Table of Contents
Do you know which tool automates the tasks on the Salesforce Platform? The Salesforce Command Line Interface, popularly known as the Salesforce CLI, is a free, open-source tool that helps in deployment and management. This fantastic tool is the saviour for admins and developers in the Salesforce ecosystem. We will also help you get started with this useful tool and suggest some of its best practices.
What is a CLI?
CLI stands for “Command Line Interface,” a text-based way to interact with a program instead of a graphical interface.
To use a CLI, you must use a terminal to enter commands. You’d use Windows Terminal on Windows, and on a Mac, it’s simply called Terminal.
What is a Salesforce CLI?
The Salesforce CLI is a powerful command-line interface tool designed to help developers and administrators streamline their tasks. It allows the developers and admins to control the Salesforce environments, automate repetitive tasks, and effectively manage the Salesforce development lifecycle. With Salesforce CLI, you can easily design, deploy, and manage Salesforce applications using simple commands.
Thus, you can use the tool for the following activities:
- Exporting and Importing the Data
- Managing and Creating the Orgs
- Executing the Tests
- Synchronizing source to and from the Scratch Orgs
- Creating and Installing the Packages
How to Download and Install the Salesforce CLI?
As a beginner, downloading and installing the Salesforce CLI could be a tedious task for you. To simplify this process, we mention a link here from which you will be redirected to the official website. We will also provide the information required to install the Salesforce CLI.
After landing on the official page, you must select the appropriate version of your operating system: Windows, macOS, or Linux. Thus, once you download Salesforce CLI, install it immediately. Now, you must open up the terminal and enter the command mentioned below.
sf –version
If everything gets installed appropriately, this command will show the output of the current version of the installed CLI.
After successfully installing this tool, you must learn to use Salesforce CLI.
How to Use Salesforce CLI?
Now that you have installed this amazing tool, you need to provide the text commands to perform any action on this tool. But where do you find these commands? Well, the easiest way to get all commands is by using a single command in which you instruct the Salesforce CLI to provide information. So, you are required to run this command:
sf commands
This command will show all the commands that CLI accepts. If you are blessed with an eagle eye vision, you may have noticed that all these commands start with similar words, i.e., alias, auth, force, or config. These are the logical groupings for the CLI commands, also known as “namespaces,” and each has its own functionality.
alias: Controls our login aliases. These are login credentials that have been approved for usage with the CLI. We can give it a user-friendly name like “UAT” or “Prod.”
sf alias list
auth: Allow Salesforce organizations to utilize the CLI. This namespace is divided into subcategories based on how we wish to authorize the organization, ranging from logging in using our web browser to a JSON Web Token.
sf org login web -a DeveloperSandbox
config: Allows us to set and edit configuration variables that other commands can use. This could include the default username for our commands or the API version to use.
sfdx config:get defaultusername
force: This is where the CLI magic takes place. Hence, it is the largest and most often used namespace. It comprises commands for engaging with an organization, including but not limited to:
- Retrieving and Deploying metadata.
- Create scratch organizations or sandboxes.
- Create first and second-generation packages.
- Apex runs anonymously.
- Data can be exported and imported.
sfdx force:Source: deploy -m. CustomObjects
If you tried to run one of the instructions generated by sfdx, you’d undoubtedly be left scratching your head and wondering how to do what you want.
As an example, how do we deploy this Apex class? To accomplish this, we supply each command with arguments that demonstrate our goal. These appear after the command’s name and are preceded by a single hyphen (when using the shorter parameter name) or a double hyphen (when using the full name), such as -w or -wait. These parameters are either used on their own to signify a boolean value of true, or we supply extra information on what that parameter value should resolve to.
For example, the code block below contains the command for deploying a specific Apex class by name, with the shorter version of the -metadata parameter flag.
sfdx force:source: deploy -m. ApexClass:MyApexClass
Read More:
What is Apex and its Features
Best Practices for Using the Salesforce CLI
If you want to make the optimum usage of the Salesforce CLI to maintain a smooth workflow, you can adopt these best practices mentioned below:
1. Utilize aliases
It would be great for you to utilize the aliases because they identify and manage multiple Salesforce organizations. Allotting an alias to an org during authentication helps avoid confusion and reduces errors when working with various orgs. You can also use the descriptive alias to remember which org they represent easily.
2. Regularly update Salesforce CLI
Make sure your Salesforce CLI is up to date. Frequent updates include new features, enhancements, and problem fixes. To update, run the command: sfdx update.
3. Use Continuous Integration (CI) Tools
Continuous Integration (CI) tools such as Jenkins and GitHub provide help in your development process. This will automate the build, test, and deployment processes, ensuring your code is regularly tested and validated to reduce issue introduction and improve overall application quality.
4. Follow a Source-Driven Development Approach
Use a source-driven development method, which emphasizes using version control tools to track changes and collaborate with your team. This strategy allows you to keep a clear codebase history and streamline development.
5. Use a Version Control System
Set up a Version Control System (VCS) like Git for your Salesforce projects. It is critical for change tracking, successful team collaboration, and keeping a clean codebase history. Salesforce CLI allows you to integrate with VCS, such as Git, to manage your project’s source code.
Winding Up
The features and practices mentioned above in the guide are just a drop in the bucket regarding the potential of the Salesforce CLI. There is no doubt that this powerful tool can automate time-consuming tasks by chaining commands. You can easily manage multiple working environments by understanding their features, useful practices, and installation processes. Feel free to share your own experience of using Salesforce CLI with our industry experts by joining our slack community.
