Unique Name Used by API
In Salesforce development, the API Name (also called Developer Name) assigned to custom objects, fields, and components that uniquely identifies them in code, formulas, and API operations, following the convention like My_Field__c.
Definition
In Salesforce development, the API Name (also called Developer Name) assigned to custom objects, fields, and components that uniquely identifies them in code, formulas, and API operations, following the convention like My_Field__c.
In plain English
“The Unique Name Used by API (also called API Name or Developer Name) is the identifier assigned to custom objects, fields, and components that uniquely identifies them in code, formulas, and API calls. Custom API names end with __c for custom objects and fields.”
Worked example
A developer at Xanthos Software writes Apex that references an Account custom field. The field's user-facing label is Customer Tier, but its Unique Name Used by API is Customer_Tier__c (no spaces, ends in __c, immutable after creation). Apex code accesses it as account.Customer_Tier__c; SOQL uses the same; Workbench, Data Loader, and the Metadata API all use the API name, not the label. Even if the admin renames the label to Account Tier, the API name stays Customer_Tier__c - code keeps working because the underlying identity didn't change. The Unique Name Used by API is the stable contract between code and configuration.
Why Unique Name Used by API matters
In Salesforce development, the Unique Name Used by API (also called API Name or Developer Name) is the identifier assigned to custom objects, fields, and components that uniquely identifies them in code, formulas, and API calls. Custom API names follow specific conventions: custom objects end with __c, custom fields end with __c, and managed package components include the namespace prefix.
API names are the permanent programmatic identifiers for Salesforce metadata. While labels (display names) can be changed freely, API names are harder to change because code, formulas, and integrations reference them. Mature teams choose API names deliberately during development because they become permanent identifiers.
How organizations use Unique Name Used by API
Chooses API names deliberately during development, knowing they're hard to change later.
Documents API naming conventions for consistency across the team.
Treats API name selection as an important development decision.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is the API Name?
Q2. What suffix do custom fields use?
Q3. Can API names be changed easily?
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