# Deploy the Package Metadata to the Packaging Org

Before you deploy the package metadata into your packaging org, you convert from source format to metadata format.

## Before You Begin

It’s likely that you have some files that you don’t want to convert to metadata format. Create a `.forceignore` file to indicate which files to ignore.

1. Convert from source format to the metadata format.

   `sf project convert source --output-dir mdapi_output_dir --package-name managed_pkg_name`

   Create the output directory in the root of your project, not in the package directory. If the output directory doesn’t exist, it’s created. Be sure to include the `--package-name` so that the converted metadata is added to the managed package in your packaging org.

2. Review the contents of the output directory.

   `ls -lR mdapi_output_dir`

3. Authenticate the packaging org, if needed. This example specifies the org with an alias called MyPackagingOrgAlias, which helps you refer to the org more easily in subsequent commands.

   `sf org login web --alias MyPackagingOrgAlias`

   You can also authenticate with an OAuth client ID: `sf org login web --client-id oauth_client_id`

4. Deploy the package metadata back to the packaging org.

   `sf project deploy start --metadata-dir mdapi_output_dir --target-org me@example.com`

   The `--target-org` is the username. Instead of the username, you can use `-u MyPackagingOrgAlias` to refer to your previously defined org alias. You can use other options, like `--wait` to specify the number of minutes to wait. Use the `--metadata-dir` parameter to provide the path to a zip file that contains your metadata. Don’t run tests at the same time as you deploy the metadata. You can run tests during the package upload process.

   A message displays the job ID for the deployment.

5. Check the status of the deployment.

   When you run `sf project deploy report`, the job ID and target username are stored, so you don’t have to specify these required parameters to check the status. These stored values are overwritten when you run `sf project deploy start` again.

   If you want to check the status of a different deploy operation, specify the job ID on the command line, which overrides the stored job ID.

**See Also**

- [*Salesforce CLI Command Reference*](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.sfdx_cli_reference.meta/sfdx_cli_reference)
- \[How to Exclude Source When Syncing or Converting]\(How to Exclude Source When Syncing or Convertinghttps\://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.sfdx_dev.meta/sfdx_dev/sfdx_dev_exclude_source.htm)