Accounts, security and licensing

Connect for the first time

You need three things: the address and fingerprint from the Project source control card (or the ready email), and the dsl_admin password from the email. See Your connection details.

1. Point the client at your server

   macOS / LinuxWindows

   macOS / LinuxCopy

   $ export P4PORT=ssl:p4.starfall.northwind.example.com:1666
   $ export P4USER=dsl_admin
   

   The ssl: prefix is required. Hosted servers have no plaintext port; a connection without ssl: is refused.

2. Trust the certificate, by checking the fingerprint

   Copy

   $ p4 trust
   

   p4 trust prints the fingerprint the server presented and asks whether to trust it. Compare it, character for character, with the Fingerprint row on the connection card:

   Expected fingerprint

   AB:12:6D:4F:90:C3:E8:71:2A:55:BD:04:7E:39:F1:C8:6B:2D:A0:14
   

   If they match, answer yes. For scripts and build machines, pass the fingerprint you expect instead of answering a prompt:

   Copy

   $ p4 trust -i AB:12:6D:4F:90:C3:E8:71:2A:55:BD:04:7E:39:F1:C8:6B:2D:A0:14
   

3. Sign in and change the admin password

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   $ p4 login
   

   Enter the password from the email. The server requires dsl_admin to change its password at first sign-in; when Perforce tells you the password must be changed, set a new one:

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   $ p4 passwd
   

   The server runs at Perforce security level 4, so the new password must be strong: at least eight characters using a mix of character classes (for example upper and lower case plus digits or punctuation). Then sign in again and confirm:

   Copy

   $ p4 login\np4 info
   

   Now delete the email, as it asks.

P4V and P4Admin

The same three values go into Perforce's graphical tools.

• In P4V, open Connection → Open Connection, enter the values above and confirm. P4V shows the server's certificate fingerprint and asks whether to trust it: compare it with your connection card exactly as you would on the command line.
• Enter the emailed password. P4V then prompts you to set a new password, for the same reason as above.
• P4V's Swarm integration finds your Swarm server automatically; the platform publishes its address on the server for that purpose.
• P4Admin connects the same way. Use it to manage users, groups and permissions; see Add users and workspaces.

For the tools themselves, Perforce's own documentation is the reference; this guide covers only what is specific to a hosted server.

Helix Swarm

Every hosted server comes with Helix Swarm for code review. Its address is on the connection card as Swarm Server and follows a fixed pattern: your server label with -swarm appended.

https://p4-swarm.starfall.northwind.example.com

• Swarm requires sign-in. Use your Perforce username and password; there are no separate Swarm accounts.
• Reviews, comments and Swarm projects are stored inside Perforce, so they are included in your backups.
• During a migration, Swarm is deliberately offline until you finalize. See Bring an existing server across.

Add users and workspaces

There is no user-management page in the app. You administer users, groups and permissions with the standard Perforce tools, signed in as dsl_admin. A new server starts with an empty depot, so the first steps are usually a depot layout, a user and a workspace:

$ p4 user -f alice         # opens the user spec: set FullName and Email
$ p4 passwd alice          # give them an initial password to change
$ p4 protect               # add a line such as:  write user alice * //depot/...
$ p4 client alice-ws       # a workspace for them, or let them create their own

Perforce's documentation covers the spec formats and the protections table. Two things are specific to a hosted server: do not remove or demote the platform accounts listed below, and remember every standard user you create occupies a licensed seat.

Accounts on your server

On a server you migrated in, your existing users and their passwords are carried over, and dsl_admin is added to your existing protections table as a super user rather than replacing it.

Security defaults

Licensing

Two things about licensing are worth knowing before you need them.

• Your license never leaves the server. Backups and exports exclude the Perforce license file. A server you restore from a backup runs unlicensed until you install a license into its P4ROOT, and unlicensed Perforce allows two users and five workspaces. Keep a copy of your license where you keep your backups. See Restore from a backup.
• Standard users consume seats. Every standard user you create, including a build account on a server you host yourself, counts against the license. Service accounts do not.