Salesforce Open Flow for VS Code

Open any Salesforce Flow metadata file directly in Flow Builder with one click — no terminal, no typing sf commands, no Salesforce CLI required.

What it does

When you're working in a Salesforce DX project, jumping from a Flow's source XML to its canvas in Flow Builder means running:

sf org open --source-file force-app/main/default/flows/My_Flow.flow-meta.xml

This extension does the same thing inside VS Code, in-process:

• Right-click any .flow-meta.xml file in the Explorer → Salesforce: Open Flow in Flow Builder
• Right-click inside an open Flow metadata file → same command
• Command Palette → Salesforce: Open Flow in Flow Builder (uses the active editor)
• Resolves the Flow's DurableId over the REST API, generates a single-use Frontdoor URL via the Salesforce UI Bridge API, and opens Flow Builder in your browser
• Built-in org login — Salesforce: Log in to Org runs the browser OAuth flow itself; no Salesforce CLI or Extension Pack needed, ever. The command is shared with other Wallencreek Salesforce plugins: install several and you still get a single login entry.
• Logs every step to a dedicated "Salesforce Open Flow" output panel

How it works

The extension bundles @salesforce/core — the same library the Salesforce CLI is built on — and talks to Salesforce directly:

1. Pick the org — the targetOrg setting if set, otherwise the default org using the same resolution rules as the CLI: project config (.sfdx/sfdx-config.json, both target-org and the legacy defaultusername key) → global config. Aliases are resolved from both the modern (~/.sf/alias.json) and legacy (~/.sfdx/alias.json) alias files.
2. Authenticate — reads the org's OAuth tokens from the shared auth files in ~/.sfdx, refreshing expired access tokens automatically. Orgs you've authorized with the CLI or the official extensions just work.
3. Find the Flow — one Tooling/REST query maps the file name to the latest deployed version's DurableId.
4. Build the URL — asks the UI Bridge API (/services/oauth2/singleaccess) for a single-use, pre-authenticated Frontdoor URL that lands directly on the Flow Builder canvas.
5. Open it — the URL is handed to the OS browser launcher (open / start / xdg-open) as a raw string, byte-for-byte, exactly the way the sf CLI does. VS Code's own URI handling and link-confirmation dialog are bypassed entirely, so the encoded URL the server signed is the URL the browser receives.

No CLI required

Nothing in the extension shells out to sf:

• Login is run in-process via WebOAuthServer — a localhost OAuth listener plus Salesforce's built-in connected app, the identical mechanism behind sf org login web. Tokens are stored in the standard shared auth files, so the CLI and other Salesforce tooling see the org too.
• API calls go straight over HTTPS from the extension host.
• Browser handoff goes through the OS, not VS Code.

If you've never authorized an org, run Salesforce: Log in to Org from the Command Palette (or press the "Log in to Salesforce" button when the extension offers it). It opens your browser, you approve, and the tokens are stored locally — the login can also set the project/global default org for you.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85+
• An authorized Salesforce org (see above)
• The Flow must exist in the target org — deploy it first if it's local-only (the Flow Builder needs a Flow ID to open)

Extension Settings

Known behavior

• The command is only offered on files ending in .flow-meta.xml.
• If the flow isn't found in the org (e.g., never deployed), you'll get a clear error — deploy it or switch targetOrg.
• Works for the same metadata types sf org open --source-file supports for Flow; ApexPage/FlexiPage support may come later.
• Frontdoor URLs are single-use; every open mints a fresh one.

Release Notes

0.3.6

• README now shows the demo animation (right-click a flow → Flow Builder opens in the browser).

0.3.5

• The login command is now shared across Wallencreek Salesforce plugins: it moved to the plugin-agnostic Salesforce: Log in to Org (wallencreekSf.login), contributed identically by the Apex Picklist Autocomplete extension — install both and the Command Palette still shows a single login entry. Org resolution prefers the new shared wallencreekSf.targetOrg setting; salesforceOpenFlow.targetOrg still works but is deprecated, and the old salesforceOpenFlow.login ID remains registered (hidden) for keybindings and scripts.

0.3.4

• Flow Builder URLs are now opened through the OS browser launcher (open/start/xdg-open) instead of vscode.env.openExternal, byte-for-byte — the same path the sf CLI uses. This removes the link-confirmation dialog and fixes the last "Page does not exist" case, where the dialog's Open button mangled the encoded frontdoor URL even though its Copy button worked.

0.3.3

• Fix "Page does not exist" when Flow Builder opened: VS Code's URI handling strips the encoding of the frontdoor URL's startURL parameter, breaking the Salesforce redirect. The extension double-encodes query values so openExternal delivers the exact URL Salesforce generated.

0.3.2

• Fix org resolution for projects using legacy .sfdx/sfdx-config.json and legacy aliases (~/.sfdx/alias.json) — e.g. a project whose default org is set as an alias like KBRILL.

0.3.1

• Fix "Open Flow" failing with a logger transport error when the dependencies were bundled; the extension ships with its dependencies unpacked (the same approach as the official Salesforce extensions). No functional changes.

0.3.0

• Built-in org login — new Salesforce: Log in to Org command runs the full browser OAuth flow in-process (localhost OAuth listener + Salesforce's built-in connected app). The extension is completely standalone: install it, log in, right-click a flow, done.
• If no org is authorized yet, the "open" command offers a one-click Log in to Salesforce button instead of telling you to install the CLI.

0.2.0

• No more CLI dependency — talks to Salesforce in-process via the bundled @salesforce/core; sf no longer needs to be installed or on PATH.
• Org resolution now matches the CLI: project sfdx-project.json / local config wins over global default.
• Clearer errors when the flow is missing from the org.

0.1.0

• Initial release: Explorer + editor context menus, command palette entry, configurable target org, output panel logging (spawned the sf CLI).

MIT © Ken Brill · Wallen Creek Software