{"kind":"Skill","metadata":{"namespace":"community","name":"salesforce-flow-design","version":"0.1.0"},"spec":{"description":"Salesforce Flow architecture decisions, flow type selection, bulk safety validation, and fault handling standards. Use this skill when designing or reviewing Record-Triggered, Screen, Autolaunched, Scheduled, or Platform Event flows to ensure correct type selection, no DML/Get Records in loops, proper fault connectors on all data-changing elements, and appropriate automation density checks before deployment.","files":{"SKILL.md":"---\nname: salesforce-flow-design\ndescription: 'Salesforce Flow architecture decisions, flow type selection, bulk safety validation, and fault handling standards. Use this skill when designing or reviewing Record-Triggered, Screen, Autolaunched, Scheduled, or Platform Event flows to ensure correct type selection, no DML/Get Records in loops, proper fault connectors on all data-changing elements, and appropriate automation density checks before deployment.'\n---\n\n# Salesforce Flow Design and Validation\n\nApply these checks to every Flow you design, build, or review.\n\n## Step 1 — Confirm Flow Is the Right Tool\n\nBefore designing a Flow, verify that a lighter-weight declarative option cannot solve the problem:\n\n| Requirement | Best tool |\n|---|---|\n| Calculate a field value with no side effects | Formula field |\n| Prevent a bad record save with a user message | Validation rule |\n| Sum or count child records on a parent | Roll-up Summary field |\n| Complex multi-object logic, callouts, or high volume | Apex (Queueable / Batch) — not Flow |\n| Everything else | Flow ✓ |\n\nIf you are building a Flow that could be replaced by a formula field or validation rule, ask the user to confirm the requirement is genuinely more complex.\n\n## Step 2 — Select the Correct Flow Type\n\n| Use case | Flow type | Key constraint |\n|---|---|---|\n| Update a field on the same record before it is saved | Before-save Record-Triggered | Cannot send emails, make callouts, or change related records |\n| Create/update related records, emails, callouts | After-save Record-Triggered | Runs after commit — avoid recursion traps |\n| Guide a user through a multi-step UI process | Screen Flow | Cannot be triggered by a record event automatically |\n| Reusable background logic called from another Flow | Autolaunched (Subflow) | Input/output variables define the contract |\n| Logic invoked from Apex `@InvocableMethod` | Autolaunched (Invocable) | Must declare input/output variables |\n| Time-based batch processing | Scheduled Flow | Runs in batch context — respect governor limits |\n| Respond to events (Platform Events / CDC) | Platform Event–Triggered | Runs asynchronously — eventual consistency |\n\n**Decision rule**: choose before-save when you only need to change the triggering record's own fields. Move to after-save the moment you need to touch related records, send emails, or make callouts.\n\n## Step 3 — Bulk Safety Checklist\n\nThese patterns are governor limit failures at scale. Check for all of them before the Flow is activated.\n\n### DML in Loops — Automatic Fail\n\n```\nLoop element\n  └── Create Records / Update Records / Delete Records  ← ❌ DML inside loop\n```\n\nFix: collect records inside the loop into a collection variable, then run the DML element **outside** the loop.\n\n### Get Records in Loops — Automatic Fail\n\n```\nLoop element\n  └── Get Records  ← ❌ SOQL inside loop\n```\n\nFix: perform the Get Records query **before** the loop, then loop over the collection variable.\n\n### Correct Bulk Pattern\n\n```\nGet Records — collect all records in one query\n└── Loop over the collection variable\n    └── Decision / Assignment (no DML, no Get Records)\n└── After the loop: Create/Update/Delete Records — one DML operation\n```\n\n### Transform vs Loop\nWhen the goal is reshaping a collection (e.g. mapping field values from one object to another), use the **Transform** element instead of a Loop + Assignment pattern. Transform is bulk-safe by design and produces cleaner Flow graphs.\n\n## Step 4 — Fault Path Requirements\n\nEvery element that can fail at runtime must have a fault connector. Flows without fault paths surface raw system errors to users.\n\n### Elements That Require Fault Connectors\n- Create Records\n- Update Records\n- Delete Records\n- Get Records (when accessing a required record that might not exist)\n- Send Email\n- HTTP Callout / External Service action\n- Apex action (invocable)\n- Subflow (if the subflow can throw a fault)\n\n### Fault Handler Pattern\n```\nFault connector → Log Error (Create Records on a logging object or fire a Platform Event)\n               → Screen element with user-friendly message (Screen Flows)\n               → Stop / End element (Record-Triggered Flows)\n```\n\nNever connect a fault path back to the same element that faulted — this creates an infinite loop.\n\n## Step 5 — Automation Density Check\n\nBefore deploying, verify there are no overlapping automations on the same object and trigger event:\n\n- Other active Record-Triggered Flows on the same `Object` + `When to Run` combination\n- Legacy Process Builder rules still active on the same object\n- Workflow Rules that fire on the same field changes\n- Apex triggers that also run on the same `before insert` / `after update` context\n\nOverlapping automations can cause unexpected ordering, recursion, and governor limit failures. Document the automation inventory for the object before activating.\n\n## Step 6 — Screen Flow UX Guidelines\n\n- Every path through a Screen Flow must reach an **End** element — no orphan branches.\n- Provide a **Back** navigation option on multi-step flows unless back-navigation would corrupt data.\n- Use `lightning-input` and SLDS-compliant components for all user inputs — do not use HTML form elements.\n- Validate required inputs on the screen before the user can advance — use Flow validation rules on the screen.\n- Handle the **Pause** element if the flow may need to await user action across sessions.\n\n## Step 7 — Deployment Safety\n\n```\nDeploy as Draft    →   Test with 1 record   →   Test with 200+ records   →   Activate\n```\n\n- Always deploy as **Draft** first and test thoroughly before activation.\n- For Record-Triggered Flows: test with the exact entry conditions (e.g. `ISCHANGED(Status)` — ensure the test data actually triggers the condition).\n- For Scheduled Flows: test with a small batch in a sandbox before enabling in production.\n- Check the Automation Density score for the object — more than 3 active automations on a single object increases order-of-execution risk.\n\n## Quick Reference — Flow Anti-Patterns Summary\n\n| Anti-pattern | Risk | Fix |\n|---|---|---|\n| DML element inside a Loop | Governor limit exception | Move DML outside the loop |\n| Get Records inside a Loop | SOQL governor limit exception | Query before the loop |\n| No fault connector on DML/email/callout element | Unhandled exception surfaced to user | Add fault path to every such element |\n| Updating the triggering record in an after-save flow with no recursion guard | Infinite trigger loops | Add an entry condition or recursion guard variable |\n| Looping directly on `$Record` collection | Incorrect behaviour at scale | Assign to a collection variable first, then loop |\n| Process Builder still active alongside a new Flow | Double-execution, unexpected ordering | Deactivate Process Builder before activating the Flow |\n| Screen Flow with no End element on all branches | Runtime error or stuck user | Ensure every branch resolves to an End element |\n"},"import":{"commit_sha":"541b7819d8c3545c6df122491af4fa1eae415779","imported_at":"2026-05-18T20:05:35Z","license_text":"MIT License\n\nCopyright GitHub, Inc.\n\nPermission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy\nof this software and associated documentation files (the \"Software\"), to deal\nin the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights\nto use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell\ncopies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is\nfurnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:\n\nThe above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all\ncopies or substantial portions of the Software.\n\nTHE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \"AS IS\", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR\nIMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,\nFITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE\nAUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER\nLIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,\nOUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE\nSOFTWARE.","owner":"github","repo":"github/awesome-copilot","source_url":"https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/541b7819d8c3545c6df122491af4fa1eae415779/plugins/salesforce-development/skills/salesforce-flow-design"}},"content_hash":[201,27,2,183,61,110,155,166,164,43,149,114,42,167,75,160,170,109,49,179,207,201,164,55,153,19,90,172,64,38,23,210],"trust_level":"unsigned","yanked":false}