p4 unlock

Synopsis

Release the lock on a file.

Syntax

p4 [g-opts] unlock [-c change | -s shelvedchange | -x] [-f] [file ...]
p4 [g-opts] -c client unlock [-f ] -r
p4 [g-opts] -g -c change [-f ]

Description

The p4 unlock command includes three syntax variants:

  • The first syntax variant releases locks that were created explicitly using the p4 lock command or implicitly during the course of a submit operation or other operations that require file locking.

    If the file is open in a pending changelist other than default, you must use the -c option to specify the pending changelist. If no changelist is specified, p4 unlock unlocks files in the default changelist.

    If no file name is given, all files in the designated changelist are unlocked.

  • The second syntax variant allows you to unlock files that were left locked due to a failed p4 push command.

    If a p4 push command from a remote server to this server fails, files can be left locked on this server, preventing other users from submitting changes that affect these files. In this case, the user who issued the p4 push command can use the -r option of the p4 push command (and specify the name of the client that was used on that remote server) to unlock the files on this server. An administrator can run p4 unlock -f -r as well. For example: 

    $ p4 -p central -c myworkspace unlock -r
  • In an edge/commit architecture, this syntax variant unlocks the files in the specified changelist locally and globally. This option may only be used from an edge server containing the local change, and it must be used with the -c changelist option.

By default, files can be unlocked only by the changelist owner who must also be the user who has the files locked. However, administrators may use the -f option to forcibly unlock a file opened by another user. For example, you can run a command like the following on the commit server. 

$ p4 -c myclient unlock -xf myfile

An admin may also use this syntax to forcibly unlock files of type +1, which are not marked as orphaned, but which can no longer be unlocked by the user who opened them.

Options

-c changelist

Unlock files in pending changelist changelist. This option applies to opened files in a pending changelist that were locked by p4 lock or a failed submit operation of an unshelved changelist.

-f

Superuser or administrator force option; allows unlocking of files opened by other users.

You may now use a command like to following to unlock files of type =1

-r

Unlock the files associated with the specified client that were locked due to a failed p4 push command.

-s shelvedchange

If a file is locked in a pending shelved changelist, unlock it and keep it within the shelvedchange. This can typically only happen if a p4 submit -e command is aborted.

-x

In distributed environments, unlock files that have the +l filetype (exclusive open) but have become orphaned (this is typically only necessary in the event of an extended network outage between an edge server and the commit server).

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

write

Related Commands

To lock files so other users can’t submit them

p4 lock

To display all your open, locked files (UNIX)

p4 opened | grep "*locked*"