Overview
This rule identifies workflow rules that are currently inactive within your Salesforce org. While inactive workflow rules no longer impact system behavior, they still contribute to clutter in your metadata and can create confusion for teams maintaining automation logic.
Code Reviews classifies this as a Warning, because leaving unused workflow rules in place does not break functionality but does reduce clarity, increase maintenance overhead, and make it harder for teams to understand which automations are actually in use.
Why This Matters
Inactive workflow rules are a common source of technical debt. Over time, as automation strategies evolve especially with the shift toward Flow teams often disable workflow rules but fail to remove them entirely. This can lead to:
A cluttered and harder to navigate automation landscape
Increased onboarding time for new team members
Confusion over which rules are still active or relevant
A higher likelihood of reintroducing outdated logic
More complex metadata deployments due to unused artifacts
Cleaning up inactive workflow rules reduces noise and helps teams focus on the automations that truly matter.
What Triggers This Rule
This rule flags any workflow rule in a deactivated state. It does not assess the rule’s historical importance or whether it may be needed again it simply alerts you that the logic is no longer active and may be eligible for clean up.
Code Reviews treats these as opportunities to streamline your org’s automation architecture, regardless of why the rule was disabled.
Recommended Approach
To maintain a clean and efficient org:
Review inactive workflow rules
Determine whether the logic has been replaced, migrated to Flow, or is no longer needed.
Remove rules that are no longer required
If a workflow rule has no future purpose, delete it to reduce clutter and improve long term maintainability.
Document the reasoning behind removals
If workflow functionality has been migrated, note where the new logic exists (e.g., a Flow or Process Builder process).
Use version control to preserve history
Even when deleting workflow rules from your org, version control retains a full audit trail if the rule needs to be referenced in the future.
Summary
Inactive workflow rules contribute to unnecessary metadata noise and make automation harder to understand and maintain. This rule flags deactivated workflow rules so teams can review and remove outdated logic, keeping the application clean, efficient, and easier to manage. Although inactive rules pose no functional risk, removing them is a best practice that supports long term org health and clarity.