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Chapter 3: Basic Machine Setup

1 - Install Local Software

If you are admin on your machine, download Visual Studio Code from this link. Otherwise, use whatever your IT has to install software, whether it be Software Center, opening a ticket, or anything else of that ilk.
As long as you're doing that, you can also install a JDK like AZUL, as well as Git, and a nice terminal emulator.
Also remember to install the Salesforce CLI.

These elements are all useful down the line, and doing all the setup at once avoids later issues.

2 - Configure the environment

Open your beautiful terminal emulator that you installed - we'll run a few commands in it to set it up.

SF CLI

Run the following command to update the sf cli. This is necessary because some installation sources won't have the latest version.
sf update You should see @salesforce/cli: Updating CLI run for a bit.

If you see an error saying  sf is not a command or program, something went wrong during the installation in step 1. Contact your IT (or check the installation page of the CLI if you're Admin or not in an enterprise context).

Once that's done, run the following command to install the plugins we mentioned earlier - sfdmu, sgd, and code analyzer
echo y | sf plugins install sfdmu sfdx-git-delta code-analyzer

Because sgd is not signed, you will get a warning saying that "This plugin is not digitally signed and its authenticity cannot be verified". This is expected, and you will have to answer y (yes) to proceed with the installation.

GIT

Once you've done that, run the following commands to configure git:

git config --global user.name "FirstName LastName" replacing Firstname and Lastname with your own.

git config --global user.email "[email protected]" replacing the email with yours.

If you're running Windows - git config --global core.autocrlf true, followed by git config --global core.longpaths true  - these allow git to properly handle line returns and long path names, which we have a lot of. For authentication, you should be using gcm by default, but just in case your installation got broken, run git config --global credential.helper manager to allow git to store logins.

If you're running Mac or Linux - git config --global core.autocrlf input and then go to the GCM Releases page, find the .pkg file, and install it.

All of this setup has to be done once, and you will probably never touch it again.

Finally, run

java --version

If you don't see an error, and you see something like openjdk 21.0.3 2024-04-16 LT then you installed Zulu properly and you're fine.

3 - Link Git to Bitbucket

Before proceeding, verify that Git is properly configured:

# Verify Git configuration
git config --global user.name
git config --global user.email
git config --global credential.helper
Create Atlassian API Token

    Navigate to Atlassian Account Security

      Go to https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens Log in with your Atlassian account credentials

      Create New API Token

        Click "Create API token with scopes" Enter a descriptive label: Git Access - [Your Machine Name] Click "Create"

        image.png

          Configure Token Scopes

            In the search bar, type repository and select all repository-related scopes: Repositories: Read Repositories: Write Repositories: Admin (if you need admin access) In the search bar, type pull requests and select: Pull requests: Read Pull requests: Write

            Copy and Secure Token

              Important: Copy the token immediately - you won't be able to see it again Store it securely (password manager recommended)

              Treat this API token like a password.
              Anyone with this token can access your Bitbucket repositories with the permissions you've granted.

              Clone Repository and Authenticate

                Navigate to Your Project Repository

                  Go to your Bitbucket workspace: https://bitbucket.org/your-workspace Find your project repository Click the "Clone" button Copy the HTTPS clone URL
                  image.png Clone Repository Locally 
                  # Navigate to your projects directory
cd /path/to/your/projects

# Clone the repository
git clone https://bitbucket.org/workspace/repo-name.git
cd repo-name

                  Authentication Process
                  When prompted for credentials:

                    If prompted to choose between "web" and "password/token", select "token"

                    Paste the token - the bitbucket username should be prefilled from the git clone URL


                    Verify Authentication 
                    git fetch origin

                    If the command completes without asking for credentials again, your authentication is properly configured and stored in Git Credential Manager (GCM).

                    4 - Configure VSCode

                    Open up VSCode.

                    Go to the Extensions in the side panel (it looks like three squares) screenshot of VSCode extensions icon and search for "Salesforce", then install

                    • Salesforce Extensions Pack
                    • Salesforce Extensions Pack (Expanded)
                    • Salesforce Package.xml Generator for VS Code
                    • Salesforce CLI Command Builder
                    • Salesforce XML Formatter

                    Then search for Atlassian and install "Jira and Bitbucket (Atlassian Labs)".

                    Finally, search for and install "GitLens - Git supercharged".

                    Then go to Preferences > Settings > Salesforcedx-vscode-core: Detect Conflicts At Sync and check this checkbox.

                    Once all this is done, I recommend you go to the side panel, click on Source Control, and drag-and-drop both the Commit element and the topmost element to the right of the editor.

                    All this setup allows you to have more visual functions and shortcuts. If you fail to install some elements, it cannot be guaranteed that you will have all the elements you are supposed to.

                    This concludes basic machine setup.
                    All of this should not have to be done again on an already configured machine.


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