sf-schema

name	sf-schema
description	Scaffold custom objects, fields, validation rules, permission sets, and other schema metadata as SFDX source XML. Use when asked to create objects, custom fields, permission sets, validation rules, or generate metadata XML. Activate on mentions of "custom object", "custom field", "permission set", "validation rule", "picklist", "lookup field", or "object-meta.xml".
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	Requires Salesforce CLI (sf) v2+. Authenticated org needed for deployment.
metadata	{"author":"clientell","version":"1.0.0","tags":"salesforce, schema, metadata, permissions, custom-objects"}
allowed-tools	Read,Write,Edit,Bash(sf *),Glob,Grep
context	fork

Schema Design & Permission Management

You are a Salesforce schema and metadata specialist. Generate valid SFDX source format metadata.

Custom Object

<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/Invoice__c.object-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomObject xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <label>Invoice</label>
    <pluralLabel>Invoices</pluralLabel>
    <nameField>
        <label>Invoice Number</label>
        <type>AutoNumber</type>
        <displayFormat>INV-{000000}</displayFormat>
    </nameField>
    <deploymentStatus>Deployed</deploymentStatus>
    <sharingModel>Private</sharingModel>
    <enableActivities>true</enableActivities>
    <enableHistory>true</enableHistory>
    <enableReports>true</enableReports>
</CustomObject>

Custom Fields

<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/fields/Amount__c.field-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>Amount__c</fullName>
    <label>Amount</label>
    <type>Currency</type>
    <precision>18</precision>
    <scale>2</scale>
    <required>true</required>
</CustomField>

Common Field Types

<!-- Text -->
<type>Text</type>
<length>255</length>

<!-- Long Text Area -->
<type>LongTextArea</type>
<length>32768</length>
<visibleLines>5</visibleLines>

<!-- Picklist -->
<type>Picklist</type>
<valueSet>
    <restricted>true</restricted>
    <valueSetDefinition>
        <sorted>false</sorted>
        <value><fullName>Active</fullName><default>true</default><label>Active</label></value>
        <value><fullName>Inactive</fullName><default>false</default><label>Inactive</label></value>
    </valueSetDefinition>
</valueSet>

<!-- Lookup -->
<type>Lookup</type>
<referenceTo>Account</referenceTo>
<relationshipLabel>Invoices</relationshipLabel>
<relationshipName>Invoices</relationshipName>

<!-- Master-Detail -->
<type>MasterDetail</type>
<referenceTo>Account</referenceTo>
<relationshipLabel>Invoices</relationshipLabel>
<relationshipName>Invoices</relationshipName>
<reparentableMasterDetail>false</reparentableMasterDetail>
<writeRequiresMasterRead>false</writeRequiresMasterRead>

<!-- Checkbox -->
<type>Checkbox</type>
<defaultValue>false</defaultValue>

<!-- Date -->
<type>Date</type>

<!-- DateTime -->
<type>DateTime</type>

<!-- Number -->
<type>Number</type>
<precision>18</precision>
<scale>0</scale>

<!-- Formula -->
<type>Text</type>
<formula>Account__r.Name &amp; ' - ' &amp; TEXT(Amount__c)</formula>

Validation Rules

<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/validationRules/Amount_Required.validationRule-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ValidationRule xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>Amount_Must_Be_Positive</fullName>
    <active>true</active>
    <errorConditionFormula>Amount__c &lt;= 0</errorConditionFormula>
    <errorDisplayField>Amount__c</errorDisplayField>
    <errorMessage>Amount must be greater than zero.</errorMessage>
</ValidationRule>

Permission Sets

<!-- force-app/main/default/permissionsets/Invoice_Manager.permissionset-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PermissionSet xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <label>Invoice Manager</label>
    <hasActivationRequired>false</hasActivationRequired>
    <objectPermissions>
        <object>Invoice__c</object>
        <allowCreate>true</allowCreate>
        <allowDelete>false</allowDelete>
        <allowEdit>true</allowEdit>
        <allowRead>true</allowRead>
        <modifyAllRecords>false</modifyAllRecords>
        <viewAllRecords>true</viewAllRecords>
    </objectPermissions>
    <fieldPermissions>
        <field>Invoice__c.Amount__c</field>
        <editable>true</editable>
        <readable>true</readable>
    </fieldPermissions>
    <fieldPermissions>
        <field>Invoice__c.Status__c</field>
        <editable>true</editable>
        <readable>true</readable>
    </fieldPermissions>
</PermissionSet>

Custom Permissions (for Flow Bypass)

<!-- force-app/main/default/customPermissions/Bypass_Automation.customPermission-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomPermission xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <label>Bypass Automation</label>
    <isLicensed>false</isLicensed>
</CustomPermission>

Additional Field Types

Formula Field:

<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>FullName__c</fullName>
    <label>Full Name</label>
    <type>Text</type>
    <formula>FirstName__c &amp; ' ' &amp; LastName__c</formula>
    <formulaTreatBlanksAs>BlankAsZero</formulaTreatBlanksAs>
</CustomField>

Rollup Summary Field (master-detail only):

<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>Total_Amount__c</fullName>
    <label>Total Amount</label>
    <type>Summary</type>
    <summarizedField>LineItem__c.Amount__c</summarizedField>
    <summaryOperation>sum</summaryOperation>
    <summaryForeignKey>LineItem__c.Order__c</summaryForeignKey>
</CustomField>

Geolocation Field:

<type>Location</type>
<displayLocationInDecimal>true</displayLocationInDecimal>
<scale>6</scale>

Global Value Set (Reusable Picklist):

<GlobalValueSet xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <masterLabel>Industries</masterLabel>
    <sorted>false</sorted>
    <customValue><fullName>Technology</fullName><default>false</default><label>Technology</label></customValue>
    <customValue><fullName>Healthcare</fullName><default>false</default><label>Healthcare</label></customValue>
</GlobalValueSet>

Relationship Types

Type	Delete Behavior	Rollup Summary	Reparenting	Max per Object
Master-Detail	Cascade delete	Yes	Configurable	2
Lookup	Block/Clear/Restrict	No	N/A	40 (25 std)
External Lookup	N/A	No	N/A	-
Hierarchical	N/A	No	N/A	1 (User only)
Junction (M2M)	Two master-details	On both parents	-	-

Record Types

<RecordType xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>Enterprise</fullName>
    <label>Enterprise</label>
    <active>true</active>
    <businessProcess>Enterprise Sales Process</businessProcess>
    <description>For enterprise accounts</description>
</RecordType>

Custom Metadata Types vs Custom Settings

Feature	Custom Metadata Types	Custom Settings (Hierarchy)
Deployable	Yes (metadata)	No (data)
SOQL required	Yes (or getInstance)	No (getOrgDefaults)
User/Profile override	No	Yes
Counts against SOQL limit	Yes	No
Use for	Org config, mappings	User preferences

Permission Set Groups

<PermissionSetGroup xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <label>Sales Team</label>
    <permissionSets>
        <permissionSet>Account_Manager</permissionSet>
        <permissionSet>Opportunity_Editor</permissionSet>
        <permissionSet>Report_Viewer</permissionSet>
    </permissionSets>
</PermissionSetGroup>

SFDX Source Directory Structure

force-app/main/default/
├── objects/
│   └── Invoice__c/
│       ├── Invoice__c.object-meta.xml
│       ├── fields/
│       │   ├── Amount__c.field-meta.xml
│       │   └── Status__c.field-meta.xml
│       ├── validationRules/
│       │   └── Amount_Must_Be_Positive.validationRule-meta.xml
│       └── listViews/
│           └── All.listView-meta.xml
├── permissionsets/
│   └── Invoice_Manager.permissionset-meta.xml
├── customPermissions/
│   └── Bypass_Automation.customPermission-meta.xml
└── layouts/
    └── Invoice__c-Invoice Layout.layout-meta.xml

Gotchas

• Max 40 custom relationships per object (25 for standard objects)
• Formula fields cannot reference LongTextArea, RichTextArea, MultiSelectPicklist, or Encrypted fields
• Rollup Summary fields work only on Master-Detail relationships — not Lookups
• Global Value Sets cannot be converted back to local picklists once shared
• Encrypted Text fields are not searchable or sortable
• Record type-dependent picklists require explicit value mapping per record type
• Permission Set Groups recalculate asynchronously — changes may take minutes to apply
• Custom Metadata Type records cannot be created/updated via DML in production — deploy only
• Profiles are notoriously merge-conflict-prone — prefer Permission Sets for everything

References

• Schema Reference — formula fields, rollup summaries, geolocation, Global Value Sets, record types, page layouts, FlexiPages, custom metadata, platform events, Big Objects, quick actions, custom labels

Workflow

1. Understand object/field requirements
2. Generate SFDX source format XML files
3. Generate permission set for new objects/fields
4. Deploy schema first, then code that references it
5. Verify with: sf org list metadata -m CustomObject --target-org myOrg