/p4-changelist-management

name: p4-changelist-management
description: P4 changelist workflows — create, list, submit, shelve, unshelve, and manage changelists and shelved files via P4 MCP tools. Use when: creating changelists, editing files, shelving, unshelving, submitting, organizing changes, or managing pending work in P4.

Changelist Management

Use the `query_changelists`, `modify_changelists`, `query_shelves`, and `modify_shelves` tools to manage P4 changelists and shelved files.

Querying Changelists

| Action | Purpose | Key Parameters | |--------|---------|----------------| | `list` | List changelists with filters | `status`, `user`, `workspace_name`, `depot_path`, `max_results` | | `get` | Get full changelist details | `changelist_id` |

Modifying Changelists

| Action | Purpose | Key Parameters | |--------|---------|----------------| | `create` | Create a new pending changelist | `description` | | `update` | Update changelist description or fields | `changelist_id`, `description` | | `submit` | Submit a pending changelist | `changelist_id` | | `delete` | Delete an empty pending changelist (requires approval) | `changelist_id` | | `move_files` | Move files to a target changelist | `changelist_id`, `file_paths` |

Querying Shelves

| Action | Purpose | Key Parameters | |--------|---------|----------------| | `list` | List shelved changelists | `user`, `max_results` | | `diff` | View diff of shelved files | `changelist_id` | | `files` | List files in a shelved changelist | `changelist_id` |

Modifying Shelves

| Action | Purpose | Key Parameters | |--------|---------|----------------| | `shelve` | Shelve files from a pending changelist | `changelist_id`, `file_paths` | | `unshelve` | Unshelve files back to the same changelist | `changelist_id`, `file_paths` | | `unshelve_to_changelist` | Unshelve files into a different changelist | `changelist_id`, `target_changelist`, `file_paths` | | `update` | Update shelved files with new edits | `changelist_id`, `file_paths` | | `delete` | Delete shelved files (requires approval) | `changelist_id`, `file_paths`, `force` |

Common Workflows

Make and submit a change

1. `modify_changelists` → `create` a pending changelist 2. `modify_files` → `edit` (or `add`/`delete`) to open files for edit in the changelist 3. `modify_changelists` → `submit` to commit the change

Shelve work in progress

1. `modify_changelists` → `create` a pending changelist 2. `modify_files` → `edit` to open files 3. `modify_shelves` → `shelve` to store changes server-side 4. `modify_files` → `revert` local copies (shelve is preserved)

Resume shelved work

1. `query_shelves` → `list` to find your shelved changelists 2. `modify_shelves` → `unshelve` to restore files to your workspace 3. Continue editing, then `modify_changelists` → `submit`

Organize files across changelists

1. `query_changelists` → `list` with `status=pending` to see your open changelists 2. `modify_changelists` → `move_files` to reorganize files between changelists

Best Practices

• Always provide a meaningful description when creating changelists.
• Shelve before sharing work with others (e.g., for code review).
• Use `query_shelves` → `diff` to verify shelved content before unshelving.
• Submit changelists promptly to avoid long-lived pending changes.
• Use `move_files` to keep changelists focused on a single logical change.