automation-sandbox-post-copy-config-generate
Generate the JSON config file that the Salesforce sandbox post-copy automation tool consumes, from a customer SOP in any format (PDF, xlsx, csv, JSON, docx, Markdown, plain text, or a screenshot of an endpoint table). Use when the user asks to create, build, generate, produce, or convert a post-copy
By forcedotcom · 2,111 installs
npx skills add forcedotcom/sf-skills --skill automation-sandbox-post-copy-config-generate
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Automation: Sandbox Post Copy Config Generate
Convert a customer's sandbox refresh / post copy SOP into a structured JSON
array that the post copy automation tool consumes. Each entry is a
declarative instruction: which Salesforce configuration to update, which
fields are involved, whether it is active, and what order it runs in.
STOP — do this before writing any JSON
Do not compose the output from memory. Before you write the file, you
MUST open and read assets/config template.json and copy an entry from it
for each action. Every output entry is exactly one of these two shapes —
five top level keys, no others, no wrapper object:
ConfigurationName : exactly OutboundMessages or RemoteSiteSettings — never Type , Name , or Operation .
OBM Fields : EndpointUrl + Object (both required). RemoteSite Fields : RemoteSiteUrl only — never Url / RemoteSiteURL .
Top level is a JSON array. No steps / actions / records wrapper. No <… or REPLACE WITH … placeholder ever survives into the output.
If you announce "I will now write …" without having read the template and
catalog, stop and read them first — a from memory guess produces the wrong
keys and fails at runtime.
Scope
In scope : Reading a customer SOP in any of the supported formats
(PDF, xlsx, csv, JSON, docx, Markdown, plain text, pasted excerpt, or
images containing data tables — e.g., a screenshot of an
Outbound Messages list with endpoint URLs), identifying post copy /
post refresh actions, mapping each action to a supported
ConfigurationName , emitting the canonical JSON array.
Out of scope : Generating Salesforce metadata XML (delegate to
generating skills), deploying anything to an org, running the
post copy tool, inferring or fabricating values not present in the SOP —
if the SOP does not give a concrete URL/value for an action, skip the
action.
Every emitted entry must have every Field populated with a real value
from the customer source. No empty strings, no null , no
<from backup / TBD / TODO placeholders. Customers should never
see an unpopulated field in the output — if a value cannot be located,
skip the entry and surface it. See the corresponding rule below.
Required Inputs
Gather or infer before generating:
SOP source(s) : One or more paths (or pasted content) in any of:
PDF, xlsx, csv, JSON, docx, Markdown, plain text, or images
(.png/.jpg/.jpeg/.tiff/.bmp). Multiple files are common — the action
list and the endpoint table sometimes live in different files. Read
every file the user supplies.
Target output path : Where the JSON config should be written. Default
to post copy config.json in the current directory unless specified.
Scope filter (optional): If the SOP covers many environments
(e.g., fcQA, fcUAT, multiple sandboxes), confirm which subset the user
wants in the output.
If the user provides a clear SOP and target, generate immediately without
asking unnecessary questions.
Workflow
All steps are sequential. Steps 1–5 (reading the SOP, the catalog, the
template, and the schema) are prerequisites to writing — you may not
skip to the write step. If you catch yourself about to emit JSON without
having read assets/config template.json and
references/configuration catalog.md , go back and read them first.
1. Locate and read every supplied SOP source — read
references/source format handling.md for the exact extraction
recipe per format (PDF, xlsx, csv, JSON, docx, image). At a glance:
PDF : extract text with pypdf (text layer) and OCR
image based pages with pytesseract if the text layer is empty.
xlsx : read every sheet with openpyxl ( data only=True ),
scan all columns including ones outside the visible default
range, check cell comments and embedded media.
csv / JSON / Markdown / text : read directly.
docx : extract paragraphs and tables with python docx .
Images (.png/.jpg/...): use the Read tool to view, then
decide if the image carries data (a table of endpoint URLs, a
setup screenshot showing values to capture) or is purely
illustrative (architecture diagram, flow chart). Extract values
only from data bearing images. See the image handling rules in
references/source format handling.md .
For very large SOPs ( 50 pages / 20 sheets), focus on sections
or sheets titled "Post Refresh", "Post Copy", "Post Refresh
Steps", "Update …", or equivalent.
2. Identify post copy actions — read
references/sop parsing patterns.md for the heuristics that turn prose
instructions ("Update Outbound Message endpoint X to URL Y") into
structured action records.
3. Map each action to a ConfigurationName — load
references/configuration catalog.md . The catalog currently supports
only OutboundMessages and RemoteSiteSettings . Any action that
targets a different configuration type is out of scope: skip it and
list it in the response so the user can extend the catalog later.
4. Read the JSON template — load assets/config template.json . It
shows the exact required shape of one OutboundMessages entry and one
RemoteSiteSettings entry, with <… placeholder slots. Copy an
entry, replace every <… slot with the concrete SOP value, and keep
the exact top level keys ( ConfigurationName , Label , Fields ,
IsActive , ExecutionOrder ) — never rename them to Type , Name ,
Operation , etc. Never emit an entry that still contains a <…
placeholder; if you cannot fill a slot, skip the entry (see Rules).
5. Validate against the schema — load assets/json schema.json . Every
entry must conform: ConfigurationName is one of the catalog values,
Fields is an object, IsActive is boolean, ExecutionOrder is a
positive integer.
6. Group entries by phase, then assign ExecutionOrder —
ExecutionOrder is a phase number, not a per row counter. Entries that
can run in parallel (no dependency between them) share the same value.
Different ConfigurationName types typically get different phases; all
entries within one phase share its number. See the ordering heuristic
in references/sop parsing patterns.md .
7. Compare against the example — verify the output shape against
examples/sample sop to config.json before writing.
8. Write the JSON file — emit pretty printed JSON (2 space indent).
Rules / Constraints
Constraint Rationale
Output is a JSON array at the top level (not an object with a wrapper key) The post copy tool consumes an array directly
Every entry has all five required keys: ConfigurationName , Label , Fields , IsActive , ExecutionOrder The tool fails fast on missing keys; partial entries are not silently accepted
ConfigurationName is one of the catalog values Unknown values cause the runtime mapper to error out — never invent a new type without updating the catalog
Fields keys are the actual API field names on the target metadata Wrong key names mean the tool can't locate the field at runtime
Fields values are the concrete values from the SOP (literal URLs, names, etc.) The post copy tool applies the value as is; placeholders are not resolved at runtime
If the SOP names an action but no concrete value (URL, etc.) is provided, skip the entry entirely and list it in the response Generating an entry without a real value would produce a silent no op or a deployment error at runtime
Every Field in every emitted entry must be a real value sourced from the customer's SOP or a supplemental sheet they provided. Never emit "" , null , or placeholder markers like <from backup / TBD / TODO Customers consume the JSON directly — empty / placeholder fields surface to them as broken output and would also fail at runtime
Before skipping an OBM / RemoteSite for missing values, search every tab / sheet of the supplied workbook (and every supplied file) for an endpoint table keyed by that name Customer SOPs frequently split the action list and the URL table across different sheets (e.g., the Michelin UAT Refresh Planner lists OBMs in the Integration tab but the URL table lives in the Evolution SFA tab)
Information already captured by another field is not repeated in Fields (e.g., RemoteSiteName lives in Label , IsActive lives at the top level — neither belongs in Fields ) Duplicate keys make the entry ambiguous and waste bytes the tool then has to reconcile
For OutboundMessages , Fields MUST include both EndpointUrl and Object (the target SObject — Account , Contact , Asset , Lead , etc.) Same Label can apply to multiple OBMs differing only by entity; Object disambiguates them at runtime
For RemoteSiteSettings , the URL key MUST be spelled exactly RemoteSiteUrl — never Url , RemoteSiteURL , SiteUrl , or EndpointUrl The post copy tool matches the field by exact API name; any other spelling means it can't locate the field and the entry silently no ops at runtime
ExecutionOrder is a phase number — entries with no dependency on each other share the same value The post copy tool runs all entries with the same ExecutionOrder in parallel; sequencing is only needed where one action depends on another
IsActive: false entries remain in the output (do not delete them) The customer toggles them on per environment; deleting loses traceability
Default IsActive to true when the SOP marks an action as required Most SOP steps are required; explicit opt out is the exception
Canonical entry shape
See the entry shapes shown in the STOP section above, or copy directly from
assets/config template.json . Do not rename the five top level keys
( ConfigurationName , Label , Fields , IsActive , ExecutionOrder ) to
Type , Name , Operation , apiName , etc., and do not wrap the array
in an object with a steps / actions / records key.
Gotchas
Issue Resolution
SOP step says "delete all endpoints" rather than "update X to Y" Emit an entry with ConfigurationName: "OutboundMessages" , Label describing the deletion target, and a note in Fields ( {"Action": "Delete"} ); the catalog documents the Delete pattern
Same Label appears for multiple environments (fcQA + fcUAT) Emit one entry per environment; suffix the Label or use the environment specific Label as it appears in the SOP
For OutboundMessages, the same Label can legitimately apply to multiple entries when each targets a different Object (e.g., one OBM for Account, one for Contact). Do not collapse them — emit one entry per Object. The Object value (inferred from the OBM name like IR Account OBM PROD → Account ) is what distinguishes them, not the Label.
SOP groups many Custom Labels together in a single table One entry per row of the table — do not collapse into a single bulk entry
Action targets a setting outside the catalog (CustomLabels, ConnectedApps, NamedCredentials, SSO, CustomSettings, etc.) Skip the action, do NOT invent a new ConfigurationName ; list every skipped action in the response so the user knows what to add to the catalog later
SOP includes pre refresh steps interleaved with post refresh Filter out pre refresh — only post refresh / post copy actions belong in the output
SOP names an outbound message / remote site to update but does not include the new URL Skip the entry. List the skipped item in the response so the user can supply the URL or amend the SOP
SOP includes secrets in URLs (e.g., https://USER:TOKEN@host/... ) Embed them verbatim — the tool consumes the value as is — but flag in the response so the user is aware the JSON now contains a secret and should be stored / shared accordingly
User's SOP is in a non English language or has heavy formatting (tables, callouts) Extract the prose first, normalize wh