Metadata API Developer Guide

Introduction to Metadata API
Understanding Metadata API
Use Cases for Metadata API
Release Notes
Metadata API Developer Tools
Supported Salesforce Editions
Metadata API Edit Access
Development Platforms
Standards Compliance
Metadata API Support Policy
API End-of-Life Policy
Related Resources
Quick Start: Metadata API
Build Client Applications for Metadata API
Using Metadata API
Metadata API Context MCP Tool (Beta)
Reference
Appendices
PDF

Note: This release is in preview. Features described here don’t become generally available until the latest general availability date that Salesforce announces for this release. Before then, and where features are noted as beta, pilot, or developer preview, we can’t guarantee general availability within any particular time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available products and features.

Development Platforms

Metadata API supports both file-based and CRUD-based development.

File-Based Development

The declarative or file-based asynchronous Metadata API deploy() and retrieve() operations deploy or retrieve a .zip file that holds components in a set of folders, and a manifest file named package.xml. For more information, see Deploying and Retrieving Metadata. The easiest way to access the file-based functionality is to use the Salesforce Extensions for Visual Studio Code or Salesforce CLI.

CRUD-Based Development

The CRUD Metadata API calls act upon the metadata components in a manner similar to the way synchronous API calls in the enterprise WSDL act upon objects. For more information about the enterprise WSDL, see the SOAP API Developer Guide.