Salesforce CLI Commands Reference
Overview
This guide covers sf CLI v2 commands for metadata operations, org queries, and deployment tasks.
Authentication
Authorize an Org
# Web login (interactive)
sf org login web --alias myorg
# JWT flow (CI/CD)
sf org login jwt \
--client-id <client_id> \
--jwt-key-file server.key \
--username user@example.com \
--alias myorg
# SFDX Auth URL (from file)
sf org login sfdx-url --sfdx-url-file authFile.txt --alias myorg
List Connected Orgs
sf org list
# With details
sf org list --verbose
Display Org Info
sf org display --target-org myorg
# JSON output
sf org display --target-org myorg --json
Object & Field Queries
Describe an Object
# Standard or custom object
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg
# JSON output (for parsing)
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json
# Tooling API object
sf sobject describe --sobject ApexClass --target-org myorg --use-tooling-api
List Objects
# All objects
sf sobject list --target-org myorg --sobject all
# Custom objects only
sf sobject list --target-org myorg --sobject custom
# Standard objects only
sf sobject list --target-org myorg --sobject standard
Parse Object Fields (with jq)
# List all field names
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json | \
jq -r '.result.fields[].name'
# List custom fields only
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json | \
jq -r '.result.fields[] | select(.custom == true) | .name'
# Get field details
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json | \
jq '.result.fields[] | {name, type, length, label}'
Metadata Operations
List Metadata Types
# All available metadata types
sf org list metadata-types --target-org myorg
# JSON output
sf org list metadata-types --target-org myorg --json
List Metadata of a Type
# Custom Objects
sf org list metadata --metadata-type CustomObject --target-org myorg
# Custom Fields (specify folder/object)
sf org list metadata --metadata-type CustomField --folder Account --target-org myorg
# Profiles
sf org list metadata --metadata-type Profile --target-org myorg
# Permission Sets
sf org list metadata --metadata-type PermissionSet --target-org myorg
# Flows
sf org list metadata --metadata-type Flow --target-org myorg
# Apex Classes
sf org list metadata --metadata-type ApexClass --target-org myorg
Retrieve Metadata
Retrieve by Metadata Type
# Single type
sf project retrieve start --metadata CustomObject:Account --target-org myorg
# Multiple items
sf project retrieve start \
--metadata CustomObject:Account \
--metadata CustomObject:Contact \
--target-org myorg
# Wildcard (all of type)
sf project retrieve start --metadata "CustomObject:*" --target-org myorg
Retrieve from Manifest (package.xml)
sf project retrieve start --manifest manifest/package.xml --target-org myorg
Retrieve to Specific Directory
sf project retrieve start \
--metadata CustomObject:Account \
--target-org myorg \
--output-dir ./retrieved
Deploy Metadata
Deploy Source Directory
# Deploy all source
sf project deploy start --source-dir force-app --target-org myorg
# Dry run (validation only)
sf project deploy start --source-dir force-app --target-org myorg --dry-run
# With specific test level
sf project deploy start \
--source-dir force-app \
--target-org myorg \
--test-level RunLocalTests
Deploy Specific Metadata
sf project deploy start \
--metadata CustomObject:Invoice__c \
--target-org myorg
Deploy from Manifest
sf project deploy start --manifest manifest/package.xml --target-org myorg
Check Deploy Status
# Poll for status
sf project deploy report --job-id <jobId>
# Resume watching
sf project deploy resume --job-id <jobId>
Test Levels
| Level |
Description |
NoTestRun |
No tests (sandbox only) |
RunSpecifiedTests |
Run specific tests |
RunLocalTests |
Run org tests (non-managed) |
RunAllTestsInOrg |
Run all tests |
Generate Metadata
Generate Custom Object
sf schema generate sobject --label "My Object"
Generate Custom Field
sf schema generate field --label "My Field" --object Account
Generate Package.xml
# From source directory
sf project generate manifest --source-dir force-app --name package.xml
# From org metadata
sf project generate manifest \
--from-org myorg \
--metadata-type CustomObject \
--name package.xml
Data Operations
Query Records (SOQL)
# Simple query
sf data query --query "SELECT Id, Name FROM Account LIMIT 10" --target-org myorg
# Export to CSV
sf data query \
--query "SELECT Id, Name FROM Account" \
--target-org myorg \
--result-format csv > accounts.csv
# Bulk export (large data, > 2,000 records)
sf data export bulk \
--query "SELECT Id, Name FROM Account" \
--target-org myorg \
--output-file accounts.csv
Import/Export Records
# Export to JSON
sf data export tree \
--query "SELECT Id, Name, Industry FROM Account WHERE Industry != null" \
--target-org myorg \
--output-dir ./data
# Import from JSON
sf data import tree --files data/Account.json --target-org myorg
Apex Operations
Execute Anonymous Apex
# From command line
sf apex run --target-org myorg --file scripts/anonymous.apex
# Interactive
sf apex run --target-org myorg
Run Tests
# All local tests
sf apex test run --target-org myorg --test-level RunLocalTests
# Specific test class
sf apex test run --target-org myorg --tests MyTestClass
# Specific test method
sf apex test run --target-org myorg --tests MyTestClass.testMethod
# With code coverage
sf apex test run --target-org myorg --code-coverage --test-level RunLocalTests
Useful Patterns
Check Object Exists
sf sobject describe --sobject MyObject__c --target-org myorg --json | \
jq -r '.status'
# Returns 0 if exists, 1 if not
Get Field API Names
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json | \
jq -r '.result.fields[].name' | sort
Get Custom Field Count
sf sobject describe --sobject Account --target-org myorg --json | \
jq '[.result.fields[] | select(.custom == true)] | length'
List All Custom Objects
sf org list metadata --metadata-type CustomObject --target-org myorg --json | \
jq -r '.result[].fullName' | grep '__c$'
Validate Deployment
sf project deploy start \
--source-dir force-app \
--target-org myorg \
--dry-run \
--test-level RunLocalTests \
--json | jq '.result.status'
Environment Variables
| Variable |
Purpose |
SF_TARGET_ORG |
Default target org |
SF_ACCESS_TOKEN |
Auth token |
SF_INSTANCE_URL |
Instance URL |
SF_API_VERSION |
API version |
Common Flags
| Flag |
Short |
Description |
--target-org |
-o |
Target org alias |
--json |
|
JSON output |
--wait |
-w |
Wait time (minutes) |
--verbose |
|
Verbose output |
--help |
-h |
Show help |
Quick Reference
Daily Operations
# Check org
sf org display -o myorg
# Deploy changes
sf project deploy start -d force-app -o myorg
# Run tests
sf apex test run -o myorg -l RunLocalTests -c
# Query data
sf data query -q "SELECT Id FROM Account LIMIT 1" -o myorg
Metadata Discovery
# What's in the org?
sf org list metadata-types -o myorg
# What objects exist?
sf sobject list -o myorg --sobject all
# Describe an object
sf sobject describe -s Account -o myorg
CI/CD Pipeline
# Authenticate
sf org login jwt ...
# Validate
sf project deploy start -d force-app -o myorg --dry-run -l RunLocalTests
# Deploy
sf project deploy start -d force-app -o myorg -l RunLocalTests
# Run additional tests
sf apex test run -o myorg -l RunLocalTests -c -r human
tools-only