The instructions on this page describe how to configure a Perforce source repository for either a Plan or a Job. On this page:

Configuring a Perforce Source Repository

The instructions in this section apply to configuring a source repository for both Plans and Jobs.

To configure a Perforce repository:
If you are creating a new Plan or new Job, or have come from the Editing a Plan or Editing a Job topics, start at step 4.

1. Navigate to the source repository settings for a Plan or Job, as described on Specifying the Source Repository for a Plan and Specifying the Source Repository for a Job respectively.
   
2. Perforce Configuration
   • 
   • 'Repository' — select 'Perforce'.
   • 'Port' — Type either the port to which the Perforce client will connect, or the Perforce server itself. This is the Perforce P4PORT environment variable that tells Bamboo which p4d (Perforce server) to use.
   • 'Client (Workspace)' ⁽³⁾ — The name of the Perforce Client Workspace which Bamboo will use. The Client Workspace determines which portions of the depot are visible in your Workspace Tree.
     Do not create two Plans/Jobs that use the same client (e.g. one client set to manage, the other client set to not manage). This setup will create major issues in your builds.
   • 'Depot View' — The client view of the depot that contains the source code files for this Plan/Job. This is typically in the form //<clientname>/<workspace_mapping>/... For details please see the Perforce User's Guide.
     • Bamboo sets the client root to its working directory, which means that code will be checked out to the 'working directory/<workspace_mapping>' location. Please take note of this, when specifying the 'Artifact Copy Pattern' for your Build Artifacts.)
   • 'Location of POM file' (Only available when importing a Maven 2 project) — Type the path to your project's pom.xml file which is relative to the root of your Perforce Client (Workspace) (defined above).
   • 'Username' (Optional) — The Perforce username that Bamboo will use when it accesses the server ('Port'). Leave this field blank if you want Bamboo to use the default Perforce user (i.e. the OS username).
   • 'Password' (Optional) — Type the password required by the Perforce username (if applicable).
   • 'Change Password' (Only available after first saving the Plan/Job with a password) — Select this check box if you want to change the password that is used to access the Perforce repository.
     
   • 'Let Bamboo manage your workspace' ⁽⁴⁾ — This field indicates whether or not you want Bamboo to manage your workspace.
   • 'Enable Quiet Period:' (Only available when configuring an existing Plan) — Select this setting to set Quiet Period parameters for the Plan's build. Upon selecting this option, the following fields become available:
     • 'Quiet Period:' — This setting is used to avoid starting a build while someone is in mid-checkin. Bamboo will only initiate a build for this Plan when no more changes are detected within the Quiet Period following the last known change. Type the number of seconds Bamboo should wait.
     • 'Maximum Retries:' — You can specify how many times Bamboo should check for new changes using the Quiet Period parameter before initiating a build. For example, if you have set the 'Quiet Period' to '10' seconds then Bamboo will check if a checkout has occurred in the last 10 seconds. If you have then specified 'Maximum Retries:' as '5', then Bamboo will perform this check five times before initiating the build, regardless of any activity during the Quiet Period of the last check.
3. 
   • If you are importing a Maven 2 project, perform the Web Repository section of the Common Repository Configuration step below, before returning to the Enable this Plan section of Import a Maven 2 Project.
     
4. 
5. 

Screenshot above: Source Repository — Perforce

Appendix - Build Strategies

Notes

1. You will not be able to create Plans/Jobs that use a Perforce repository without specifying the shared local Perforce capability first. Read more about configuring a Perforce capability.
2. Keep your Perforce configuration up to date — If you are using Perforce as your repository, you must ensure your Perforce configuration in Bamboo is in sync with any changes to your Perforce repository (such as client, depot or user credential changes). If not, your Perforce repository changes may cause unexpected behaviour in Bamboo when Bamboo tries to access the repository. See the notes in the configuration instructions below for further details.
3. Issue when running Bamboo with Perforce prior to Bamboo 2.0.7 — A known issue exists when running Bamboo with Perforce prior to Bamboo 2.0.7 (See BAM-2866 and BAM-2849). If you change the name of your Perforce client (i.e. via an update) without updating your Perforce configuration in Bamboo, Bamboo will not be able to find the Perforce client to run against. Perforce will then create a default client in your running directory. This can lead to situations where Bamboo will attempt to clear out data from your running directory (e.g. force build). To avoid this problem, ensure that you update the 'Client' in your Perforce configuration whenever you change your Perforce client.
4. Please be aware of the following implications when either letting Bamboo manage or preventing Bamboo from managing your workspace:
   • If you let Bamboo manage your workspace,
     • We recommend this configuration if your Jobs will be running on many different machines or different operating systems, as Bamboo sets the client root for you.
     • Bamboo will make configuration changes to the Client Workspace to manage builds (e.g. Bamboo will modify the host and root). You need to ensure that you enter a Client Workspace in the 'Client' field that will be used solely for Bamboo.
     • Under this configuration, you should configure one client per Job to avoid conflicts when updating the client root.
   • If you do not let Bamboo manage your workspace,
     • We recommend this configuration if you wish to reuse your client for several Jobs, as Bamboo will retrieve the client root directory from Perforce and use it to run builds.
       Setting the client root in Perforce: We strongly recommend that you choose a directory that is dedicated for Bamboo's use only, when you are specifying the client root in your Perforce repository. This directory may get cleaned (i.e. files and sub-directories deleted) if you choose to force clean builds.
     • Under this configuration, you need to ensure that the client root directory exists on all machines that the Job will be built on.
     • Please note that alternate roots does not currently work in Bamboo. See issue BAM-2377 for further details.

Related Topics

Specifying the Source Repository for a Plan
Specifying the Source Repository for a Job