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P4 CLI Documentation | 2026.1

# Start P4 Server

1. Make a subdirectory in which to start up the server and client.

   When started, the server creates a large number of database files. To avoid cluttering your working directory with these files, start up the server and client in a designated directory.

   On Unix and macOS

       mkdir /Users/bruno/server

   On Windows

       mkdir C:\Users\bruno\server

2. Start up the shared server.

   Start up the shared server, using the `-r dir` option to specify the directory created in the previous step and the `-p port` option to set the hostname:port number to `localhost:1666`, the required setting for running the shared server and the client on same computer.

   On UNIX and macOS

       p4d -r /Users/bruno/server -p localhost:1666

   On Windows

       p4d -r C:\Users\bruno\server -p localhost:1666

   This produces the following output:

       Perforce db files in 'server' will be created if missing...
       Perforce Server starting...

   Because the shared server runs in the foreground, you must open a new terminal window in which to run subsequent commands.

   If the P4 Server is already started, which occurs when the Windows installer completes, you might see "Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted." You can verify that the server has started by running the p4 info command.

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