Build Agents with Agentforce DX

Salesforce DX is a set of tools for building, testing, and shipping apps on the Salesforce Platform. The tools include Salesforce CLI, VS Code extensions, Agentforce Vibes IDE, DevOps Center, and developer environments like scratch orgs and sandboxes. Agentforce DX extends these tools to work with agents.

The Agentforce Builder UI and Testing Center let you create and test agents with clicks, not code. But a modern DevOps process requires storing agent source code in a version control system (VCS) so it becomes the source of truth for your production org. Agentforce DX makes that possible.

Agents are metadata, just like any other Salesforce customization. (For metadata types and structure, see Agent Metadata: A Shallow Dive.) Agentforce DX provides CLI commands and a VS Code extension to create, preview, and test agents outside Agentforce Studio, and to move agent metadata between your DX project and your scratch orgs, sandboxes, and production orgs.

When you build an agent, you can switch between low-code tools, such as the Agentforce Builder or Flow Builder UIs in your org, and pro-code tools, such as VS Code and Salesforce CLI on your local computer. Using both types of tools gives you flexibility and is all part of the iterative process of building an agent. The main thing is to keep your Salesforce DX project in sync with your org.

Here’s a high-level example of how you can go back and forth between low- and pro-code tools as you iteratively build your agent. These steps are generic and simple. They’re meant to show that you have lots of options when developing agents.

1. Author an agent from scratch in your local DX project by first generating its authoring bundle, which contains the agent’s blueprint (Agent Script file). Then code this script file to define what your agent does. You can use either VS Code or CLI commands to generate and validate the authoring bundle. Then preview the resulting agent, in either simulated or live mode.
2. Publish the authoring bundle to your org by using VS Code or a CLI command, and then open the agent in the Agentforce Builder UI. You can continue coding the Agent Script file in your org’s UI, commit a new version, preview it, and so on.
3. Retrieve any metadata changes you made in the org back to your DX project.
4. Use VS Code (with the Agentforce Vibes Extension) to create an Apex class that implements a new custom action for one of your subagents. The Apex code is in your local Salesforce DX project. Update the agent’s Agent Script file to use this Apex class.
5. Deploy the local updates that you made while coding the new Apex class back up to your org.
6. Using VS Code or a CLI command, preview your agent to see if it’s using this Apex class as you expect. Alternatively, preview the agent in the Agentforce Builder UI.
7. Periodically check the new and updated metadata into your VCS, such as GitHub. Remember: Your VCS is the source of truth, so be sure that you keep it updated.
8. Use Flow Builder in your org to create an autolaunched flow. Then code the agent’s Agent Script file in Agentforce Builder UI to use the new flow.
9. Retrieve the new metadata back to your DX project, and check updated files into your VCS.

After you’re ready to test your agent, you again have pro-code and low-code options. You can use VS Code and CLI commands, your org’s Agentforce Testing Center UI, or testing APIs.

This guide shows you how to set up a Salesforce DX project and how to use Salesforce CLI and VS Code to author, preview, and test agents. While this guide doesn’t go into the details of coding an Apex class or creating a flow, we point you in the right direction when necessary.

Give us your feedback about Agentforce DX and report problems by entering an issue in our GitHub repository. Check out the discussion page to read about new features we’re considering, add your comments, and propose your own.

We release new versions of Salesforce CLI and its core plugins weekly. Read the weekly release notes to learn about recent and upcoming changes, including changes to Agentforce DX CLI commands and VS Code extensions.

• Salesforce Help: Build Enterprise-Ready Agents with Agentforce Builder
• Salesforce DX Developer Guide: How Salesforce DX Tooling Changes the Way You Work
• Trailhead: Agentforce Basics

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Get Started

Agentforce Examples

Agent Script

Agentforce DX

Set Up Your DX Environment

Author an Agent

Preview and Debug an Agent

Test an Agent

Manage an Agent

Retrieve and Deploy Agent Metadata

Troubleshoot Issues

Reference

Create an Agent Without Using Agent Script (Legacy)

Agentforce APIs and SDKs

Agentforce Actions

Agentforce Service Errors

Models and Prompts

Headless 360 Agentforce Development