VS Code Configuration

Why Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a free, cross-platform code editor with a strong plug-in community which extends its capabilities. Salesforce has created plug-ins to work with VSCode and has become the preferred editor for editing code with SFDX.

Visual Studio Code can be used by both developers and QA staff alike.

VS Code SFDX Setup

Prerequisites

1. GIT

   1. The GIT Guide from GitHub is a great resource for setting up and configuring GIT

      1. Mac Users - You may want to consider connecting with SSH and adding SSH key to the SSH Agent

Download VS Code

Getting a workstation setup with VSCode and configured for Salesforce development is a straightforward approach, the steps below outline what is needed to perform regardless if the developer or quality assurance engineer is running on a PC or a Mac.

1. Download and Install Visual Studio Code

   • https://code.visualstudio.com/download

2. Java 11 Platform, Standard Edition Development Kit Some features in Salesforce Extensions for VS Code depend upon Java (Standard Edition Development Kit (JDK))

   • The AdoptOpenJDK is a recommended alternative to Oracle's Java which carries licensing fees.

3. Install the Salesforce CLI

4. Install the official Salesforce Extension Pack into Visual Studio Code.

5. Configure Settings in Visual Studio Code to point to the JVM

   1. Open Settings, Navigate to User

   2. Select Salesforce Apex Configuration

   3. Select Java: Home and set path correctly (See example below)

Connect VS Code to Azure DevOps GIT Repos

Learn DX

You may want to follow this trail to get familiar with Salesforce DX

Salesforce SFDX Setup

Salesforce needs to be configured to enable SFDX. This is a one-time setup for the Developer org.

1. Setup Dev Hub and G2P in your Salesforce edition

   1. Navigate to Setup > Settings > Development > Dev Hub

   2. Move the slider to enable Dev Hub and G2P Packaging

2. From a command prompt in Visual Studio Code issue sfdx force:auth:web:login to log into the Dev Hub using the CLI, which will authorize you to create scratch orgs.

Additional VS Code Plugins for SFDX Projects

• SonarLint - Provides realtime feedback on writing better code.

  • Connects with SonarCloud (free for public projects ~$10/mo for most Salesforce projects)

  • Details on how to configure SonarLint

• Prettier - Keeps code formatting consistent

• C# - For building Automated UI Tests with Selenium

• XML - Helps with working with XML Files

VS Code Configurations

Automatically push code to org when saving:

salesforcedx-vscode-core.push-or-deploy-on-save.enabled to true.

Resources

• Salesforce Visual Studio Code Extensions Home Page

• Salesforce CLI Installation Instructions

Trailhead Module:

• Quick Start: Visual Studio Code for Salesforce Development

-- Valerie Belova