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P4 Server Administration Documentation | 2025.2

# Login process for the user

Users are authenticated in one of two ways:

- The user logs in explicitly using the `p4 login` command. (For more information, see p4 login in the P4 CLI Reference.)

- The user enters a `p4` command that requires that the user be authenticated. If the user is not already authenticated, the command prompts the user to log in. If the login attempt is successful, the original command continues.

To log in to the P4 Server explicitly, the user obtains a ticket from the server by using the `p4 login` command:

    $ p4 login

The user is prompted for a password, and a ticket is created for the user in the file specified by `P4TICKETS`. The user can extend the ticket’s lifespan by calling `p4 login` while already logged in. This extends the ticket’s lifespan by 1/3 of its initial timeout setting, subject to a maximum of the user’s initial timeout setting.

By default, after `3` consecutive failed login attempts, the server imposes a delay of up to `10` seconds on the user’s ability to run `p4 login`. To alter this behavior, set `dm.user.loginattempts` to a different number of consecutive failed login attempts.

By default, the server issues a ticket for the user that is valid solely for the user’s IP address. If the user has a shared home directory that is used on more than one workstation, the user can log in to the server from those workstations by using `p4 login -a` to create a ticket in the home directory that is valid from all IP addresses.

Tickets can be used by multiple clients on the same machine if they use the same user and port.

The `auth.csv` log is used to log the results of `p4 login` attempts. (See `auth.csv` in Enable and configure structured logging.)

If the login failed, the reason is included in the log. Additional information provided by the authentication method is included in the log entries.

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