Salesforce CLI Commands for LWC Development

Salesforce CLI Commands for LWC Development

Quick Reference

Component Generation

Create New LWC

# Basic component
sf lightning generate component \
  --name accountList \
  --type lwc \
  --output-dir force-app/main/default/lwc

# Creates:
# force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList/
# ├── accountList.js
# ├── accountList.html
# └── accountList.js-meta.xml

Generate with Jest Test

# The test file must be created manually in __tests__ folder
mkdir -p force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList/__tests__
touch force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList/__tests__/accountList.test.js

Testing

Run All Jest Tests

sf lightning lwc test run

Run Specific Test File

sf lightning lwc test run \
  --spec force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList/__tests__/accountList.test.js

Watch Mode (Development)

# Re-runs tests when files change
sf lightning lwc test run --watch

Coverage Report

# Generate HTML coverage report
sf lightning lwc test run --coverage
# Report at: coverage/lcov-report/index.html

Debug Tests

# Run with Node debugger
sf lightning lwc test run --debug

# Then in Chrome: chrome://inspect

Update Snapshots

sf lightning lwc test run --update-snapshot

Linting

Run ESLint

Note: sf lightning lint does not exist. Use npx eslint directly or sf code-analyzer run.

# Lint LWC files with ESLint (requires @salesforce/eslint-config-lwc)
npx eslint force-app/main/default/lwc

# Lint specific component
npx eslint force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList

# Auto-fix issues
npx eslint force-app/main/default/lwc --fix

# Or use Code Analyzer (includes ESLint + PMD + RetireJS)
sf code-analyzer run --workspace force-app/main/default/lwc

Deployment

Deploy Single Component

sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Deploy Multiple Components

sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/accountForm \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Deploy with Related Apex

sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/accountList \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/classes/AccountController.cls \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Validate Without Deploying

sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc \
  --target-org my-sandbox \
  --dry-run

Retrieval

Retrieve Component from Org

sf project retrieve start \
  --metadata LightningComponentBundle:accountList \
  --target-org my-sandbox \
  --output-dir force-app/main/default

Retrieve All LWC

sf project retrieve start \
  --metadata LightningComponentBundle \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Local Development

Preview Components Locally

Note: sf lightning dev-server was deprecated. Local Dev is now built into sf CLI.

# Open component preview in browser (built into sf CLI, no plugin needed)
sf org open --source-file force-app/main/default/lwc/myComp/myComp.js --target-org my-sandbox

# Open specific Lightning page for testing
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox --path /lightning/setup/FlexiPageList/home

Message Channels

Create Message Channel

Note: There is no sf lightning generate messageChannel command. Message Channels are created as metadata XML files manually.

# Create the directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p force-app/main/default/messageChannels

# Create the XML file manually:
# force-app/main/default/messageChannels/RecordSelected.messageChannel-meta.xml

Deploy Message Channel

sf project deploy start \
  --metadata LightningMessageChannel:RecordSelected__c \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Debugging

Open Component in Browser

# Open Lightning App Builder
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox --path /lightning/setup/FlexiPageList/home

View Debug Logs

# Tail logs while testing
sf apex tail log --target-org my-sandbox --color

Check Deployment Errors

# If deployment fails, check status
sf project deploy report --job-id <job-id>

Package Development

Create Unlocked Package

# Create package
sf package create \
  --name "My LWC Package" \
  --package-type Unlocked \
  --path force-app

# Create version
sf package version create \
  --package "My LWC Package" \
  --installation-key test1234 \
  --wait 10

Jest Configuration

Setup Jest (if not already configured)

# Install Jest dependencies
npm install @salesforce/sfdx-lwc-jest --save-dev

# Add to package.json scripts
{
  "scripts": {
    "test:unit": "sfdx-lwc-jest",
    "test:unit:watch": "sfdx-lwc-jest --watch",
    "test:unit:debug": "sfdx-lwc-jest --debug",
    "test:unit:coverage": "sfdx-lwc-jest --coverage"
  }
}

Jest Config (jest.config.js)

const { jestConfig } = require('@salesforce/sfdx-lwc-jest/config');

module.exports = {
    ...jestConfig,
    modulePathIgnorePatterns: ['<rootDir>/.localdevserver'],
    testTimeout: 10000
};

Useful Patterns

Deploy and Test Flow

# 1. Run local tests
sf lightning lwc test run

# 2. Deploy to sandbox
sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/myComponent \
  --target-org my-sandbox

# 3. Open org to test
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox

CI/CD Pipeline Pattern

#!/bin/bash

# Lint
npx eslint ./force-app/main/default/lwc || exit 1

# Test
sf lightning lwc test run --coverage || exit 1

# Validate deployment
sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc \
  --target-org ci-sandbox \
  --dry-run || exit 1

# Deploy if validation passes
sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc \
  --target-org ci-sandbox

Watch and Auto-Deploy

# Using nodemon or similar
npx nodemon \
  --watch "force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*" \
  --exec "sf project deploy start --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc --target-org my-sandbox"

Troubleshooting

Component Not Visible in App Builder

1. Check isExposed is true in meta.xml
2. Check targets include the desired location
3. Verify deployment was successful

# Re-deploy with verbose output
sf project deploy start \
  --source-dir force-app/main/default/lwc/myComponent \
  --target-org my-sandbox \
  --verbose

Jest Tests Not Finding Component

# Clear Jest cache
npx jest --clearCache

# Re-run tests
sf lightning lwc test run

Wire Service Not Working

1. Verify cacheable=true on Apex method
2. Check reactive parameter has $ prefix
3. Verify Apex method is accessible

# Test Apex method directly
sf apex run --target-org my-sandbox <<< "System.debug(MyController.getRecords());"

Deployment Conflicts

# Check what's different
sf project retrieve start \
  --metadata LightningComponentBundle:myComponent \
  --target-org my-sandbox \
  --output-dir temp-retrieve

# Compare and resolve
diff -r force-app/main/default/lwc/myComponent temp-retrieve/force-app/.../myComponent

Static Analysis (Code Analyzer v5)

Salesforce Code Analyzer

Code Analyzer v5 (@salesforce/plugin-code-analyzer) validates LWC files for SLDS 2 compliance, accessibility, and security.

# Install Code Analyzer v5 plugin
sf plugins install @salesforce/plugin-code-analyzer

# Run scan on LWC components
sf code-analyzer run \
  --workspace force-app/main/default/lwc \
  --output-format html \
  --output-file lwc-scan-results.html

# Run with specific rules
sf code-analyzer run \
  --workspace force-app/main/default/lwc \
  --rule-selector "Category:Best Practices,Security"

Migration from sfdx-scanner: v5 uses --workspace instead of --target, --output-format instead of --format, --output-file instead of --outfile, and --rule-selector instead of --engine/--category.

SLDS 2 Compliance Checks

# Check for hardcoded colors (breaks dark mode)
rg -n '#[0-9A-Fa-f]{3,8}' force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.css

# Find deprecated SLDS 1 tokens
rg -n '\-\-lwc\-' force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.css

# Find missing alternative-text on icons
rg -n '<lightning-icon' force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.html | \
  rg -v 'alternative-text'

# Check for !important overrides
rg -n '!important' force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.css

Dark Mode Validation

# Find all hardcoded colors that may break dark mode
rg -n 'rgb\(|rgba\(|#[0-9A-Fa-f]{3,8}' \
  force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.css \
  --glob '!**/node_modules/**'

# Verify CSS variables usage (SLDS 2 global hooks)
rg -n '\-\-slds-g-color' force-app/main/default/lwc/**/*.css

GraphQL Debugging

GraphQL Wire Service

# View GraphQL queries in debug mode (enable in Setup → Debug Logs)
sf apex tail log --target-org my-sandbox --color
# Note: Debug levels are configured via TraceFlag records in Setup, not CLI flags

# Test GraphQL query via Anonymous Apex (for syntax validation)
sf apex run --target-org my-sandbox <<'EOF'
// GraphQL syntax can't be tested directly in Apex
// But you can verify field access:
System.debug([SELECT Id, Name FROM Account LIMIT 1]);
EOF

GraphQL Troubleshooting

Monitor GraphQL Performance

# Open Developer Console for network inspection
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox \
  --path /lightning/setup/ApexDebugLogDetail/home

# View Event Monitoring logs (if enabled)
sf data query \
  --query "SELECT EventType, LogDate FROM EventLogFile WHERE EventType='LightningPageView' ORDER BY LogDate DESC LIMIT 5" \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Workspace API (Console Apps)

Console Detection

# Check if an app is a Console app
sf data query \
  --query "SELECT DeveloperName, NavType FROM AppDefinition WHERE NavType='Console'" \
  --target-org my-sandbox

# List all Lightning Apps
sf data query \
  --query "SELECT DeveloperName, NavType, Label FROM AppDefinition ORDER BY Label" \
  --target-org my-sandbox

Console App Testing

# Open Service Console
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox \
  --path /lightning/app/standard__ServiceConsole

# Open Sales Console
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox \
  --path /lightning/app/standard__SalesConsole

# Open custom console app
sf org open --target-org my-sandbox \
  --path /lightning/app/c__MyConsoleApp