Perforce Extension

Automate your Perforce workflow with smart prompts for p4 edit, p4 add, and p4 delete operations in VS Code.

Features

• Edit: Detects when you try to edit read-only files and prompts to run p4 edit
• Add: Automatically prompts to run p4 add when new files are created
• Delete: Automatically prompts to run p4 delete when files are deleted
• Shows modal dialogs asking for confirmation before running Perforce commands
• Integrates with Perforce for VS Code extension
• Improves workflow by eliminating manual Perforce commands

Requirements

• VS Code 1.80.0 or higher
• Perforce for VS Code extension installed
• Perforce client configured and accessible
• files.readonlyFromPermissions setting enabled in VS Code settings

Usage

1. Install this extension
2. Ensure Perforce for VS Code is installed
3. Enable the files.readonlyFromPermissions setting in VS Code:

   {
     "files.readonlyFromPermissions": true
   }
   

4. When you try to edit a read-only file:
   • A modal dialog will appear asking "[filename] is read-only. Do you want to edit it in Perforce?"
   • Click "Yes" to execute p4 edit on that file
   • Click "No" to skip (the dialog will appear again on next edit attempt)

Settings

perforceExtension.enabled

• Type: boolean
• Default: true
• Description: Enable/disable Perforce Extension auto-prompts

{
  "perforceExtension.enabled": false
}

How It Works

1. Listens for document change events in the workspace
2. Checks if the changed file is read-only
3. Shows a modal dialog asking to run p4 edit
4. If accepted, executes the edit command from Perforce for VS Code extension
5. Prevents prompting again for the same file once successfully edited

Example Workflows

Editing a Read-Only File

Before:

1. Try to edit readonly-file.txt → No changes written (read-only)
2. Open Perforce panel → Right-click → "Edit"
3. Manually save and confirm

After:

1. Try to edit readonly-file.txt → Modal appears: "Do you want to edit readonly-file.txt in Perforce?"
2. Click "Yes" → Automatically runs p4 edit
3. File opens for editing

Creating a New File

1. Create newfile.txt in workspace
2. Modal appears: "Do you want to add newfile.txt to Perforce?"
3. Click "Yes" → Automatically runs p4 add

Deleting a File

1. Delete oldfile.txt from workspace
2. Modal appears: "Do you want to delete oldfile.txt from Perforce?"
3. Click "Yes" → Automatically runs p4 delete

Troubleshooting

Dialog doesn't appear when editing read-only files

• Ensure files.readonlyFromPermissions is enabled: "files.readonlyFromPermissions": true
• Ensure Perforce for VS Code extension is installed
• Check that perforceAutoEdit.enabled is not set to false

"Failed to run Perforce edit command" error

• Make sure Perforce for VS Code extension is properly installed
• Verify Perforce client is configured and accessible from command line
• Check VS Code extension output for more details

License

MIT