Salesforce Package Builder

A VS Code extension that makes it easy to explore your Salesforce org's metadata and build package.xml files visually.

What It Does

Instead of manually writing package.xml files, this extension lets you:

Browse all metadata in your Salesforce org
Select components with simple checkboxes
Filter out managed packages to focus on your custom work
Automatically generate a valid package.xml
Retrieve selected components directly to your project

Key Features

Hide Managed Packages

Working on a Salesforce org with many installed packages? Enable "Hide Managed" to instantly filter out all managed package components. This shows only your org's custom metadata, making it much easier to find and select what you need.

Select All Components

Need to include everything? Click "Select All" to automatically load and select all components across every metadata type. The extension:

Shows a confirmation before starting
Loads metadata types in parallel for speed
Displays progress as it works
Respects the "Hide Managed" filter (only selects custom components when enabled)
Can be cancelled at any time

Full Folder Support

Unlike other tools, this extension fully supports folder-based metadata:

Metadata Type	Folder Type
Report	ReportFolder
Dashboard	DashboardFolder
EmailTemplate	EmailFolder
Document	DocumentFolder

Smart Folder Detection: When you select a Report or Dashboard, the extension automatically checks if its parent folder is included. If not, you'll see a warning banner with an "Add" button to include the missing folders with one click.

Report and Dashboard Folder Support

The extension detects that 5 ReportFolders are missing and offers to add them automatically.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Salesforce CLI - Make sure you have sf CLI installed
Authorized Org - Connect to your Salesforce org using sf org login web

Opening the Extension

Open your Salesforce project in VS Code
Press Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows)
Type "SF Package Builder" and select "Choose Metadata Components"

How to Use

The Interface

The extension opens with two panels:

Left Panel	Right Panel
List of all metadata types (Apex Class, Custom Object, etc.)	Components within the selected type

Selecting Components

Click a metadata type on the left to load its components
Check individual components on the right to select them
Use the checkbox next to a type to select/deselect all components in that type

Filtering Options

Hide Managed Packages

Enable the "Hide Managed" checkbox at the top to filter out all components from installed packages. When enabled:

The component list shows only your org's custom metadata
Component counts update to reflect filtered totals
Select All will only select custom components, not managed ones

This is especially useful in orgs with many AppExchange packages installed.

Search

Use the search box on the left to find metadata types
Use the search box on the right to find specific components

Show Unselected Only

When reviewing your selections, enable the "Unselected" checkbox to filter out selected components and see only the ones you haven't added yet. This helps you quickly identify what's missing from your package.

Show Unselected Filter

Filter to see only the 92 unselected components, making it easy to review what's not yet in your package.xml.

Saving Your Selection

Once you've selected your components:

Button	What It Does
Update Package.xml	Saves the selection to your project's `manifest/package.xml` file
Copy	Copies the `package.xml` content to your clipboard
Retrieve	Downloads the selected components from the org to your local project

Refreshing Data

If you've made changes in your org (like creating a new Apex class):

Click the refresh icon next to a metadata type to reload its components
Click the refresh icon in the header to clear all cached data

Your current selections are preserved when refreshing.

Tips

Loading from Existing package.xml

The extension automatically reads your existing manifest/package.xml and pre-selects those components. This lets you continue from where you left off.

Refresh Without Losing Selections

Made changes in your org? Click the refresh icon to fetch the latest components. Your existing selections are preserved, so you won't lose track of what you've already chosen.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Press Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P and type:

"SF Package Builder: Choose Metadata Components" - Open the extension
"SF Package Builder: Clear Metadata Cache" - Force refresh all data
"SF Package Builder: Set API Version" - Change the Salesforce API version

Settings

Access via VS Code Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) and search for "SF Package Builder":

Setting	Description
Cache Duration	How long to keep metadata cached (default: 60 minutes)
Parallel Fetch Limit	Number of simultaneous requests (default: 5)
Exclude Namespaces	Namespaces to always hide
Exclude Metadata Types	Types to exclude from the list

Troubleshooting

"No org found" Error

Make sure you've authorized a Salesforce org:

sf org login web

Components Not Loading

Check your internet connection
Try clicking the refresh button
Clear the cache using the command palette

Extension Not Appearing

Ensure you have a Salesforce project open (with sfdx-project.json)
Restart VS Code

Requirements

VS Code 1.85.0 or higher
Salesforce CLI (sf) installed
An authorized Salesforce org

Author

Milanjeet Singh

License

MIT