Introduction
Layered modules are designed to allow teams to update and deploy the same metadata across multiple production orgs
This allows a central team to deploy business wide updates without interrupting the development taking place in the individual orgs.
This is commonly used in cases where a business has a central team that maintains multiple region specific organisations.
Building a Pipeline with layered modules allows teams to layer their shared and org specific metadata together in an easy to understand UI.
If you want to test layered modules without using your Production orgs, this article will guide you through the steps.
Setting up a new repo
Start by creating a new repository called Gearset-modules-demo on your preferred source control provider. In this example I will be using GitHub.
Make sure your repository will have a
Read.mefile, and then create it.
Connect your source control to Gearset by navigating to
My connectionson the left-hand side menu and click on Source control and services. More detailed steps provided here.Navigate to the compare and deploy page and select the main branch of your newly created repo as the target. You will see an option to
Set up repositoryas shown below.
Once you click
Set up repository, it will take you through the setup wizard explained in this document . After reading each step, clickNext.
Creating sandboxes from your existing production orgs
Once you created your modules, the next step is to create 2 or more sandboxes from each of your existing production orgs to stand in for a testing environment and prod environment.
Log In to Production Org: Sign in to your Salesforce production account with System Administrator privileges.
Navigate to Sandboxes:
In Salesforce Classic: Go to Setup > Data Management > Sandboxes.
In Lightning Experience: Click the gear icon, select Setup, enter "Sandboxes" in the Quick Find box, and select Sandboxes.
Create a New Sandbox:
Click New Sandbox.
Enter a Name and Description for the sandbox. Choose a name that reflects its purpose, like "Dev", "QA".
Select the Type of sandbox:
Developer: Includes all configurations (metadata) but no data. Suitable for development and testing.
Developer Pro: Similar to Developer but with more storage. Ideal for larger development and quality assurance tasks.
Partial Copy: Contains configurations and a sample of data defined by a sandbox template. Good for user acceptance testing and training.
Full: A complete replica of your production org, including all data and configurations. Used for performance testing and staging.
Configure Sandbox Settings:
For Partial Copy and Full sandboxes, select a Sandbox Template to specify which data to include. If no template exists, create one by selecting the objects and data you need.
Optionally, specify an Apex Class to run after creation or refresh. This is useful for tasks like populating the sandbox with sample data or obfuscating sensitive information.
Start Sandbox Creation:
Click Create. The sandbox creation process begins, and the time it takes depends on the type of sandbox and the amount of data.
You'll receive an email notification once the sandbox is ready.
Access the Sandbox:
Log in to the sandbox at https://test.salesforce.com using your production username appended with a period and the sandbox name (e.g.,
[email protected]). Use the password from the production org at the time the sandbox was created.
Once you have created your orgs, connect them in Gearset from the Salesforce orgs page. More detailed explanation in this document.
Next steps
Once you have created your modules and connected your orgs, you will be able to set up a Pipeline to test layered modules with your own metadata.
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