Creating a Helix Server root directory

The Perforce service stores all user-submitted files and system-generated metadata in files and subdirectories beneath its own root directory. This directory is called the server root.

To specify a server root, either set the environment variable P4ROOT to point to the server root, or use the -r server_root flag when invoking p4d. Helix Server applications never use the P4ROOT directory or environment variable; p4d is the only process that uses the P4ROOT variable.

Because all Helix Server files are stored by default beneath the server root, the contents of the server root can grow over time. See Disk space allocation for information about diskspace requirements.

The Perforce service requires no privileged access; there is no need to run p4d as root or any other privileged user. For more information, see Running the Helix Server (p4d) as an unprivileged user.

The server root can be located anywhere, but the account that runs p4d must have read, write, and execute permissions on the server root and all directories beneath it. For security purposes, set the umask(1) file-creation-mode mask of the account that runs p4d to a value that denies other users access to the server root directory.