b2c-metadata

name

b2c-metadata

description

Define custom attributes, custom object types, and site preferences for B2C Commerce using metadata XML. Use this skill whenever the user needs to add a field to products, orders, or customers, create a new custom object type, set up site preferences, or extend the B2C data model. Also use when they ask about system-objecttype-extensions.xml, custom-objecttype-definitions.xml, attribute groups in Business Manager, or data model definitions — even if they just say "add a field to products" or "I need a new object type".

Metadata Skill

This skill guides you through working with site metadata XML for Salesforce B2C Commerce, including custom attributes, custom objects, and site preferences.

Overview

Metadata defines the structure of your B2C Commerce data:

Metadata Type	Purpose
System Object Extensions	Add custom attributes to Products, Orders, Customers, etc.
Custom Objects	Define entirely new data types
Site Preferences	Site-specific configuration values

Site Archive Structure

Metadata is organized in site archives:

/site-archive
    /meta
        system-objecttype-extensions.xml    # Custom attributes on system objects
        custom-objecttype-definitions.xml   # Custom object definitions
    /sites
        /MySite
            preferences.xml                 # Site preferences

System Object Extensions

Add custom attributes to existing system objects.

Basic Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="Product">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="myCustomAttribute">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">My Custom Attribute</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <externally-managed-flag>false</externally-managed-flag>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="MyCustomGroup">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">My Custom Group</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="myCustomAttribute"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Common System Objects

Object Type	Use Case
Product	Product attributes
Order	Order metadata
Profile	Customer profile data
Basket	Cart data
SitePreferences	Site configuration
Category	Category attributes
Content	Content asset attributes

Attribute Types

Type	Description	Example
string	Text (max 4000 chars)	SKU, descriptions
text	Long text (unlimited)	Rich content
int	Integer	Quantity, rank
double	Decimal	Percentage, weight
boolean	true/false	Flags
date	Date only	Birth date
datetime	Date and time	Timestamps
email	Email address	Contact email
password	Encrypted	API keys
html	HTML content	Rich text
enum-of-string	Single select	Status
enum-of-int	Numeric enum	Priority level
set-of-string	Multi-select	Tags
set-of-int	Numeric multi-select	Categories
image	Image reference	Thumbnails

Enum Value Definitions

Enum types (enum-of-string, enum-of-int, set-of-string, set-of-int) require value-definitions with display/value pairs:

Element order matters. Inside each <value-definition>, the <display> element must come before <value>. The metadata.xsd schema enforces this strict ordering — putting <value> first fails site import validation with cvc-complex-type.2.4.d: Invalid content was found starting with element 'display'.

<attribute-definition attribute-id="warrantyType">
    <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Warranty Type</display-name>
    <type>enum-of-string</type>
    <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
    <value-definitions>
        <value-definition>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">No Warranty</display>
            <value>none</value>
        </value-definition>
        <value-definition>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">Limited Warranty</display>
            <value>limited</value>
        </value-definition>
        <value-definition>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">Full Warranty</display>
            <value>full</value>
        </value-definition>
    </value-definitions>
</attribute-definition>

Element	Purpose
<display>	Human-readable label shown in Business Manager (must appear first)
<value>	The stored/API value (use lowercase, no spaces)

Product Custom Attribute Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="Product">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <!-- Simple string attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="vendorSKU">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Vendor SKU</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <externally-managed-flag>true</externally-managed-flag>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Enum (dropdown) attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="productCondition">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Product Condition</display-name>
                <type>enum-of-string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <value-definitions>
                    <value-definition>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">New</display>
                        <value>new</value>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Refurbished</display>
                        <value>refurbished</value>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Used</display>
                        <value>used</value>
                    </value-definition>
                </value-definitions>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Boolean attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="isHazardous">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Hazardous Material</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <default-value>false</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Multi-select attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="productFeatures">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Product Features</display-name>
                <type>set-of-string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <value-definitions>
                    <value-definition>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Waterproof</display>
                        <value>waterproof</value>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Recyclable</display>
                        <value>recyclable</value>
                    </value-definition>
                </value-definitions>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>

        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="CustomProductInfo">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Custom Product Information</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="vendorSKU"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="productCondition"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="isHazardous"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="productFeatures"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Custom Object Definitions

Create entirely new data types.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <custom-type type-id="StoreLocations">
        <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Locations</display-name>
        <description xml:lang="x-default">Physical store information</description>
        <staging-mode>source-to-target</staging-mode>
        <storage-scope>site</storage-scope>
        <key-definition attribute-id="storeId">
            <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store ID</display-name>
            <type>string</type>
            <min-length>1</min-length>
        </key-definition>
        <attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="storeName">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Name</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>true</mandatory-flag>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="latitude">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Latitude</display-name>
                <type>double</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="longitude">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Longitude</display-name>
                <type>double</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="phone">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Phone</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="isActive">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Active</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <default-value>true</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
        </attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="StoreInfo">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Information</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="storeId" system="true"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="storeName"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="latitude"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="longitude"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="phone"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="isActive"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </custom-type>
</metadata>

Site Preferences

Site-specific configuration via custom attributes on SitePreferences.

Metadata (system-objecttype-extensions.xml)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="SitePreferences">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="enableFeatureX">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Enable Feature X</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <default-value>false</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="apiEndpoint">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">API Endpoint</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="maxItemsPerPage">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Max Items Per Page</display-name>
                <type>int</type>
                <default-value>20</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="CustomSettings">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Custom Settings</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="enableFeatureX"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="apiEndpoint"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="maxItemsPerPage"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Values (sites/MySite/preferences.xml)

Preferences can be set per instance type (development, staging, production) or for all instances:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<preferences xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/preferences/2007-03-31">
    <custom-preferences>
        <all-instances>
            <!-- Values that apply to all instance types -->
            <preference preference-id="maxItemsPerPage">25</preference>
        </all-instances>
        <development>
            <!-- Development-specific values -->
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">true</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://dev-api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </development>
        <staging>
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">true</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://staging-api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </staging>
        <production>
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">false</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </production>
    </custom-preferences>
</preferences>

Access in Code

var Site = require('dw/system/Site');

var enableFeatureX = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('enableFeatureX');
var apiEndpoint = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('apiEndpoint');
var maxItems = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('maxItemsPerPage');

Attribute Definition Options

<attribute-definition attribute-id="myAttribute">
    <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Display Name</display-name>
    <description xml:lang="x-default">Description for BM tooltip</description>
    <type>string</type>
    <localizable-flag>false</localizable-flag>
    <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
    <externally-managed-flag>false</externally-managed-flag>
    <visible-flag>true</visible-flag>
    <site-specific-flag>false</site-specific-flag>
    <order-required-flag>false</order-required-flag>
    <searchable-flag>false</searchable-flag>
    <min-length>0</min-length>
    <max-length>256</max-length>
    <default-value>default</default-value>
    <select-mode>none</select-mode>
    <unit>kg</unit>
</attribute-definition>

Flag	Purpose
localizable-flag	Can have different values per locale
mandatory-flag	Required in BM
externally-managed-flag	Read-only in BM
visible-flag	Shown in BM
site-specific-flag	Different value per site
order-required-flag	Required for order export
searchable-flag	Indexed for search

Best Practices

1. Use attribute groups to organize in Business Manager
2. Prefix custom attributes with organization name (e.g., acme_myAttribute)
3. Set externally-managed for data imported from external systems
4. Use enums over strings for controlled vocabularies
5. Document with descriptions - they appear as tooltips

Detailed Reference

• System Objects Reference - All system object types
• XML Examples - Complete import/export examples