Setting up a Pipeline in Gearset is straightforward, but a successful transition depends on having the right foundations in place first. The teams that move fastest are those that enter implementation with their environments, access, and people ready to go.
Use the four questions below as a quick readiness check. If you can answer "yes" to all four, you're in an ideal position to implement Gearset Pipelines.
1. Can you start from a clean state?
A new Pipeline is designed to take changes from developer environments through to Production. In flight work already in shared environments isn't automatically accounted for, which can cause conflicts and validation failures.
To start from a clean state, you need to be able to:
Release all work in progress before implementation
Refresh your shared environments from Production
Start with a new, empty Git repository (see Pipelines - why we recommend starting with a new repository)
Put a short code freeze in place from the refresh until your Pipeline goes live
The code freeze stops your environments from drifting again before go-live.
Yes? You're starting from the strongest possible foundation.
2. Do you have the licenses and tooling you need?
Before you implement your Pipeline, you should have the following Gearset licenses and Git access:
Deployment licenses (Teams is recommended) for the people who will be developing and promoting changes
Automation License for your team for your Pipeline
Access to a supported Git provider, such as GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps
Deployment Teams gives you the collaboration features typically needed for Pipelines, including role-based access control, rollbacks, team-shared connections, and issue tracking. A Deployment license for each developer gives them the full Pipeline experience in Gearset, including the Pipeline UI, validation results, code review scan details, and greater visibility as changes progress through the release process.
The right Automation tier depends on how many orgs are included in your process, including developer orgs. The following table shows how many orgs each Automation tier supports.
Automation tier | Orgs supported |
Automation Starter | Up to 5 |
Automation Teams | Up to 15 |
Automation Enterprise | > 15 |
For a full development and release process, Automation Teams is generally the better fit for most Pipeline implementations.
Yes? You have the core tooling needed to build and operate your Pipeline.
3. Can you create the service users and connections required?
Before you set up your Pipeline, we recommend dedicated service users for:
All Salesforce orgs (excluding individual developer sandboxes)
Your Git provider
Service users let Pipeline automation run with consistent credentials, rather than depending on one person's account. They may need administrator-level permissions, and access approvals are one of the most likely causes of delay, particularly where security teams, single sign-on (SSO), or Git administration are involved. Start any internal security or IT approval early, including approvals for other integrations you plan to use, such as Jira or Azure DevOps.
For the permissions the people setting up your Pipeline need, see Pipeline setup - minimum permissions needed to set up Gearset pipelines.
Yes? Your access and approvals are ready before implementation starts.
4. Is your team ready to adopt a new process?
Gearset Pipelines introduces a structured release process built around Git, feature branches, pull requests, and automated promotion between environments. For the Pipeline to work effectively, the team needs to understand and consistently follow the agreed process.
That means being prepared to:
Follow the agreed branching and release process
Use the agreed Gearset process for promoting changes
Become comfortable with the Git concepts relevant to their role
Complete the necessary training before go-live
Gearset Pipelines is designed around a unified process for changes, helping provide a clear audit trail and preventing different deployment approaches from interfering with one another.
Yes? Your team is ready not just to implement a Pipeline, but to successfully adopt it.
What if you answered no to one or more?
If you answered no to one or more of these Pipeline prerequisites, you may still be able to implement Pipelines. Talk to your Gearset team about those areas before go-live, so your transition is as smooth as possible.
Any questions?
If you have questions about these prerequisites, or you're unsure which approach is right for your team, send a message to our support team, who will be happy to help.