Data Deployment Tools

Salesforce provides several tools for metadata deployment. Many deployment tools integrate with Salesforce DevOps Center. DevOps Center is a change and release management tool. Here's an overview of the most commonly used migration tools.

Change sets is a Salesforce-native feature that transfers metadata between connected Salesforce orgs, such as from a source org to a target org. While not as robust and efficient as other tools, the feature is available to admin-level users through the Commerce setup UI. You can integrate change sets with the Salesforce DevOps Center to initiate and coordinate Change Sets between developers using command line UI and the declarative sets created by administrator level users. This approach offers a starting point for many organizations in using DevOps Center to manage metadata deployment.

The change sets feature doesn’t require additional installation. It’s limited to organizations with established Salesforce relationships (like sandboxes and their production org).

Metadata API is often used in complex deployments to retrieve, deploy, create, update, or delete customization information in Salesforce. It’s the backbone of many deployment processes. You can use it programmatically or through tools that provide a user interface for it, such as Salesforce CLI or Salesforce DevOps.

Salesforce CLI, which is part of Salesforce DX, is a command-line tool that supports both Metadata API and newer Salesforce DX commands. Salesforce DX is a suite of tools that facilitates a source-driven development approach, enabling developers to use scratch orgs for development and testing. With Salesforce DX, you can move metadata and code between orgs and their version control system and use packages for deploying metadata. Unlocked packages, in particular, are a part of the Salesforce DX offering and are designed to help modularize and deploy metadata and code. Salesforce DX integrates with Salesforce DevOps Center and other version control tools.

Use the DigitalExperienceBundle and DigitalExperienceConfig metadata types when you’re working with Salesforce Commerce enhanced LWR sites. These metadata types support deploying the metadata elements of a Salesforce Commerce store experience, including pages, layouts, themes, navigation menus, and site configurations.

The DigitalExperienceBundle metadata type ensures consistency and reduces the risk of manual errors during deployment. This approach offers a more controlled and reliable way to handle changes across different environments, from development to testing and production. It also supports a modern development approach that includes version control, collaborative development practices, and automated deployment pipelines.

The experience bundle metadata deployment process involves extracting the metadata from the source environment. Use Salesforce DX, Metadata API, change sets, or a third-party deployment tool, and then deploy to the target environment.

Use the ExperienceBundle metadata type when you’re working with Salesforce Commerce LWR sites. The deployment process ‌involves extracting the metadata from the source org using Salesforce DX, change sets, or a third-party deployment tool, and then deploying it to the target org. Follow Salesforce’s best practices for deployment, and test thoroughly in the source org before deploying to the target org.

DevOps Center is a change and release management tool. You can use deployment tools with DevOps Center to deploy metadata between Salesforce environments. With DevOps Center your developers work in a repeatable and scalable way, whether you use declarative builders or write code in Salesforce Extensions for VS Code.

These DevOps Center practices and tools are commonly used to deploy metadata in Salesforce.

  • Version control systems like Git track changes in metadata and source code, allowing teams to collaborate more effectively. By using branches, tags, and commits, teams can manage development efforts and merge changes in a controlled manner.
  • Continuous integration tools, such as Jenkins, Bamboo, or GitLab CI, automate testing and building metadata changes. These tools can run tests every time a change is made to the codebase, ensuring that issues are caught early.
  • Continuous delivery tools automate the deployment of metadata changes to various Salesforce environments. These tools ensure that new features, bug fixes, and updates are delivered quickly and reliably.

Numerous third-party tools that can help with metadata deployment are available. Many third-party options also integrate with Salesforce DevOps, such as Gearset, Copado, Flosum, and AutoRABIT. These tools provide user-friendly interfaces and features to manage the deployment process effectively.