p4 delete

Synopsis

Open file(s) in a client workspace for deletion from the depot.

Syntax

p4 [g-opts] delete [-c changelist] [-n -k -v] [--remote=remote] file ...

Description

The p4 delete command opens file(s) in a client workspace for deletion from the depot. The files are immediately removed from the client workspace, but are not deleted from the depot until the corresponding changelist is committed with p4 submit.

Although it will appear that a deleted file has been deleted from the depot, the file is never truly deleted, as older revisions of the same file are always accessible. Instead, a new head revision of the file is created which marks the file as being deleted. If p4 sync is used to bring the head revision of this file into another workspace, the file is deleted from that workspace.

A file that is open for deletion does not appear on the workspace’s have list.

Options

-c changelist

Opens the files for delete within the specified changelist.

If this option is not provided, the files are linked to the default changelist.

-k

Delete the file on the shared versioning service, but keep a copy of the deleted file in your workspace.

-n

Preview which files would be opened for delete, without actually changing any files or metadata.

--remote=remote

Opens the file for delete in your personal server, and additionally —  if the file is of type +l — takes a global exclusive lock on the file in the shared server from which which you cloned the file.

For more information, see the section Support for exclusive locking in the Fetching and Pushing chapter of Using Helix for Distributed Versioning.

-v

Delete a file that is not synced into the client workspace.

To use this option, specify these files in depot syntax; because such files are not synced, client syntax or local syntax can introduce ambiguities in the list of files to delete. (If the files are synced, p4 delete -v file removes the files from your workspace in addition to opening them for deletion.)

To delete a set of files without transferring them to your workstation when another version of these files already exists in your workspace, use p4 sync -k file, followed by p4 delete -k file. This allows you to delete a file that is in the depot without affecting the file (by the same name) in your workspace. For example, if you have myfile version 5 in the depot and myfile version 6 in your workspace, this sequence of commands, allows you to keep version 6 but delete version 5. If you don’t do this and just do p4 delete -v, it will delete version 5 in the depot and version 6 in the workspace.

g-opts

See “Global Options”.

Usage Notes

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

No

No

open
  • A file that has been deleted from the client workspace with p4 delete can be reinstated in the client workspace and removed from the pending changelist with p4 revert. To do this, you must revert the deletion before submitting the changelist.
  • Perforce does not prevent users from opening files that are already open; its default scheme is to allow multiple users to open a file simultaneously, and then resolve file conflicts with p4 resolve. To prevent someone else from opening a file once you’ve opened it, use p4 lock. To determine whether or not another user already has a particular file open, use p4 opened -a file.
  • Using an +Sn file modifier results in special behavior when you delete and read a file: no file reversions are deleted that were submitted before the add or delete. For example, if a file of type +S2 is marked as deleted in revision 5, and then re-added with the same file type and modifier, revisions 3 and 4 are not purged.

Examples

p4 delete //depot/README

Opens the file called README in the depot’s top level directory for deletion. The corresponding file within the workspace is immediately deleted, but the file is not deleted from the depot until the default changelist is submitted.

p4 delete -c 40 file

Opens file in the current workspace for deletion. The file is immediately removed from the client workspace, but won’t be deleted from the depot until changelist 40 is committed with p4 submit.

Related Commands

To open a file for add

p4 add

To open a file for edit

p4 edit

To copy all open files to the depot

p4 submit

To read files from the depot into the client workspace

p4 sync

To create or edit a new changelist

p4 change

To list all opened files

p4 opened

To revert a file to its unopened state

p4 revert

To move an open file to a different changelist

p4 reopen