Using Metadata API

Metadata API provides several ways to move and manage customizations in your Salesforce org.

Deploying and retrieving metadata — Use file-based deploy() and retrieve() calls to move XML metadata between a Salesforce org and a local file system.
CRUD-based development — Create, update, or delete individual setup and configuration components such as custom objects and custom fields.
REST resources — Use the deployRequest REST resource to deploy and retrieve metadata over REST.
Error handling — Identify and resolve runtime errors returned by Metadata API calls.