What is Salesforce CLI? Command line Interfaces have always retained popularity even after the introduction of Graphical user interfaces. This is because a CLI requires fewer system resources to implement. Also it features command lists that are easy to follow in order to perform a task. Here, we will look at the Salesforce Command Line Interface in greater detail.
Some of the main uses of the Salesforce CLI are listed below:
- It is used to aggregate all the tools necessary to develop with and perform commands against your Salesforce organization.
- synchronize source to and from scratch orgs.
- Create and manage orgs.
- Import and export data.
- Create and execute tests.
- Create and install packages.
It is structured to be enabled by ‘sfdx’ followed by a command which can be discerned from a list of commands. For example, ‘sfdx force’ displays links to a variety of resources that provide help on various concepts.
Data Loader in Salesforce
Data Loader is a client-application for importing and exporting bulk data and one can use it to insert, update, delete or export Salesforce records.
When data is being imported, the Data Loader reads, extracts and loads data from comma-separated value (CSV) files or from a database connection.
When data is being exported, it outputs CSV files. In Salesforce, there are two ways to use the data loader:
- Salesforce Data Loader User interface: When the user interface is used, work is done interactively to specify the configuration parameters, CSV files used for import and export, and the field mappings that map the field names in the import file with the field names in Salesforce.
- Salesforce Dataloader CLI: When the command line is used, the configuration, data sources, mappings, and actions in files are specified. This enables setting Data Loader up for automated processing.
Data Loader CLI
We often find ourselves in scenarios where we need to perform data loading tasks repeatedly at a fixed time. So, in these situations use the standard data loader tool from Command line. However, it is important to note that the Salesforce Dataloader CLI is only available on Windows host platforms.
Follow these steps to use the Salesforce Dataloader CLI on a Windows machine:
- Prepare the key for encrypting the password of your organization.
- Also, encrypt your Salesforce environment password using the encrypted key.
- Moreover, create the mapping file and save it in a .sdl format.
- Prepare the process-conf.XML file as per requirement.
- Enter the final command, and run the process for data load.
The Salesforce CLI download procedure varies based on the host system Operating system.
By following the steps below, one can complete the download and installation procedure.
Installing the CLI on macOS:
The Salesforce CLI download is done on macOS with a .pkg file.
- Download the .pkg file.
- Double-click the .pkg file to run and install.
Installing the CLI on Windows:
- To run the CLI on windows, download a (.exe) file.
- Download this file and run it using the Windows installer.
Salesforce CLI download
- Find the download URL for your tarball. Also, select the URL based on your target platform.
- Create an sfdx directory
- Unpack the contents of your tarball.
- Run the install script.
In conclusion, we can say that athough most users today prefer GUIs over Command line, the command line interface provides significant advantages over GUIs. In the case of the Salesforce Command Line Interface, it is easy to use, runs on low resources and does not feature a steep learning curve before use.