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P4 Server Administration Documentation | 2026.1

# Moving clients and labels

To move clients and labels between servers in a commit/edge environment, use the p4 unload and p4 reload commands.

## Client Examples

The general form of the command to move a client between servers is:

`p4 reload -c client -p P4PORT`
`p4 reload -c client -p serverID`

where:

- P4PORT or `serverID` specifies the server the client will be moved from
- the server the p4 reload command is directed at specifies the server the client is moved to
- If a `serverID` is specified, the server spec for that server must contain the correct `P4PORT` value in its `Address` field

The process is a single step with more recent versions of P4 server:

2014.2 and later | 2014.1 and earlier
--- | ---
The `p4 reload` commands above implicitly run the p4 unload command against the server the client is being moved from before processing the reload. | Run `p4 unload -c client` against the server the client is being moved from. Run `p4 reload -c -p` against the server the client is being moved to.

### User `bruno` moves client `projectX_dev` from a remote edge server to his local edge server:

    p4 -p edge_local:1666 reload -c projectX_dev -p edge_remote:1666
    Client projectX_dev unloaded.
    Client projectX_dev reloaded.

### P4 Administrator `admin` moves client `bruno_dev` from the commit server to an edge server:

    p4 -p edge:1666 reload -f -c bruno_dev -p commit:1666
    Client bruno_dev unloaded.
    Client bruno_dev reloaded.

where the `-f` option for `p4 reload` is required for administrators to work with clients they don't own.

### P4 Administrator `admin` moves client `bruno_dev` from the edge server to the commit server:

    p4 -p commit:1666 reload -f -c bruno_dev -p edge:1666
    Client bruno_dev unloaded.
    Client bruno_dev reloaded.

where:

- the `-f` option for `p4 reload` is required for administrators to work with clients they don't own
- The commit server must have a configured service user

- The service user must be logged in from the commit to the edge

  Otherwise the following error will occur:
  `p4 -p commit:1666 reload -f -c bruno_dev -p edge:1666
  Client bruno_dev unloaded.
  Access for user 'remote' has not been enabled by 'p4 protect'.`

## Label Examples

For labels, both `p4 unload` and `p4 reload` are required.

User `bruno` moves global label `bruno_hotFix` from the commit server to an edge server.

    p4 -p commit:1666 unload -l bruno_hotFix
    Label bruno_hotFix unloaded.

    p4 -p edge:1666 reload -l bruno_hotFix -p commit:1666
    Label bruno_hotFix reloaded.

P4 Administrator `admin` moves global label ``bruno_hotFix`` from the commit server to an edge server:

    p4 -u admin -p commit:1666 unload -f -l bruno_hotFix
    Label bruno_hotFix unloaded.

    p4 -u admin -p edge:1666 reload -f -l bruno_hotFix -p commit:1666
    Label bruno_hotFix reloaded.

where the `-f` option for `p4 reload` is required for administrators to work with clients they don't own.

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