Source-Driven Development in Salesforce: Managing Metadata and API Versions

Development on Salesforce has seen major changes in the last few years. SDD has made it possible for teams to match their Salesforce processes to the best modern DevOps approaches. Fundamentally, SDD depends on version control, automated deployments, and coding your data’s metadata. With benefits like consistency, traceability, and automation, such changes introduce new challenges about how versions and metadata should be managed throughout the project.

Here, we’ll look at SDD principles and guide you through properly managing metadata and API versions in a Salesforce environment.

Understanding Source-Driven Development (SDD)

Using Source-Driven Development, configuration, code, and metadata are handled entirely in a version control system, mainly Git. As a result, the repository is the only true source of data, not Salesforce, which stores individual copies. Changes made to the software should start in the repository and happen using a predefined process. Doing things this way means teams can collaborate better, updates are safer, and problems can easily be fixed by rolling back if there is a mistake.

Salesforce DX includes the tools needed to make SDD succeed. With this, developers can design their jobs in small parts, utilize scratch orgs for safe development and set up metadata using source code. Using SDD, developers can establish CI/CD processes just as is done in traditional software development.

Managing Metadata in Salesforce Projects

All configuration changes and add-ons made in Salesforce such as custom objects, fields, page layouts and flows, are known as metadata. When using SDD, metadata is put into a neat structure of files and stored versioned in Git.

Salesforce DX supports using source format instead of the former metadata API format. Small, logical pieces of metadata are created by using the source format. Instead of putting every field of an object in one location, each individual field is tracked separately, so you can follow changes, resolve merging issues and focus on code reviews. This arrangement of metadata both increases transparency and simplifies how deployments are done.

Tools such as the Salesforce CLI (sfdx) or plugins like sfdx-git-delta enable developers to retrieve and deploy only the metadata that has changed. This selective deployment approach leads to faster deployments and reduced risk in release pipelines. Tracking changes in scratch orgs is straightforward using source:tracking commands, while in persistent sandboxes, external diff tools are often used to compare the org’s current state to the repository.

The Importance of API Version Management

Every metadata file in Salesforce allows you to select the API version. These correspond to the platform releases (58.0, 59.0) and determine the functioning of the components. Proper control of API versions ensures everything works the same everywhere and prevents surprises once an API is deployed or running.

The sourceApiVersion field in the sfdx-project.json file determines the default API version used when retrieving or deploying metadata. It’s best practice to align all metadata components with this version. Inconsistent API versions across metadata files can cause deployment errors, compatibility issues, or subtle bugs that are hard to trace.

Many organizations are drawn to update all their metadata right when a new Salesforce version is available. However, we need to be careful when doing this. Teams ought to test the new API version in sandboxes or scratch orgs before updating. Many changes in the versions may have a strong impact on things such as Apex classes, Lightning Web Components (LWC), flows and permission sets.

Regularly reviewing the metadata will keep software versions the same. CI tools let developers use API scripts to check if files and API instances are aligned, preparing them for use in the build.

Tools and Practices to Support SDD

The correct collection of tools and processes plays a crucial role in the success of an SDD solution. Most of what you do in Salesforce, from getting metadata to changing features, relies on the Salesforce CLI. Most developers work with Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and Salesforce extensions to manage and write metadata. To keep things up to date, it’s common to use GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or Bitbucket Pipelines for automated testing and deployments.

For organizations managing large-scale Salesforce implementations, tools like sfdx-git-delta or metadata comparison utilities help streamline change tracking and promote selective deployments. Additionally, adopting unlocked packages can help modularize the org’s metadata, making it easier to manage independently developed components and accelerate delivery.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Even with all the pros, SDD comes with a few typical errors teams should avoid. The most typical problem is called API version drift which can happen when metadata does not agree on the same API version. There could be unexpected actions or issues in deployments. Make sure to keep version usage consistent and regularly look at how team members use the versions.

Using manual changes to configuration files is yet another concern that isn’t tracked in version control. It’s important to sync any changes you make in a sandbox or in production back to the repository so there is no drift. Also, having one big metadata package greatly increases the danger of errors occurring. As an alternative, development teams should only roll out what has been updated or take advantage of modular packaging.

Conclusion

Modern software engineering techniques are now available for Salesforce development thanks to Source-Driven Development. When teams organize their metadata in the source file and agree on specific API versions, collaboration gets better, the solution becomes more stable, and it’s delivered faster. Moving to SDD needs careful planning regarding data and versions, but the more reliable and scalable platform it brings is an investment any Salesforce organization will value.

Regardless of your experience or goals in DevOps, start by setting up solid structures — keep version checks automated, ensure your metadata is well structured and blend your version control system fully into all your release processes. By following these tips, you’ll make your Salesforce development process stronger and better suited for the future.