Developer Tooling: SF CLI, VS Code and Orgs

Salesforce Platform FoundationsDeveloper Tooling: SF CLI, VS Code and OrgsThe modern Salesforce developer toolchain end to end: the sf CLI and its plugins, org authorization, DX project structure, scratch orgs, shapes and snapshots, source tracking, manifests, data commands, the VS Code extensions, Agentforce Vibes and MCP, Code Analyzer v5 and Prettier, with a full walkthrough from empty folder to deployed change.Beginner · about 75 minutesWhat you will learn

Install and update the Salesforce CLI (sf v2) and explain its plugin architecture

Authorize orgs with web and JWT flows, manage aliases and default orgs, and enable a Dev Hub

Explain sfdx-project.json, package directories, .forceignore and the difference between source format and Metadata API format

Create scratch orgs from definition files, org shapes and snapshots

Use source tracking, manifests, Apex/test commands and data commands in a daily workflow

Use the VS Code extensions (Apex language server, Replay Debugger, Org Browser, SOQL Builder), Agentforce Vibes, Code Analyzer v5 and Prettier

Contents

The toolchain at a glance

Salesforce CLI (sf v2)

Authorizing orgs

Project structure

Scratch orgs

Source tracking: deploy and retrieve

Manifests (package.xml)

Generating, running and testing code

Data commands

VS Code and the Salesforce Extensions

Agentforce Vibes and AI-assisted development

Code quality: Code Analyzer v5 and Prettier

Full walkthrough: from empty folder to deployed change

Best practices

Common pitfalls

Hands-on exercises

Key takeaways