How to set a login timeout for a perforce user?

Perforce supports two methods of authentication: password-based and ticket-based.

How password-based authentication works?
Password-based authentication is stateless; once a password is correctly set, access is granted for indefinite time periods.

How ticket-based authentication works
Ticket-based authentication is based on time-limited tickets that enable users to connect to Perforce servers. Tickets are stored in the file specified by the P4TICKETS environment variable. If this variable is not set, tickets are stored in %USERPROFILE%\p4tickets.txt on Windows, and in $HOME/.p4tickets on UNIX and other operating systems. Tickets are managed automatically by 2004.2 and later Perforce client programs.

Tickets have a finite lifespan, after which they cease to be valid. By default, tickets are valid for 12 hours (43200 seconds). To set different ticket lifespans for groups of users, edit the Timeout: field in the p4 group form for each group. The timeout value for a user in multiple groups is the largest timeout value (including unlimited, but ignoring unset) for all groups of which a user is a member. To create a ticket that does not expire, set the Timeout: field to unlimited.

Although tickets are not passwords, Perforce servers accept valid tickets wherever users can specify Perforce passwords. This behavior provides the security advantages of ticket-based authentication with the ease of scripting afforded by password authentication.

Logging in to Perforce
To use ticket-based authentication, get a ticket by logging in with the p4 login command:

p4 login

You are prompted for your password, and a ticket is created for you in your ticket file. You can extend your ticket's lifespan by calling p4 login while already logged in. If you run p4 login while logged in, your ticket's lifespan is extended by 1/3 of its initial timeout setting, subject to a maximum of your initial timeout setting.

By default, Perforce tickets are valid for your IP address only. If you have a shared home directory that is used on more than one machine, you can log in to Perforce from both machines by using the command:

p4 login -a

to create a ticket in your home directory that is valid from all IP addresses.


Determining ticket status
To see if your current ticket (that is, for your IP address, user name, and P4PORT setting) is still valid, use the command:

p4 login -s

If your ticket is valid, the length of time for which it will remain valid is displayed.

To display all tickets you currently have, use the command:

p4 tickets

The contents of your ticket file are displayed.


Refer P4 Sys admin Guide for details