Salesforce Commerce Development Setup

Before Writing Code

Fetch live docs before setting up a project.

1. Web-fetch: https://github.com/SalesforceCommerceCloud/sfcc-ci for sfcc-ci CLI commands
2. Web-search: "site:developer.salesforce.com sf cli getting started 2026" for sf CLI setup
3. Web-search: "site:developer.salesforce.com SFRA getting started 2026" for SFRA project setup
4. Web-fetch: https://github.com/SalesforceCommerceCloud/storefront-reference-architecture for SFRA reference
5. Web-search: "site:developer.salesforce.com commerce cloud b2c b2b documentation 2026"

Conceptual Architecture

Prerequisites

B2C Commerce (SFCC) requires:

• Business Manager account (provided by Salesforce or your org)
• Sandbox instance (e.g., dev01-realm-customer.demandware.net)
• API client credentials (client ID + secret) for sfcc-ci authentication
• Account Manager credentials for WebDAV/OCAPI

B2B Commerce (Lightning) requires:

• Salesforce org (Developer Edition, sandbox, or production) with B2B Commerce license
• sf CLI installed (npm install -g @salesforce/cli)
• Scratch org or sandbox for isolated development

CLI Tools

Key sfcc-ci Commands:

• sfcc-ci code:deploy -- upload code to sandbox
• sfcc-ci code:activate -- activate a code version
• sfcc-ci sandbox:create / sandbox:list -- manage on-demand sandboxes
• sfcc-ci job:run -- execute Business Manager jobs

Key sf CLI Commands:

• sf project deploy start -- deploy metadata to org
• sf org create scratch -- create scratch org
• sf apex run test -- run Apex tests
• sf data import tree -- import sample data

Project Structures

B2C SFRA Cartridge Project:

sfra-project/
  cartridges/
    app_storefront_base/       # Base (never modify)
    app_custom_storefront/     # Custom overlay
      cartridge/
        controllers/, models/, scripts/
        templates/, client/ (js, scss)
  dw.json, package.json, webpack.config.js

B2C PWA Kit Project:

pwa-kit-project/
  app/
    components/, pages/, hooks/, utils/
    commerce-api/              # Commerce Cloud API client
  config/
    default.js, production.js
  package.json, .env

B2B Lightning Project:

b2b-lightning-project/
  force-app/main/default/
    lwc/, classes/, triggers/
    objects/, flexipages/
    experiences/, permissionsets/
  config/project-scratch-def.json
  sfdx-project.json, .forceignore

Configuration Files

dw.json (B2C):

• Placed in project root; configures hostname, code-version, cartridge list, excludes
• Never commit with credentials -- use environment variables or .env excluded from VCS

sfdx-project.json (B2B):

• Placed in project root; defines packageDirectories, sourceApiVersion, namespace, login URL

.forceignore (B2B):

• Excludes files from deployment (jsconfig.json, .eslintrc.json, logs, OS files)

Key Configuration Fields

B2C dw.json fields:

• hostname -- sandbox domain
• username / password -- credentials (prefer env vars)
• code-version -- target code version
• cartridges -- array of cartridge names to upload
• exclude -- files/directories to skip

B2B sfdx-project.json fields:

• packageDirectories -- array of source paths (typically force-app)
• sourceApiVersion -- Salesforce API version (e.g., "61.0")
• namespace -- package namespace (empty for unmanaged)
• sfdcLoginUrl -- org login URL

Sandbox and Org Types

Environment Variables

Store credentials as environment variables, never in committed files.

B2C: SFCC_CLIENT_ID, SFCC_CLIENT_SECRET, SFCC_HOSTNAME, SFCC_USERNAME, SFCC_PASSWORD, SFCC_CODE_VERSION

B2B: SF_USERNAME, SF_ORG_ALIAS, SF_CLIENT_ID, SF_JWT_KEY_FILE (for CI/CD connected app auth)

Deprecated Technologies

Best Practices

B2C Commerce

• Use sfcc-ci for all deployments; never use manual WebDAV upload
• Never modify app_storefront_base directly; always overlay in custom cartridge
• Build assets (npm run compile:js, npm run compile:scss) before deployment
• Keep dw.json out of version control (add to .gitignore)

B2B Commerce

• Use sf project deploy start for metadata deployment; avoid Change Sets
• Create scratch orgs for feature development; keep them isolated
• Use source tracking (sf project deploy preview) to review changes before deploy
• Use Permission Sets for access control; avoid modifying profiles directly

Both Platforms

• Use environment variables for all secrets and instance-specific configuration
• Set up CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment
• Use linting (ESLint, Prettier for JS; Apex PMD for Apex)

Fetch the sfcc-ci documentation, SFRA getting-started guide, and sf CLI reference for exact commands and latest project structures before setting up.