p4 sync

Synopsis

Syntax

Description

• The file must be visible through the client view;

• It must not already be opened by p4 edit, p4 delete, p4 add, or p4 integrate;

• It must not already exist in the client workspace at its latest revision (the head revision).

If file patterns are specified on the command line, only those files that match the file patterns and that meet the above criteria are copied. If the file pattern contains a revision specifier, the specified revision is copied into the client workspace. If the file argument includes a revision range, only files selected by the revision range are updated, and the highest revision in the range is used.

The newly-synced files are not available for editing until opened with p4 edit or p4 delete. Newly-synced files are read-only; p4 edit and p4 delete make the files writable. Under normal circumstances, you should not use your operating system's commands to make the files writable; let Perforce do this for you.

Options

-n	Display the results of the sync without actually performing the sync. This lets you make sure that the sync does what you think it does before you do it.
-f	Force the sync. Perforce performs the sync even if the client workspace already has the file at the specified revision, and even if the file is not writable. This flag does not affect open files, but it does override the noclobber client option.
g_opts	See the Global Options section.

Usage Notes

Can File Arguments Use Revision Specifier?	Can File Arguments Use Revision Range?	Minimal Access Level Required
Yes	Yes	read

• If the client view has changed since the last sync, the next sync will remove from the client workspace those files that are no longer visible through the client view, and will copy into the client workspace those depot files that were not previously visible.

By default, any empty directories in the client view will be cleared of files, but the directories themselves will not be deleted. To remove empty directories upon syncing, turn on the rmdir option in the p4 client form.

• If a user has made certain files writable by using OS commands outside of Perforce's control, p4 sync will not normally overwrite those files. If the clobber option in the p4 client form has been turned on, however, these files will be overwritten.

Examples

p4 sync	Copy the latest revision of all files from the depot to the client workspace, as mapped through the client view. If the file is already open in the client workspace, or if the latest revision of the file exists in the client workspace, it will not be copied.
p4 sync #4	Copy the fourth revision of all files from the depot to the client workspace, with the same exceptions as in the example above.
p4 sync //depot/proj1/...@21	Copy all the files under the //depot/proj1 directory from the depot to the client workspace, as mapped through the client view. Don't copy the latest revision; use the revision of the file in the depot after changelist 21 was submitted.

Related Commands

To open a file in a client workspace and list it in a changelist	p4 add p4 edit p4 delete p4 integrate
To copy changes to files in the client workspace to the depot	p4 submit
To view a list of files and revisions that have been synced to the client workspace	p4 have