6 git-p4 - Import from and submit to Perforce repositories
12 'git p4 clone' [<sync options>] [<clone options>] <p4 depot path>...
13 'git p4 sync' [<sync options>] [<p4 depot path>...]
15 'git p4 submit' [<submit options>] [<master branch name>]
20 This command provides a way to interact with p4 repositories
23 Create a new git repository from an existing p4 repository using
24 'git p4 clone', giving it one or more p4 depot paths. Incorporate
25 new commits from p4 changes with 'git p4 sync'. The 'sync' command
26 is also used to include new branches from other p4 depot paths.
27 Submit git changes back to p4 using 'git p4 submit'. The command
28 'git p4 rebase' does a sync plus rebases the current branch onto
29 the updated p4 remote branch.
37 $ git p4 clone //depot/path/project
40 * Do some work in the newly created git repository:
45 $ git commit -a -m "edited foo.h"
48 * Update the git repository with recent changes from p4, rebasing your
55 * Submit your commits back to p4:
67 Generally, 'git p4 clone' is used to create a new git directory
68 from an existing p4 repository:
70 $ git p4 clone //depot/path/project
74 1. Creates an empty git repository in a subdirectory called 'project'.
76 2. Imports the full contents of the head revision from the given p4
77 depot path into a single commit in the git branch 'refs/remotes/p4/master'.
79 3. Creates a local branch, 'master' from this remote and checks it out.
81 To reproduce the entire p4 history in git, use the '@all' modifier on
84 $ git p4 clone //depot/path/project@all
90 As development continues in the p4 repository, those changes can
91 be included in the git repository using:
95 This command finds new changes in p4 and imports them as git commits.
97 P4 repositories can be added to an existing git repository using
103 $ git p4 sync //path/in/your/perforce/depot
105 This imports the specified depot into
106 'refs/remotes/p4/master' in an existing git repository. The
107 '--branch' option can be used to specify a different branch to
108 be used for the p4 content.
110 If a git repository includes branches 'refs/remotes/origin/p4', these
111 will be fetched and consulted first during a 'git p4 sync'. Since
112 importing directly from p4 is considerably slower than pulling changes
113 from a git remote, this can be useful in a multi-developer environment.
118 A common working pattern is to fetch the latest changes from the p4 depot
119 and merge them with local uncommitted changes. Often, the p4 repository
120 is the ultimate location for all code, thus a rebase workflow makes
121 sense. This command does 'git p4 sync' followed by 'git rebase' to move
122 local commits on top of updated p4 changes.
130 Submitting changes from a git repository back to the p4 repository
131 requires a separate p4 client workspace. This should be specified
132 using the 'P4CLIENT' environment variable or the git configuration
133 variable 'git-p4.client'. The p4 client must exist, but the client root
134 will be created and populated if it does not already exist.
136 To submit all changes that are in the current git branch but not in
137 the 'p4/master' branch, use:
142 To specify a branch other than the current one, use:
144 $ git p4 submit topicbranch
147 The upstream reference is generally 'refs/remotes/p4/master', but can
148 be overridden using the '--origin=' command-line option.
150 The p4 changes will be created as the user invoking 'git p4 submit'. The
151 '--preserve-user' option will cause ownership to be modified
152 according to the author of the git commit. This option requires admin
153 privileges in p4, which can be granted using 'p4 protect'.
161 All commands except clone accept this option.
164 Set the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable. See linkgit:git[1].
168 These options can be used in the initial 'clone' as well as in
169 subsequent 'sync' operations.
172 Import changes into given branch. If the branch starts with
173 'refs/', it will be used as is, otherwise the path 'refs/heads/'
174 will be prepended. The default branch is 'master'. If used
175 with an initial clone, no HEAD will be checked out.
177 This example imports a new remote "p4/proj2" into an existing
181 $ git p4 sync --branch=refs/remotes/p4/proj2 //depot/proj2
185 Use the branch detection algorithm to find new paths in p4. It is
186 documented below in "BRANCH DETECTION".
188 --changesfile <file>::
189 Import exactly the p4 change numbers listed in 'file', one per
190 line. Normally, 'git p4' inspects the current p4 repository
191 state and detects the changes it should import.
194 Do not print any progress information.
197 Provide more progress information.
200 Query p4 for labels associated with the depot paths, and add
201 them as tags in git. Limited usefulness as only imports labels
202 associated with new changelists. Deprecated.
205 Import labels from p4 into git.
208 By default, p4 branches are stored in 'refs/remotes/p4/',
209 where they will be treated as remote-tracking branches by
210 linkgit:git-branch[1] and other commands. This option instead
211 puts p4 branches in 'refs/heads/p4/'. Note that future
212 sync operations must specify '--import-local' as well so that
213 they can find the p4 branches in refs/heads.
216 Limit the number of imported changes to 'n'. Useful to
217 limit the amount of history when using the '@all' p4 revision
221 The mapping of file names from the p4 depot path to git, by
222 default, involves removing the entire depot path. With this
223 option, the full p4 depot path is retained in git. For example,
224 path '//depot/main/foo/bar.c', when imported from
225 '//depot/main/', becomes 'foo/bar.c'. With '--keep-path', the
226 git path is instead 'depot/main/foo/bar.c'.
229 Use a client spec to find the list of interesting files in p4.
230 See the "CLIENT SPEC" section below.
234 These options can be used in an initial 'clone', along with the 'sync'
235 options described above.
237 --destination <directory>::
238 Where to create the git repository. If not provided, the last
239 component in the p4 depot path is used to create a new
243 Perform a bare clone. See linkgit:git-clone[1].
246 Exclude selected depot paths when cloning.
250 These options can be used to modify 'git p4 submit' behavior.
253 Provide more progress information.
256 Upstream location from which commits are identified to submit to
257 p4. By default, this is the most recent p4 commit reachable
261 Detect renames. See linkgit:git-diff[1]. Renames will be
262 represented in p4 using explicit 'move' operations. There
263 is no corresponding option to detect copies, but there are
264 variables for both moves and copies.
267 Re-author p4 changes before submitting to p4. This option
268 requires p4 admin privileges.
271 Export tags from git as p4 labels. Tags found in git are applied
272 to the perforce working directory.
276 These options can be used to modify 'git p4 rebase' behavior.
283 The p4 depot path argument to 'git p4 sync' and 'git p4 clone' can
284 be one or more space-separated p4 depot paths, with an optional
285 p4 revision specifier on the end:
287 "//depot/my/project"::
288 Import one commit with all files in the '#head' change under that tree.
290 "//depot/my/project@all"::
291 Import one commit for each change in the history of that depot path.
293 "//depot/my/project@1,6"::
294 Import only changes 1 through 6.
296 "//depot/proj1@all //depot/proj2@all"::
297 Import all changes from both named depot paths into a single
298 repository. Only files below these directories are included.
299 There is not a subdirectory in git for each "proj1" and "proj2".
300 You must use the '--destination' option when specifying more
301 than one depot path. The revision specifier must be specified
302 identically on each depot path. If there are files in the
303 depot paths with the same name, the path with the most recently
304 updated version of the file is the one that appears in git.
306 See 'p4 help revisions' for the full syntax of p4 revision specifiers.
311 The p4 client specification is maintained with the 'p4 client' command
312 and contains among other fields, a View that specifies how the depot
313 is mapped into the client repository. The 'clone' and 'sync' commands
314 can consult the client spec when given the '--use-client-spec' option or
315 when the useClientSpec variable is true. After 'git p4 clone', the
316 useClientSpec variable is automatically set in the repository
317 configuration file. This allows future 'git p4 submit' commands to
318 work properly; the submit command looks only at the variable and does
319 not have a command-line option.
321 The full syntax for a p4 view is documented in 'p4 help views'. 'Git p4'
322 knows only a subset of the view syntax. It understands multi-line
323 mappings, overlays with '+', exclusions with '-' and double-quotes
324 around whitespace. Of the possible wildcards, 'git p4' only handles
325 '...', and only when it is at the end of the path. 'Git p4' will complain
326 if it encounters an unhandled wildcard.
328 Bugs in the implementation of overlap mappings exist. If multiple depot
329 paths map through overlays to the same location in the repository,
330 'git p4' can choose the wrong one. This is hard to solve without
331 dedicating a client spec just for 'git p4'.
333 The name of the client can be given to 'git p4' in multiple ways. The
334 variable 'git-p4.client' takes precedence if it exists. Otherwise,
335 normal p4 mechanisms of determining the client are used: environment
336 variable P4CLIENT, a file referenced by P4CONFIG, or the local host name.
341 P4 does not have the same concept of a branch as git. Instead,
342 p4 organizes its content as a directory tree, where by convention
343 different logical branches are in different locations in the tree.
344 The 'p4 branch' command is used to maintain mappings between
345 different areas in the tree, and indicate related content. 'git p4'
346 can use these mappings to determine branch relationships.
348 If you have a repository where all the branches of interest exist as
349 subdirectories of a single depot path, you can use '--detect-branches'
350 when cloning or syncing to have 'git p4' automatically find
351 subdirectories in p4, and to generate these as branches in git.
353 For example, if the P4 repository structure is:
359 And "p4 branch -o branch1" shows a View line that looks like:
361 //depot/main/... //depot/branch1/...
364 Then this 'git p4 clone' command:
366 git p4 clone --detect-branches //depot@all
368 produces a separate branch in 'refs/remotes/p4/' for //depot/main,
369 called 'master', and one for //depot/branch1 called 'depot/branch1'.
371 However, it is not necessary to create branches in p4 to be able to use
372 them like branches. Because it is difficult to infer branch
373 relationships automatically, a git configuration setting
374 'git-p4.branchList' can be used to explicitly identify branch
375 relationships. It is a list of "source:destination" pairs, like a
376 simple p4 branch specification, where the "source" and "destination" are
377 the path elements in the p4 repository. The example above relied on the
378 presence of the p4 branch. Without p4 branches, the same result will
381 git config git-p4.branchList main:branch1
382 git p4 clone --detect-branches //depot@all
388 The fast-import mechanism used by 'git p4' creates one pack file for
389 each invocation of 'git p4 sync'. Normally, git garbage compression
390 (linkgit:git-gc[1]) automatically compresses these to fewer pack files,
391 but explicit invocation of 'git repack -adf' may improve performance.
394 CONFIGURATION VARIABLES
395 -----------------------
396 The following config settings can be used to modify 'git p4' behavior.
397 They all are in the 'git-p4' section.
402 User specified as an option to all p4 commands, with '-u <user>'.
403 The environment variable 'P4USER' can be used instead.
406 Password specified as an option to all p4 commands, with
408 The environment variable 'P4PASS' can be used instead.
411 Port specified as an option to all p4 commands, with
413 The environment variable 'P4PORT' can be used instead.
416 Host specified as an option to all p4 commands, with
418 The environment variable 'P4HOST' can be used instead.
421 Client specified as an option to all p4 commands, with
422 '-c <client>', including the client spec.
424 Clone and sync variables
425 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
426 git-p4.syncFromOrigin::
427 Because importing commits from other git repositories is much faster
428 than importing them from p4, a mechanism exists to find p4 changes
429 first in git remotes. If branches exist under 'refs/remote/origin/p4',
430 those will be fetched and used when syncing from p4. This
431 variable can be set to 'false' to disable this behavior.
434 One phase in branch detection involves looking at p4 branches
435 to find new ones to import. By default, all branches are
436 inspected. This option limits the search to just those owned
437 by the single user named in the variable.
440 List of branches to be imported when branch detection is
441 enabled. Each entry should be a pair of branch names separated
442 by a colon (:). This example declares that both branchA and
443 branchB were created from main:
446 git config git-p4.branchList main:branchA
447 git config --add git-p4.branchList main:branchB
450 git-p4.ignoredP4Labels::
451 List of p4 labels to ignore. This is built automatically as
452 unimportable labels are discovered.
454 git-p4.importLabels::
455 Import p4 labels into git, as per --import-labels.
457 git-p4.labelImportRegexp::
458 Only p4 labels matching this regular expression will be imported. The
459 default value is '[a-zA-Z0-9_\-.]+$'.
461 git-p4.useClientSpec::
462 Specify that the p4 client spec should be used to identify p4
463 depot paths of interest. This is equivalent to specifying the
464 option '--use-client-spec'. See the "CLIENT SPEC" section above.
465 This variable is a boolean, not the name of a p4 client.
469 git-p4.detectRenames::
470 Detect renames. See linkgit:git-diff[1].
472 git-p4.detectCopies::
473 Detect copies. See linkgit:git-diff[1].
475 git-p4.detectCopiesHarder::
476 Detect copies harder. See linkgit:git-diff[1].
478 git-p4.preserveUser::
479 On submit, re-author changes to reflect the git author,
480 regardless of who invokes 'git p4 submit'.
482 git-p4.allowMissingP4Users::
483 When 'preserveUser' is true, 'git p4' normally dies if it
484 cannot find an author in the p4 user map. This setting
485 submits the change regardless.
487 git-p4.skipSubmitEdit::
488 The submit process invokes the editor before each p4 change
489 is submitted. If this setting is true, though, the editing
492 git-p4.skipSubmitEditCheck::
493 After editing the p4 change message, 'git p4' makes sure that
494 the description really was changed by looking at the file
495 modification time. This option disables that test.
498 By default, any branch can be used as the source for a 'git p4
499 submit' operation. This configuration variable, if set, permits only
500 the named branches to be used as submit sources. Branch names
501 must be the short names (no "refs/heads/"), and should be
502 separated by commas (","), with no spaces.
504 git-p4.skipUserNameCheck::
505 If the user running 'git p4 submit' does not exist in the p4
506 user map, 'git p4' exits. This option can be used to force
507 submission regardless.
509 git-p4.attemptRCSCleanup:
510 If enabled, 'git p4 submit' will attempt to cleanup RCS keywords
511 ($Header$, etc). These would otherwise cause merge conflicts and prevent
512 the submit going ahead. This option should be considered experimental at
515 git-p4.exportLabels::
516 Export git tags to p4 labels, as per --export-labels.
518 git-p4.labelExportRegexp::
519 Only p4 labels matching this regular expression will be exported. The
520 default value is '[a-zA-Z0-9_\-.]+$'.
522 IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
523 ----------------------
524 * Changesets from p4 are imported using git fast-import.
525 * Cloning or syncing does not require a p4 client; file contents are
526 collected using 'p4 print'.
527 * Submitting requires a p4 client, which is not in the same location
528 as the git repository. Patches are applied, one at a time, to
529 this p4 client and submitted from there.
530 * Each commit imported by 'git p4' has a line at the end of the log
531 message indicating the p4 depot location and change number. This
532 line is used by later 'git p4 sync' operations to know which p4