After years of working with the Salesforce CLI, certain commands have become second nature. Here are the ones I reach for every single day.
1. Check Org Authentication
Before doing anything else in the morning:
sf org list --all
This shows all authenticated orgs and their status. Expired tokens? You'll catch them here.
2. Open an Org in the Browser
sf org open -o my-dev-org
Simple, but I use it dozens of times a day. Add -p to open a specific page:
sf org open -o my-dev-org -p /lightning/setup/DeployStatus/home
3. Deploy with Validation Only
sf project deploy start -o target-org --dry-run
Always validate before deploying to UAT or production. This runs all the same checks without actually making changes.
4. Check Deploy Status
sf project deploy report -o target-org
When you've kicked off a deployment, this shows you where it stands.
5. Retrieve Specific Components
sf project retrieve start -o my-dev-org -m "ApexClass:MyController"
Much faster than retrieving everything when you just need one file.
6. Run Apex Tests
sf apex run test -o my-dev-org -l RunLocalTests -w 10
The -w 10 flag waits up to 10 minutes for results. Essential for CI pipelines.
7. Generate a Manifest
sf project generate manifest --from-org my-dev-org -o manifest/package.xml
Generates a package.xml from an org's metadata. I use this constantly when setting up new backup branches.
8. Execute Anonymous Apex
sf apex run -o my-dev-org -f scripts/apex/cleanup.apex
Quick data fixes, one-off scripts, debug logging setup — anonymous Apex is incredibly versatile.
9. Query Data
sf data query -o my-dev-org -q "SELECT Id, Name FROM Account LIMIT 5"
SOQL from the command line. Add --json for machine-readable output that you can pipe to other tools.
10. List Metadata Types
sf org list metadata-types -o my-dev-org
When you're not sure what metadata type name to use in your package.xml, this command lists them all.
These ten commands cover probably 80% of my daily CLI usage. Master these and you'll be well on your way to CLI fluency.
What commands are in your daily rotation? I'd love to hear about it — drop me a line.