p4 change // P4 Command Reference

Synopsis

Create or edit a changelist specification.

The command p4 changelist is an alias for p4 change.

Syntax

p4 [g-opts] change [-s] [-f | -u] [[-O] changelist]
p4 [g-opts] change -d [-fsO] changelist
p4 [g-opts] change -o [-sf] [[-O] changelist ]
p4 [g-opts] change -i [-s] [-f | -u]
p4 [g-opts] change -t restricted | public [-U user] [-fuOI] changelist
p4 [g-opts] change -U user [-t restricted | public] [-f] changelist
p4 [g-opts] change -d -f --server=serverid changelist

Description

When files are opened with p4 add, p4 delete, p4 edit, or p4 integrate, the files are listed in a changelist. Edits to the files are kept in the local client workspace until the changelist is sent to the depot with p4 submit. By default, files are opened within the default changelist, but multiple changelists can be created and edited with the p4 change command.

p4 change brings up a form for editing or viewing in the editor defined by the environment variable P4EDITOR. When no arguments are provided, this command creates a new, numbered changelist. (All files open in the default changelist are moved to the new changelist.)

The command p4 -Ztag change -o displays, in addition to other information, the access time for shelved files. You can use this information to determine if a shelved file has been abandoned and needs to be removed.

Changelist numbers are assigned in sequence; Perforce may renumber changelists automatically on submission in order to keep the numeric order of submitted changelists identical to the chronological order.

To edit the description of a pending changelist, or to view the fields of a submitted changelist, use p4 change changelist.

If p4 submit of the default changelist fails, a numbered changelist is created in its place. The changelist must be referred to by number from that point forward.

Form Fields

Field Name	Type	Description
`Change:`	Read-only	Contains the changelist number if editing an existing changelist, or `new` if creating a new changelist.
`Client:`	Read-only	Name of current client workspace.
`Date:`	Read-only	Date the changelist was last modified.
`User:`	Read-only	Name of the change owner. The owner of an empty pending changelist (that is, a pending changelist without any files in it) can transfer ownership of the changelist to another existing user either by editing this field, or by using the `-U user` option. The specified owner does not have to be a Perforce user. You might want to use an arbitrary name if the user does not yet exist, or if you have deleted the user and need a placeholder until you can assign the spec to a new user.
`Status:`	Read-only	`pending`, `shelved`, `submitted`, or `new`. Not editable by the user. The status is `new` when the changelist is created, `pending` when it has been created but has not yet been submitted to the depot with `p4 submit`, `shelved` when its contents are shelved with `p4 shelve`, and `submitted` when its contents have been stored in the depot with `p4 submit`.
`Description:`	Writable, mandatory	Textual description of changelist. This value must be changed before submission. If you do not have access to a restricted changelist, the description is replaced with a "no permission" message.
`Jobs:`	List	A list of jobs that are fixed by this changelist. The list of jobs that appears when the form is first displayed is controlled by the `p4 user` form’s `JobView:` setting. Jobs can be deleted from or added to this list.
`Type:`	Writable, optional	Type of change: `restricted` or `public`. The `Type:` field can be used to hide the change or its description from users. A `shelved` or `committed` change (as denoted in the `Status:` field) that is `restricted` is accessible only to users who own the change or have `list` permission to at least one file in the change. Public changes are displayed without restrictions. By default, changelists are `public`. A Perforce superuser can set the default changelist type (for changelists created after the configurable is set) by setting the `defaultChangeType` configurable.
`Files:`	List	The list of files being submitted in this changelist. Files can be deleted from this list, and files that are found in the default changelist can be added.
`ImportedBy:`	Read-only	Displays the name of the user who ran the `p4 fetch`, `p4 push`, or `p4 unzip` command that imported this change into the server. This field is primarily useful for distributed versioning (DVCS) scenarios, in which changelists are copied from one server to another, and help you correlate the changelist’s basic identity as it is copied. In such configurations, Perforce recommends using the `submit.identity` configurable to enable automatic generation of changelist identities by the `p4 submit`.
`Identity:`	Writable, mandatory	Contains a label which uniquely identifies this changelist across all servers where it has been fetched, pushed, or unzipped. This field is primarily useful for distributed versioning (DVCS) scenarios, in which changelists are copied from one server to another, and help you correlate the changelist’s basic identity as it is copied. In such configurations, Perforce recommends using the `submit.identity` configurable to enable automatic generation of changelist identities by the `p4 submit`.

Options

`-d`	Delete the changelist. This is usually allowed only with pending changelists that contain no files or pending fixes, but the superuser can delete changelists under other circumstances with the addition of the `-f` option. If you try to forcibly delete a changelist whose client is bound to another server, you need to specify the `--serverid` option and specify the server id of the other server. This ensures that you do not accidentally delete the changelist believing it to be on your own server.
`-f`	Force option. Allows the description, modification date, or user of a submitted changelist to be edited. Editing a submitted changelist requires `admin` or `super` access. Superusers and administrators can also overwrite read-only fields when using the `-f` option. The `-u` and the `-f` options are mutually exclusive.
`-f` `-d`	Forcibly delete a previously submitted changelist. Only a Perforce administrator or superuser can use this command, and the changelist must have had all of its files removed from the system with `p4 obliterate`.
`-i`	Read a changelist description from standard input. Input must be in the same format used by the `p4 change` form.
`-o`	Write a changelist description to standard output.
`-O`	If a changelist was renumbered on submit, and you know only the original changelist number, use `-O` and the original changelist number to view or edit the changelist.
`-I`	Specifies that the changelist number is the Identity field of a changelist.
`-s`	Allows jobs to be assigned arbitrary status values on submission of the changelist, rather than the default status of `closed`. To leave a job unchanged, use the special status of `same`. On new changelists, the fix status is displayed as the special status `ignore`. (If the status is left unchanged, the job is not fixed by the submission of the changelist.) This option works in conjunction with the `-s` option to `p4 fix`, and is intended for use in conjunction with defect tracking systems.
`--serverid=serverid`	If you try to forcibly delete a changelist whose client is bound to another server, you need to specify the `--serverid` option and to specify the server id of the other server. This ensures that you do not accidentally delete the changelist, believing it to be on your own server. This variant of the `p4 change` command must be issued directly to the commit server.
`-t type`	Change a submitted changelist’s type to either `restricted` or `public`.
`-u`	Update a submitted changelist. Only the `Jobs:`, `Description:`, or `Type:` fields can be updated, and only the submitter of the changelist can update the changelist. The `-u` and the `-f` options are mutually exclusive.
`-U user`	The `-U` user option changes the owner of an empty pending changelist. To reassign a changelist, you must either already be the changelist’s owner, or a user with `admin` permissions and use the `-f` option. (Unlike manually editing the `User:` field in the `p4 change` form, this option is much more convenient for use within a trigger or script.)
`g-opts`	See “Global Options”.

Usage Notes

Can File Arguments Use Revision Specifier?	Can File Arguments Use Revision Range?	Minimal Access Level Required
N/A	N/A	`open`, or `list` to use the `-o` option, or `admin` to use the `-f` option

You should create multiple changelists when editing files corresponding to different logical tasks. For example, if edits to files file1.c and file2.c fix a particular bug, and edits to file other.c add a new feature, file1.c and file2.c should be opened in one changelist, and other.c should be opened in a different changelist.
p4 change changelist edits the specification of an existing changelist, but does not display the files or jobs that are linked to the changelist. Use p4 opened -c changelist to see a list of files linked to a particular changelist and p4 fixes -c changelist to see a list of jobs linked to a particular changelist.
To move a file from one changelist to another, use p4 reopen, or use p4 revert to remove a file from all pending changelists.

Examples

`p4 change`	Create a new changelist.
`p4 change -f 25`	Edit previously submitted changelist 25. Administrator or superuser access is required.
`p4 change -d 29`	Delete changelist 29. This succeeds only if changelist 29 is `pending` and contains no files.

Related Commands

To submit a changelist to the depot	`p4 submit`
To move a file from one changelist to another	`p4 reopen`
To remove a file from all pending changelists	`p4 revert`
To list changelists meeting particular criteria	`p4 changes`
To list opened files	`p4 opened`
To list fixes linked to particular changelists	`p4 fixes`
To link a job to a particular changelist	`p4 fix`
To remove a job from a particular changelist	`p4 fix` -d
To list all the files listed in a changelist	`p4 opened` `-c changelist`
To obtain a description of files changed in a changelist	`p4 describe` `changelist`

P4 Command Reference (2016.2)

p4 change