Generate the sfdx content in source format and destructive change from two git commits.
sfdx plugins:install sfdx-git-deltasfdx sgd:source:delta --to "HEAD" --from "HEAD^" --output "."sfdx force:source:deploy -x package/package.xml --postdestructivechanges destructiveChanges/destructiveChanges.xmlSFDX-Git-Delta (*a.k.a. SGD*) helps Salesforce Architects and Developers accomplish 2 things with their source deployments:
- Make deployments faster, by identifying the metadata that has been changed since a reference commit.
- Automate destructive deployments, by listing the deleted (or renamed) metadata in a destructiveChanges.xml
To get a better understanding of what SGD is for, take a look at this post on the Salesforce Developers Blog: Optimizing Unpackaged Deployments Using a Delta Generation Tool.
If you are not a Salesforce Architect or Developer, probably not, sorry.
If you are a Technical Architect or Developer, then it’s a very useful tool for you, when the 3 conditions below are met:
Your Salesforce project uses a git repo as the source of truth.
➕
You use the Source (DX) format in the repo.
➕
Your metadata is not packaged (in other words, your repo contains all the unmanaged metadata of the project).
SGD is designed to be part of a CI/CD pipeline (Jenkins, Bitbucket Pipelines, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps...) that handles the deployment of the sources to the Salesforce org(s).
Pro tips: If you are in the process of building your CI/CD pipeline, make sure you already have a fully functional pipeline before implementing delta deployments (otherwise it will just make it harder to debug your pipeline). It's also important to implement a bypass in your pipeline, to have the ability to fallback to full deployment in case the delta deployment is not behaving the way you expected it.
DISCLAIMER:
👷 Use it at your own risk, wear a helmet, and test it first before adding it to your pipeline 🔥
SGD is a Salesforce CLI plugin (sfdx sgd:source:delta). Run the following command to install it:
sfdx plugins:install sfdx-git-deltaBecause this plugin is not signed, you will get a warning saying that "This plugin is not digitally signed and its authenticity cannot be verified". This is expected, and you will have to answer y (yes) to proceed with the installation.
If you run your CI/CD jobs inside a Docker image, you can add the plugin to your image. Here is an example of a Dockerfile including the SGD plugin: https://github.com/mehdisfdc/sfdx-cli-gitlab
sgd command is now deprecated and decommissioned.
Git command line is required on the system where the command line is running.
Node v14.6.0 or above is required.
To make sure that the Salesforce CLI is using the expected node version for SGD, run sfdx --version before attempting to install the SGD plugin: if you see a node version below v14.6.0 in the output, you'll need to fix it first.
If you encounter this issue while having installed the correct version of node on your system, try to install the Salesforce CLI via npm (npm install sfdx-cli --global) rather than with another installer.
sfdx sgd:source:delta -f <string> [-t <string>] [-r <filepath>] [-i <filepath>] [-D <filepath>] [-s <filepath>] [-W] [-o <filepath>] [-a <number>] [-d] [-n <filepath>] [-N <filepath>] [--json] [--loglevel trace|debug|info|warn|error|fatal|TRACE|DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR|FATAL]
Generate the sfdx content in source format and destructive change from two git commits
USAGE
$ sfdx sgd:source:delta -f <string> [-t <string>] [-r <filepath>] [-i <filepath>] [-D <filepath>] [-s <filepath>] [-W]
[-o <filepath>] [-a <number>] [-d] [-n <filepath>] [-N <filepath>] [--json] [--loglevel
trace|debug|info|warn|error|fatal|TRACE|DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR|FATAL]
OPTIONS
-D, --ignore-destructive=ignore-destructive file listing paths to explicitly
ignore for any destructive actions
-N, --include-destructive=include-destructive file listing paths to explicitly
include for any destructive actions
-W, --ignore-whitespace ignore git diff whitespace (space,
tab, eol) changes
-a, --api-version=api-version [default: 54] salesforce API version
-d, --generate-delta generate delta files in [--output]
folder
-f, --from=from (required) commit sha from where the
diff is done [git rev-list
--max-parents=0 HEAD]
-i, --ignore=ignore file listing paths to explicitly
ignore for any diff actions
-n, --include=include file listing paths to explicitly
include for any diff actions
-o, --output=output [default: ./output] source package
specific output
-r, --repo=repo [default: .] git repository location
-s, --source=source [default: .] source folder focus
location related to --repo
-t, --to=to [default: HEAD] commit sha to where
the diff is done
--json format output as json
--loglevel=(trace|debug|info|warn|error|fatal|TRACE|DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR|FATAL) [default: warn] logging level for
this command invocation
See code: src/commands/sgd/source/delta.ts
If you run SGD on a Windows system, make sure to use double quotes to prevent the parameters from being interpreted by the terminal:
Let’s take a look at the following scenario:
The CI pipelines deploys the sources to Production anytime there is a new commit in the main branch.
In our example, the latest commit to main is composed of:
- Apex Class added: TriggerHandler
- Apex Class added: TriggerHandler_Test
- Apex Class modified: TestDataFactory
- Apex Class deleted: AnotherTriggerFramework
In this situation, we would expect the CI pipeline to:
- Deploy to Production only 3 classes (no matter how much metadata is present in the force-app folder):
TriggerHandler,TriggerHandler_Test, andTestDataFactory - Delete from Production 1 class:
AnotherTriggerFramework
So let’s do it!
From the project repo folder, the CI pipeline will run the following command:
sfdx sgd:source:delta --to "HEAD" --from "HEAD^" --output .which means:
Analyze the difference between HEAD (latest commit) and HEAD^ (previous commit), and output the result in the current folder.
The sfdx sgd:source:delta command produces 2 usefull artifacts:
1) A package.xml file, inside a package folder. This package.xml file contains only the metadata that has been added and changed, and that needs to be deployed in the target org.
Content of the package.xml file in our scenario:
2) A destructiveChanges.xml file, inside a destructiveChanges folder. This destructiveChanges.xml file contains only the metadata that has been removed or renamed, and that needs to be deleted from the target org. Note: the destructiveChanges folder also contains a minimal package.xml file because deploying destructive changes requires a package.xml (even an empty one) in the payload.
Content of the destructiveChanges.xml file in our scenario:
In addition, we also could have generated a copy of the force-app folder with only the added and changed metadata, by using the --generate-delta (-d) option (more on that later).
The simplest option to deploy the delta changes is to use force:source:deploy:
sfdx force:source:deploy -x package/package.xml --postdestructivechanges destructiveChanges/destructiveChanges.xmlAnd voilà! 🥳
However, keep in mind that the above command will fail if the destructive change was meant to be executed before the deployment (i.e. as --predestructivechanges), or if a warning occurs. Make sure to handle those error scenarios in your CI/CD pipeline, so that you don't get stuck by a failed destructive change.
If needed, you can also separate the deploy of added/modified metadata and the destructive deployment, as in the below examples:
Use the package/package.xml file to deploy only the added/modified metadata:
echo "--- package.xml generated with added and modified metadata ---"
cat package/package.xml
echo
echo "---- Deploying added and modified metadata ----"
sfdx force:source:deploy -x package/package.xmlUse the destructiveChanges folder to deploy only the destructive changes:
echo "--- destructiveChanges.xml generated with deleted metadata ---"
cat destructiveChanges/destructiveChanges.xml
echo
echo "--- Deleting removed metadata ---"
sfdx force:mdapi:deploy -d destructiveChanges --ignorewarningsSGD works with any git sha pointer: commit sha, branch, tag, git expression (HEAD, etc.).
Here are 3 examples showing how you can compare the content of different branches:
1) Comparing between commits in different branches
For example, if you have commit fbc3ade6 in branch develop and commit 61f235b1 in branch main:
sfdx sgd:source:delta --to fbc3ade6 --from 61f235b1 --output .
2) Comparing branches (all changes)
Comparing all changes between the develop branch and the main branch:
sfdx sgd:source:delta --to develop --from main --output .
3) Comparing branches (from a common ancestor)
Comparing changes performed in the develop branch since its common ancestor with the main branch (i.e. ignoring the changes performed in the main branch after develop was created):
sfdx sgd:source:delta --to develop --from $(git merge-base develop main) --output .
Using a package.xml file to deploy a subset of the metadata is probably the simplest approach to delta deployments. But there are some situations where you may want to have the actual source files related to all the components that have been changed recently.
One example is to speed up object deployments: the package.xml approach will result on the entire sub-folder for a given object to be deployed. On the opposite, having a copy of the actual sources added/modified allows you to chirurgically deploy only the modified components.
This is where the --generate-delta (-d) option comes handy!
Let's use this option with our previous example:
mkdir changed-sources
sfdx sgd:source:delta --to "HEAD" --from "HEAD^" --output changed-sources/ --generate-deltaIn addition to the package and destructiveChanges folders, the sfdx sgd:source:delta command will also produce a copy of the added/changed files in the output folder.
Content of the output folder when using the --generate-delta option, with the same scenario as above:
⚠️ the--generate-delta (-d)can only be used when--to (-t)value is set to "HEAD" or to the "HEAD commit SHA". If you need to use it with--to (-t)pointing to another commit than "HEAD", just checkout that commit first and then use--generate-delta (-d). Exemple:# move HEAD to past commit we are interested in $ git checkout <not-HEAD-commit-sha> # You can omit --to, it will take "HEAD" as default value $ sfdx sgd:source:delta --from "HEAD^" --output changed-sources/ --generate-delta
The --ignore [-i] parameter allows you to specify an ignore file used to filter the
element on the diff to ignore. Every diff line matching the pattern from the ignore file specified in the --ignore [-i] will be ignored by SGD,
and will not be used to add member in package.xml nor destructiveChanges.xml (and will also be ignored when using the --delta-generate parameter).
But, sometimes you may need to have two different ignore policies for generating the package.xml and destructiveChanges.xml files. This is where the --ignore-destructive [-D] option comes handy!
Use the --ignore-destructive parameter to specify a dedicated ignore file to handle deletions (resulting in metadata listed in the destructiveChanges.xml output). In other words, this will override the --ignore [-i] parameter for deleted items.
For example, consider a repository containing multiple sub-folders (force-app/main, force-app/sample, etc) and a commit deleting the Custom__c object from one folder and modifying the Custom__c object from another folder. This event will be treated has a Modification and a Deletion. By default, the Custom__c object would appear in the package.xml and in destructiveChanges.xml, which could be a little bit inconsistent and can break the CI/CD build. This is a situation where your may want to use the --ignore-destructive [-D] parameter! Add the Custom__c object pattern in an ignore file and pass it in the CLI parameter:
# destructiveignore
*Custom\_\_c.object-meta.xml
$ sfdx sgd:source:delta --from commit --ignore-destructive destructiveignore
Note that in a situation where only the --ignore [-i] parameter is specified (and --ignore-destructive [-D] is not specified), then the plugin will ignore items matching --ignore [-i] parameter in all situations: Addition, Modification and Deletion.
The --include [-n] parameter allows you to specify a file based on micromatch glob matching used to explicitly include the specific files, regardless whether they have diffed or not. Similar to the --ignore flag, this file defines a list of glob file matchers to indicate which git aware files should always be included in the package.xml package. Every matching the pattern from the include file specified in the --include [-n] will be included by SGD.
As with --ignore, sometimes you may need to have two different include policies for generating the package.xml and destructiveChanges.xml files. This is where the --include-destructive [-N] option comes handy!
Use the --include-destructive parameter to specify a dedicated include file to handle deletions (resulting in metadata listed in the destructiveChanges.xml output). Here, you will indicate which files explicitly should be included in the destructiveChanges.xml.
For example, consider a repository containing multiple sub-folders (force-app/main,force-app/sample, etc) and the CI/CD platform generates a new file force-app/generated/foo that should not be included in the source:deploy command. You can create a file with a line matching this new file and specify this file using the --include-destructive [-N] parameter.
# destructiveinclude
*generated/foo
$ sfdx sgd:source:delta --from commit --include-destructive destructiveinclude
The --source [-s]parameter allows you to specify a folder to focus on, making any other folder ignored.
It means the delta generation will only focus on the dedicated folder.
For example, consider a repository containing multiple sub-folders (force-app/package, force-app/unpackaged, etc). This repository contains sources deployed in a packaged (force-app/package folder) and sources deployed unpackaged (force-app/unpackaged) You only want to apply delta generation for the unpackaged sources.
$ tree
.
├── force-app
├── packaged
│ └── classes
│ └── PackagedClass.cls
└── unpackaged
└── classes
└── UnpackagedClass.cls
├── ...
# scope the delta generation only to the unpackaged folder
$ sfdx sgd:source:delta --from commit --source force-app/unpackagedThe ignored patterns specified using
--ignore [-i]and--ignore-destructive [-D]still apply.
Depending on your testing strategy, you may be interested in generating a comma-separated list of the added and modified Apex classes (to use in the sfdx force:source:deploy --testlevel RunSpecifiedTests command, for example).
To cover this requirement, you can use a tool such as yq to parse the content of the package.xml file produced by SGD:
xq . < package/package.xml | jq '.Package.types | [.] | flatten | map(select(.name=="ApexClass")) | .[] | .members | [.] | flatten | map(select(. | index("*") | not)) | unique | join(",")'
If you want to embed sgd in your node application, install it has a dependency for your application
yarn add sfdx-git-deltaThen use the JavaScript module
// sample/app.js
const sgd = require('sfdx-git-delta')
const work = await sgd({
to: '', // commit sha to where the diff is done. [default : "HEAD"]
from: '', // (required) commit sha from where the diff is done. [default : git rev-list --max-parents=0 HEAD]
output: '', // source package specific output. [default : "./output"]
apiVersion: '', // salesforce API version. [default : latest]
repo: '', // git repository location. [default : "."]
})
console.log(JSON.stringify(work))
/* {
* config: config,
* diffs: { package: {...}, destructiveChanges: {...} },
* warnings: []
* }
*/- fast-xml-parser - Validate XML, Parse XML to JS/JSON and vise versa, or parse XML to Nimn rapidly without C/C++ based libraries and no callback
- fs-extra - Node.js: extra methods for the fs object like copy(), remove(), mkdirs().
- ignore - is a manager, filter and parser which implemented in pure JavaScript according to the .gitignore spec 2.22.1.
- xmlbuilder - An XML builder for node.js similar to java-xmlbuilder.
- micromatch - a file glob matcher utility
SemVer is used for versioning.
Contributions are what make the trailblazer community such an amazing place. I regard this component as a way to inspire and learn from others. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.
See contributing.md for sgd contribution principles.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details