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hardis:packagexml:remove

Description

Command Behavior

Removes metadata components from a package.xml file using either another package.xml as a filter or inline metadata type/member specifications.

This command is useful for refining your package.xml manifests by excluding components that are being deleted or are otherwise irrelevant for a specific deployment or retrieval.

There are two ways to specify which items to remove:

  1. Filter package.xml (--removepackagexml): Provide a second package.xml file (e.g., a destructiveChanges.xml) whose components are removed from the source. Defaults to destructiveChanges.xml.
  2. Inline flags (--metadatatypes / --metadatanames): Specify metadata types and/or member names directly on the command line without needing a filter file.
    • --metadatatypes: Comma-separated list of metadata type names whose entire content is removed (e.g. ApexClass,CustomObject).
    • --metadatanames: Comma-separated list of TypeName:MemberName pairs for granular removal (e.g. ApexClass:MyClass,CustomObject:Account__c). Both flags can be combined.

Additional options:

  • Source package.xml: The main package.xml file from which components will be removed (specified by --packagexml). Defaults to package.xml.
  • Output File: The path to the new package.xml file that will contain the filtered content (specified by --outputfile).
  • Removed Only Output: The --removedonly flag generates a package.xml that contains only the items that were removed from the source package.xml.
Technical explanations

The command's technical implementation involves:

  • File Parsing: It reads and parses the XML content of the source package.xml and optionally the filter package.xml.
  • Inline Types Building: When --metadatatypes or --metadatanames flags are used, the filter structure is built in memory via buildInlineRemoveTypes without reading a file.
  • Content Comparison and Filtering: It compares the metadata types and members defined in both sources. Components found in the filter are excluded from the output.
  • XML Building: After filtering, it rebuilds the XML structure for the new package.xml file.
  • File Writing: The newly constructed XML content is then written to the specified output file.
  • removePackageXmlFilesContent Utility: The core logic for this operation is encapsulated within the removePackageXmlFilesContent utility function, which handles the parsing, filtering, and writing of the package.xml files.

Agent Mode

Supports non-interactive execution with --agent:

sf hardis:packagexml:remove --agent

In agent mode, all interactive prompts are skipped and default values are used.

Parameters

Name Type Description Default Required Options
agent boolean Run in non-interactive mode for agents and automation
debug boolean debug
flags-dir option undefined
json boolean Format output as json.
metadatanames
-n		 option Comma-separated list of TypeName:MemberName pairs to remove from the package.xml (e.g. ApexClass:MyClass,CustomObject:Account__c)
metadatatypes
-t		 option Comma-separated list of metadata type names to fully remove from the package.xml (e.g. ApexClass,CustomObject). All members of each type are removed.
outputfile
-f		 option package.xml output file
packagexml
-p		 option package.xml file to reduce
removedonly
-z		 boolean Use this flag to generate a package.xml with only removed items
removepackagexml
-r		 option package.xml file to use to filter input package.xml (alternative to --metadatatypes / --metadatanames)
websocket option websocket

Examples

$ sf hardis packagexml:remove -p package.xml -r destructiveChanges.xml -o my-reduced-package.xml

$ sf hardis packagexml:remove -p package.xml --metadatatypes ApexClass,CustomObject -o my-reduced-package.xml

$ sf hardis packagexml:remove -p package.xml --metadatanames ApexClass:MyClass,CustomObject:Account__c -o my-reduced-package.xml

$ sf hardis packagexml:remove -p package.xml --metadatatypes CustomObject --metadatanames ApexClass:MyClass -o my-reduced-package.xml