The full setup takes about an hour for a fresh developer machine. Most of the time is downloads; the actual configuration is minimal.
- Install Visual Studio Code
Download from code.visualstudio.com. The free download is the full IDE.
- Install the Salesforce Extensions Pack
Open VS Code, Extensions, search for Salesforce Extension Pack. Install the bundle.
- Install the Salesforce CLI
Download from developer.salesforce.com/tools/sfdxcli. The installer adds the sf command to your shell.
- Authenticate against your org
Run sf org login web -a your-org-alias. A browser opens; complete the OAuth flow. The CLI stores the refresh token locally.
- Create or retrieve a project
Either sf project generate to create a new SFDX project, or open an existing project folder and pull metadata via sf project retrieve start.
- Configure debugger and test runner
Apex Replay Debugger and Apex Test Runner are part of the extensions; they configure automatically once a project is opened.
- Force.com IDE projects do not work with VS Code without conversion. Use sf project convert source to migrate before opening.
- Salesforce CLI authentication uses local OAuth tokens. Loss of the developer machine means re-authenticating; tokens cannot be recovered remotely.
- Source tracking works on scratch orgs and developer sandboxes only. Production deployments use manifest-based deploys and require explicit destructive changes for deletions.
- IDE updates ship monthly alongside Salesforce releases. Stay on the latest version to avoid bugs the Salesforce team has already fixed.