How to Set Up Visual Studio Code With Salesforce Org

How to Set Up Visual Studio Code for Salesforce

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Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a popular, lightweight code editor used by Salesforce developers to write, manage, and deploy our code efficiently. This guide will walk you through the full setup process for using VS Code with Salesforce .


What You’ll Need

Before diving in, make sure you have:

  • A Salesforce Developer or Sandbox org
  • Internet connection 😜

Step 1: Install Visual Studio Code

  • Go to the VS code website to download or click here 
  • Choose your operating system (Windows/macOS/Linux).
  • Download and run the installer.

    How to Set Up Visual Studio Code for Salesforce Org
    How to Set Up Visual Studio Code for Salesforce Org

Step 2: Install Salesforce CLI

Salesforce CLI (Command Line Interface) is required to authenticate and interact with Salesforce orgs from VS Code.

  • Go to the Salesforce CLI download page.
  • Download the correct version for your OS.
  • Install it by following on-screen instructions.

    ✅ Verify installation: Open Terminal/Command Prompt and type sfdx --version.

Step 3: Install Salesforce Extensions in VS Code

  • Launch VS Code.
  • Click the Extensions icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
  • Search for Salesforce Extension Pack or Salesforce Extension Pack (Expanded) (Anyone of this you can install)
  • Click Install.

The Salesforce Extension Pack (Expanded) is recommended as this pack includes :

  • Salesforce CLI Integration
  • Apex
  • Apex Interactive Debugger
  • Apex Replay Debugger
  • Lightning Web Components
  • Aura Components
  • Visualforce
  • SOQL
  • Agentforce for Developers
  • Salesforce Code Analyzer

It also includes the following community-built extensions.

  • Apex Log Analyzer .
  • Prettier
  • ESLint
  • Apex PMD

Step 4: Create a Salesforce DX Project

  • Open Command Palette: Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac).
  • Type SFDX: Create Project with Manifest.
  • Give your project a name.
  • Choose a folder location.

             This will generate a project structure with folders like force-app, config, and manifest.


Step 5: Authorize Your Salesforce Org

To connect your local setup to Salesforce:

  • Open Command Palette again :Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac).
  • Select SFDX: Authorize an Org.

  • Choose between:Project Default
    login.salesforce.com (Production or Developer)
    test.salesforce.com (Sandbox)
    Custom Url

Enter an alias after selecting any one from above (e.g., SFHours).

Log in through the web browser window that opens. Then enter login Credential of Salesforce org .Once you enter that a prompt screen will come up like this:

Once you allow that you will again prompt with Authentication Successful message


Once you see this screen , you can go back to your VS code and check the terminal with this message “Successfully authorize ”

                                                                                                        Boom 👏       !!!! ALL SET NOW !!!!
                                                                             YOU Have Successfully SETUP Your VS Code with Salesforce org

Step 6: Retrieve Component from Salesforce using VsCode

Now ,You’ll want to pull down existing components of Salesforce in VS Code:

  1. Go to package.xml (in the manifest folder). Then right click on “package.xml".
  2. Select SFDX: Retrieve Source in Manifest from Org.

    It’ll retrieve all the metadata from your org which is specified in your package.xml file .Your metadata will now be downloaded to the force-app folder.

    You can see the list of retrieved component list in VS CODE Terminal output

Step 7: Deploy Code to Salesforce

  1. Navigate to the component you modified or created.
  2. Right-click the file and select SFDX: Deploy This Source to Org.

                                        ✅ Tip: You can also deploy the entire project by right-clicking the force-app folder.

Common Commands Cheat Sheet

Action Command
Create Project SFDX: Create Project with Manifest
Authorize Org SFDX: Authorize an Org
Retrieve Metadata SFDX: Retrieve Source in Manifest from Org
Deploy Source SFDX: Deploy This Source to Org
Run Tests SFDX: Run Apex Tests


Summary

I hope this post helped you to understand how to set up vsCode in Salesforce. If you face any issue while doing these steps , please let me know in the comment box .I will try my best to help you out .

Keep sharing and give us valuable feedback that can help us to imporove our content better for you .

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