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P4 Server Administration Documentation | 2026.1

# P4 Server Control (p4dctl)

The P4 Server Control (`p4dctl`) utility enables the management of the services related to P4 Server that run on the local host.

The root user:

- Is the Linux owner of the /etc/perforce/ directory, and can start and stop all services.
- Can configure the /etc/perforce/p4dctl.conf file to allow one or more non-root users, such as the perforce user, to start and stop certain services.

p4dctl can only be obtained as part of a Linux package installation.

You use the `p4dctl` utility to configure the environment in which services run and to manage the services. The basic workflow for an administrator using the `p4dctl` utility:

1. Edit a configuration file that defines the environment for the services you want to control.
2. Execute `p4dctl` commands to start and stop services, to get information about services, and to checkpoint services.

You can use a single `p4dctl` command to manage all services or an arbitrary group of services by assigning them a common name in the `p4dctl` configuration file.

p4dctl introduces no new environment variables. It enforces strict control of the environment of any service it starts according to the directives in the `p4dctl` configuration file, `p4dctl.conf`. This prevents failures that stem from the differences between the user’s environment and that of `root`.

P4 Server environment variables must be defined in the P4DCTL configuration file, and will not take effect if they are defined from the `perforce` user's shell environment, such as the `.bashrc` file.

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