Before querying, explore available objects and fields:

# List all objects
sf sobject list --target-org my-org

# Describe object fields
sf sobject describe --sobject Opportunity --target-org my-org

# Quick field list (names only)
sf sobject describe --sobject Opportunity --target-org my-org | grep -E "^name:|^type:"

SOQL Queries

Basic Patterns

# Simple query
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity LIMIT 10"

# With WHERE clause
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name FROM Opportunity WHERE StageName = 'Closed Won'"

# Date filtering
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name FROM Opportunity WHERE CloseDate = THIS_QUARTER"

# Export to CSV
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity" --result-format csv > opps.csv

Relationships

# Parent lookup (Account from Opportunity)
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Account.Name, Account.Industry FROM Opportunity"

# Child subquery (Opportunities from Account)
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, (SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunities) FROM Account LIMIT 5"

Aggregations

# COUNT
sf data query -q "SELECT COUNT(Id) total FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false"

# SUM and GROUP BY
sf data query -q "SELECT StageName, SUM(Amount) total FROM Opportunity GROUP BY StageName"

# Multiple aggregates
sf data query -q "SELECT StageName, COUNT(Id) cnt, SUM(Amount) total, AVG(Amount) avg FROM Opportunity GROUP BY StageName"

Bulk Queries (Large Datasets)

# Use --bulk for >2000 records
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity" --bulk --wait 10

Pipeline Management

Pipeline Snapshot

# Open pipeline by stage
sf data query -q "SELECT StageName, COUNT(Id) cnt, SUM(Amount) total FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false GROUP BY StageName ORDER BY StageName"

# Pipeline by owner
sf data query -q "SELECT Owner.Name, SUM(Amount) total FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false GROUP BY Owner.Name ORDER BY SUM(Amount) DESC"

# Pipeline by close month
sf data query -q "SELECT CALENDAR_MONTH(CloseDate) month, SUM(Amount) total FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false AND CloseDate = THIS_YEAR GROUP BY CALENDAR_MONTH(CloseDate) ORDER BY CALENDAR_MONTH(CloseDate)"

Win/Loss Analysis

# Win rate by stage
sf data query -q "SELECT StageName, COUNT(Id) FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = true GROUP BY StageName"

# Closed won this quarter
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, CloseDate FROM Opportunity WHERE StageName = 'Closed Won' AND CloseDate = THIS_QUARTER ORDER BY Amount DESC"

# Lost deals with reasons
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, StageName, Loss_Reason__c FROM Opportunity WHERE StageName = 'Closed Lost' AND CloseDate = THIS_QUARTER"

Forecast Queries

# Weighted pipeline (assumes Probability field)
sf data query -q "SELECT StageName, SUM(Amount) gross, SUM(ExpectedRevenue) weighted FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false GROUP BY StageName"

# Deals closing this month
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate FROM Opportunity WHERE CloseDate = THIS_MONTH AND IsClosed = false ORDER BY Amount DESC"

# Stale deals (no activity in 30 days)
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, LastActivityDate FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false AND LastActivityDate < LAST_N_DAYS:30"

Data Operations

Create Records

sf data create record -s Opportunity -v "Name='New Deal' StageName='Prospecting' CloseDate=2024-12-31 Amount=50000"

Update Records

# By ID
sf data update record -s Opportunity -i 006xx000001234 -v "StageName='Negotiation'"

# Bulk update via CSV
sf data upsert bulk -s Opportunity -f updates.csv -i Id --wait 10

Export/Import

# Export with relationships
sf data export tree -q "SELECT Id, Name, (SELECT Id, Subject FROM Tasks) FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Technology'" -d ./export

# Import
sf data import tree -f ./export/Account.json

JSON Output for Scripting

Add --json for structured output:

sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false" --json

Parse with jq:

sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name FROM Opportunity LIMIT 5" --json | jq '.result.records[].Name'

Common Date Literals

Literal	Meaning
TODAY	Current day
THIS_WEEK	Current week
THIS_MONTH	Current month
THIS_QUARTER	Current quarter
THIS_YEAR	Current year
LAST_N_DAYS:n	Past n days
NEXT_N_DAYS:n	Next n days
LAST_QUARTER	Previous quarter

Troubleshooting

"Malformed query" — Check field API names (not labels). Use sf sobject describe to verify.

"QUERY_TIMEOUT" — Add filters, use --bulk, or add LIMIT.

"INVALID_FIELD" — Field may not exist on that object or your profile lacks access.

Large result sets — Use --bulk flag for queries returning >2000 records.

Executive Workflows

Quick Deal Lookup

Find a deal by name or account:

# By opportunity name (fuzzy)
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate, Owner.Name, Account.Name FROM Opportunity WHERE Name LIKE '%Acme%' ORDER BY Amount DESC"

# By account name
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate FROM Opportunity WHERE Account.Name LIKE '%Microsoft%' AND IsClosed = false"

# Recent deals I own
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate, Account.Name FROM Opportunity WHERE OwnerId = '<my-user-id>' AND IsClosed = false ORDER BY CloseDate"

Get Contact Info for Outreach

Find someone to email at a company:

# Contacts at an account
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Email, Phone, Title FROM Contact WHERE Account.Name LIKE '%Acme%'"

# Decision makers (by title)
sf data query -q "SELECT Name, Email, Title, Account.Name FROM Contact WHERE Title LIKE '%CEO%' OR Title LIKE '%VP%' OR Title LIKE '%Director%'"

# Contacts on a specific deal
sf data query -q "SELECT Contact.Name, Contact.Email, Contact.Title, Role FROM OpportunityContactRole WHERE Opportunity.Name LIKE '%Acme%'"

Prep for Pipeline Review

Get a quick executive summary:

# Top 10 deals closing this quarter
sf data query -q "SELECT Name, Account.Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate, Owner.Name FROM Opportunity WHERE CloseDate = THIS_QUARTER AND IsClosed = false ORDER BY Amount DESC LIMIT 10"

# Deals by rep (for 1:1s)
sf data query -q "SELECT Owner.Name, COUNT(Id) deals, SUM(Amount) total FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false GROUP BY Owner.Name ORDER BY SUM(Amount) DESC"

# Deals needing attention (stale)
sf data query -q "SELECT Name, Amount, StageName, LastActivityDate, Owner.Name FROM Opportunity WHERE IsClosed = false AND LastActivityDate < LAST_N_DAYS:14 ORDER BY Amount DESC LIMIT 10"

Account Intelligence

Before a call or meeting:

# Account overview
sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name, Industry, BillingCity, Website, OwnerId FROM Account WHERE Name LIKE '%Acme%'"

# All open deals with account
sf data query -q "SELECT Name, Amount, StageName, CloseDate FROM Opportunity WHERE Account.Name LIKE '%Acme%' AND IsClosed = false"

# Recent activities
sf data query -q "SELECT Subject, Status, ActivityDate FROM Task WHERE Account.Name LIKE '%Acme%' ORDER BY ActivityDate DESC LIMIT 5"

Cross-Tool Workflows

Salesforce + Email (via gog/gmail):

Find contact email: sf data query -q "SELECT Email FROM Contact WHERE Account.Name LIKE '%Acme%'"
Draft email using that address with your email tool

Salesforce + Calendar:

Find deals closing soon: sf data query -q "SELECT Name, Account.Name, CloseDate FROM Opportunity WHERE CloseDate = THIS_WEEK"
Cross-reference with calendar to ensure follow-ups scheduled

Quick CRM Update After Call:

# Log a task
sf data create record -s Task -v "Subject='Call with John' WhatId='<opportunity-id>' Status='Completed' ActivityDate=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"

# Update opportunity stage
sf data update record -s Opportunity -i <opp-id> -v "StageName='Negotiation' NextStep='Send proposal'"

Finding Your User ID

Needed for "deals I own" queries:

sf data query -q "SELECT Id, Name FROM User WHERE Email = 'your.email@company.com'"

Store this in your local config for quick reference.

References

soql-patterns.md — Advanced SOQL patterns (polymorphic, semi-joins, formula fields)
pipeline-queries.md — Ready-to-use pipeline and forecast queries

salesforce-dx

Salesforce DX — Data & Pipeline

Prerequisites

Schema Discovery