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P4 CLI Documentation | 2026.1

# p4 status

Previews output of open files for add, delete, and/or edit in order to reconcile a workspace with changes made outside of P4 Server.

The `p4 status` command produces output in local syntax. To see file names and paths in depot syntax, use the `-n` option to `p4 reconcile`.

## Syntax

    p4 [g-opts] status [-c change] [-A | [-e -a -d -M] | [-s]] [-f -I -m] [--parallel=N] [file ...]

Syntax and naming conventions

## Description

When called without arguments, `p4 status` only previews the results of the workspace reconciliation. To limit the scope of `p4 status` to add, edit, or delete, use the `-a`, `-e`, or `-d` options. You must use either `p4 status -A` (or `p4 reconcile`) to actually open the files in a changelist.

The `p4 status` command finds unopened files in a client’s workspace and detects the following three types of inconsistencies between your workspace and the depot:

1. Files present in the depot, present in your have list The list of file revisions most recently synced from the depot into the workspace. In other words, the list of files that the client workspace has., but missing from your workspace. By default, these files are then opened for `delete`.
2. Files present in your workspace, but missing on the depot. By default, these files are opened for `add`.
3. Files modified in your workspace that are not open for edit. By default, these files are opened for `edit`.

If the list of files to be opened includes both adds and deletes, the missing and added files are compared and converted to pairs of `move/delete` and `move/add` operations (as long as the files' sizes and contents are similar.)

By default, `p4 status` displays opened files as well as files that need to be reconciled. If you use the `-A`, `-e`, `-a`, or `-d` options or client applications earlier than 2015.1, opened files are not displayed.

By default, `p4 status` does not check files and/or paths mentioned in the `P4IGNORE` file. Use the `-I` option to override this behavior and ignore the `P4IGNORE` file.

### Reconcile and implicit p4 move affects p4 status

If you do a p4 reconcile and some of the files show up as potential "adds" while others show up as "deletes", P4 Server compares the new files and the missing files to see if any of them appear to be the same file. If so, P4 Server links them as if you had used p4 move to open them. The output of p4 reconcile and p4 status will include a "... moved from" line so that you can preview how P4 Server matched the files before you submit them. You can also use p4 resolved after opening the files.

## Options

Option | Description
--- | ---
`-a` | Display files to be opened for add.
`-A` | Add, edit, and delete files. Files in the client workspace not under P4 Server control are opened for add. Changed files are opened for edit. Files in the user’s have list that have been removed from the workspace are opened for delete. p4 status -A is equivalent to `p4 reconcile -ead`.
`-c change` | The changelist containing the files whose status is sought.
`-d` | Display files to be opened for delete.
`-e` | Display files to be opened for edit.
-M | Add or delete files: Allow the added or deleted files to be compared and converted to pairs of move/delete and move/add operations if they are similar enough.
--parallel=N | Used with -M to specify the number of files opened for add to be compared simultaneously on the client to the file opened for delete. This might improve the performance of the move matching.
`-f` | Display files to be added whose names contain special (wildcard) characters. Files containing the special characters `@`, `#`, `%`, or `*` are reformatted to encode the characters using hex notation. After these files are added, you must refer to them using their reformatted filenames.
`-I` | Informs the client that it should not perform any ignore checking configured by `P4IGNORE`.
`-m` | Use in conjunction with the `-e` option to minimize costly digest computation on the client by checking file modification times before checking digests to determine if files have been modified outside of P4 Server.
`-s` | Generate summarized output for files to open for add. Using this option causes the command to preview files needing to be reconciled, but provides shorter output for files to be opened for add. Files in the current working directory are listed, but subdirectories containing files to be opened for add are listed rather than the individual files. This provides the shorter output.
`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`

## Related commands

To reconcile a workspace that has been modified outside P4 Server | `p4 reconcile`

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