Metadata API Developer Guide
jNote: This release is in preview. Features described here don’t become generally available until the latest general availability date that Salesforce announces for this release. Before then, and where features are noted as beta, pilot, or developer preview, we can’t guarantee general availability within any particular time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available products and features.
Move Metadata from Production to Your Local File System
When you build customizations on Salesforce, you must preserve the functionality of your existing org during the development cycle. To build customizations without affecting your production org, save your production metadata in a version control system. Git integrates best with SFDX tools.
First, move the required metadata from the production org to your local file system. To move metadata to your local machine, use a retrieve call instead of a source pull. Next, push your files to a repository that is accessible to your team members with Git commands. The repository is now the original source of production metadata for your team’s development cycle.
Now that your production metadata is stored in a repository, move the necessary metadata back to your local file system to begin development work.