']

# Exact match
exact = p4.get_pending_changelists(
    description_filter="[houdini tools]",
    perfect_match_only=True,
    case_sensitive=True,
)
# [33160, 'default']

# Get or create a changelist
cl = p4.get_or_make_changelist("My tools CL")

# List files in a changelist (by number or description)
files = p4.get_files_in_changelist(33160)
files = p4.get_files_in_changelist("[houdini tools]")

Submit

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4.submit_changelist("Character files", revert_unchanged_files=False)

Sync with parallel connections

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4.set_max_parallel_connections(2)
p4.sync_folders(["//Content/Basketball/Players/"])

Revert files

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Revert specific files
p4.revert_files(["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters/info_file.json"])

# Revert only unchanged files (keep actual edits)
p4.revert_files(["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters/info_file.json"], unchanged_only=True)

# Revert everything in a folder
p4.revert_folders(["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters"])

# Revert all files in a changelist
p4.revert_changelist(changelist=12345)
p4.revert_changelist(changelist=12345, unchanged_only=True)

Rename and copy files

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Rename / move a file
p4.rename_file(
    "//MyGame/Main/Characters/old_name.fbx",
    "//MyGame/Main/Characters/new_name.fbx",
    changelist="Rename characters",
)

# Copy a file (branching)
p4.copy_file(
    "//MyGame/Main/Templates/base_config.json",
    "//MyGame/Main/Templates/new_config.json",
    changelist="Copy config template",
)

Delete files

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4.delete_files(
    ["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters/unused_file.json"],
    changelist="Clean up unused files",
)

Move files between changelists

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Move files from default to a named changelist
p4.move_files_to_changelist(
    ["//MyGame/Main/Characters/hero.fbx"],
    changelist="Character updates",
)

# Merge multiple changelists into one
p4.combine_changelists(
    source_changelists=[33160, 33161],
    target_changelist=33162,
)

Manage changelist descriptions

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Update a changelist description (supports multi-line)
p4.update_changelist_description(
    12345,
    "Updated character models\nReviewed by: artist@studio",
)

# Check if a changelist exists
if p4.changelist_exists("My tools CL"):
    print("CL exists")

Convert between depot and local paths

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Local paths -> depot paths
depot_paths = p4.get_depot_paths(["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters"])
# ['//MyGame/Main/Raw/Characters']

# Depot paths -> local paths
local_paths = p4.get_local_paths(["//MyGame/Main/Raw/Characters"])
# ['~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters']

File history

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
history = p4.get_history(["//MyGame/Main/Characters/hero.fbx"])
for entry in history:
    print(entry)

Shelving

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

# Shelve and optionally revert
p4.shelve_files(changelist=12345, revert_after_shelve=True)

# Unshelve into a different changelist
p4.unshelve_files(12345, target_changelist=67890)

# List all your shelved files
shelved = p4.get_shelved_files()
for depot_path, cl_number in shelved:
    print(f"{depot_path} in CL {cl_number}")

# Delete shelved files without deleting the changelist
p4.delete_shelf(12345)

Reconcile offline work

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4.reconcile_offline_folders(
    ["~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters"],
    add=True, edit=True, delete=False,
    changelist="Offline reconcile",
)

Check server connection

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")

if p4.host_online():
    expiry = p4.get_ticket_expiration()
    if expiry is not None:
        print(f"Ticket expires in {expiry} seconds")
else:
    print("Server unreachable")

Find which changelist a file is in

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
cl = p4.get_changelist_for_file("//MyGame/Main/Characters/hero.fbx")
if cl != -1:
    print(f"File is in CL {cl}")

Filter P4Files by status

from p4cmd.p4file import Status

p4 = p4cmd.P4Client("~/p4/MyGame")
p4files = p4.folder_to_p4files("~/p4/MyGame/Raw/Characters")

# Group files by status
for pf in p4files:
    status = pf.get_status()
    if status == Status.NEED_SYNC:
        print(f"Needs sync: {pf.local_file_path}")
    elif status == Status.DEPOT_ONLY:
        print(f"Never synced: {pf.depot_file_path}")
    elif status == Status.OPEN_FOR_EDIT:
        print(f"Being edited: {pf.local_file_path}")

# Get file sizes
large_files = [
    pf for pf in p4files
    if pf.get_file_size(in_megabyte=True) and pf.get_file_size(in_megabyte=True) > 100
]
print(f"{len(large_files)} files over 100 MB")

Development setup

Running tests

pip install pytest
pytest tests/ -v

Integration tests

Integration tests communicate with a real Perforce server. Copy tests/.env.example to tests/.env and fill in your details, then run:

pytest tests/test_integration.py -v

Pre-commit hook

A pre-commit hook that runs the unit test suite before every commit is included. To install it:

cp scripts/pre-commit .git/hooks/pre-commit
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

The CI pipeline also runs all tests before publishing to PyPI, so a release will never be created from a failing build.