Salesforce Mobile SDK Package

June 12, 2026 · View on GitHub

Salesforce Mobile SDK Package

The distribution and tooling hub for the Salesforce Mobile SDK. This repository provides command-line tools, a Salesforce CLI plugin, testing framework, and release automation for creating and maintaining Salesforce mobile applications.

Overview

This repository serves three primary functions:

CLI Tools - Standalone command-line tools for creating mobile apps
SFDX Plugin - Salesforce CLI integration for Mobile SDK
SDK Infrastructure - Testing, packaging, and release automation

CLI Tools

The following NPM packages enable developers to create Salesforce mobile applications:

Tool	Package	Purpose
forceios	@npmjs	Create iOS native apps (Swift or Objective-C)
forcedroid	@npmjs	Create Android native apps (Kotlin or Java)
forcehybrid	@npmjs	Create hybrid apps using Cordova (iOS and/or Android)
forcereact	@npmjs	Create React Native apps (iOS and/or Android)

Installation

Install globally via NPM:

npm install -g forceios forcedroid forcehybrid forcereact

Usage

Each tool supports multiple commands:

# Create an app from the standard template
forceios create --appname=MyApp --packagename=com.mycompany.myapp --organization="My Company"

# List available templates
forceios listtemplates

# Create an app from a specific template
forceios createwithtemplate --templaterepouri=iOSNativeSwiftTemplate --appname=MyApp ...

# Show SDK version
forceios version

# Validate SmartStore/MobileSync config
forceios checkconfig --configpath=config.json --configtype=store

Replace forceios with forcedroid, forcehybrid, or forcereact for other platforms.

OAuth Configuration

Optionally provide External Client App credentials to auto-configure OAuth:

forceios create \
  --appname=MyApp \
  --packagename=com.mycompany.myapp \
  --organization="My Company" \
  --consumerkey=<consumer-key> \
  --callbackurl=sfdc://oauth/success \
  --loginserver=https://login.salesforce.com

Custom Templates

Use custom templates from a git repository or local path:

# From git URL with optional #branch
forceios createwithtemplate \
  --templatesource=https://github.com/myorg/my-templates#main \
  --template=MyTemplate \
  --appname=MyApp ...

# From local path
forceios createwithtemplate \
  --templatesource=/path/to/templates \
  --template=MyTemplate \
  --appname=MyApp ...

Salesforce CLI Plugin

The sfdx-mobilesdk-plugin integrates Mobile SDK commands into the Salesforce CLI.

Installation

sf plugins install sfdx-mobilesdk-plugin

Usage

The plugin provides sf mobilesdk commands that mirror the standalone CLI tools:

# iOS commands
sf mobilesdk ios create --appname=MyApp --packagename=com.mycompany.myapp ...
sf mobilesdk ios listtemplates
sf mobilesdk ios createwithtemplate --templaterepouri=<template> ...

# Android commands
sf mobilesdk android create --appname=MyApp ...
sf mobilesdk android listtemplates

# Hybrid commands
sf mobilesdk hybrid create --platform=ios,android --appname=MyApp ...
sf mobilesdk hybrid listtemplates

# React Native commands
sf mobilesdk reactnative create --platform=ios,android --appname=MyApp ...
sf mobilesdk reactnative listtemplates

For detailed plugin documentation, see sfdx/README.md.

Development

Prerequisites

Node.js: 22 or higher
npm: 10 or higher
Git: 2.13 or higher

Setup

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/forcedotcom/SalesforceMobileSDK-Package.git
cd SalesforceMobileSDK-Package
npm install

Running from Source

CLI Tools

# Run forceios from source
./ios/forceios.js create --appname=MyApp ...

# Run forcedroid from source
./android/forcedroid.js create --appname=MyApp ...

# Run forcehybrid from source
./hybrid/forcehybrid.js create --appname=MyApp ...

# Run forcereact from source
./react/forcereact.js create --appname=MyApp ...

SFDX Plugin

# Generate OCLIF command classes (required after changes to shared/constants.js)
cd sfdx
node generate_oclif.js

# Link plugin for local development
sf plugins link sfdx

# Use the plugin
sf mobilesdk ios --help
sf mobilesdk android --help
sf mobilesdk hybrid --help
sf mobilesdk reactnative --help

Testing

Unit Tests

Run Jest tests for shared utilities:

npm test

Tests are located in unittests/ and cover:

Utility functions
Argument parsing
Template helpers
Config validation

Integration Tests

The test/test_force.js script performs comprehensive app generation testing:

# Test all CLI tools
./test/test_force.js --cli=forceios,forcedroid,forcehybrid,forcereact

# Test specific tools
./test/test_force.js --cli=forceios
./test/test_force.js --cli=forcedroid

# Test with SFDX plugin
./test/test_force.js --cli=forceios --use-sfdx

# Override plugin repo (for testing unreleased versions)
./test/test_force.js --cli=forcehybrid --pluginrepouri=https://github.com/user/SalesforceMobileSDK-CordovaPlugin#branch

# Override SDK dependencies (for testing custom SDK branches)
./test/test_force.js --cli=forceios --sdkdependencies='{"ios":"https://github.com/user/SalesforceMobileSDK-iOS#branch"}'

What Gets Tested

The integration tests verify:

✅ App generation succeeds for all app types
✅ All required files are created
✅ Project structure is correct
✅ OAuth configuration is applied (if provided)
✅ Both CLI and SFDX plugin work

App Types Tested:

iOS: native (Objective-C), native_swift (Swift)
Android: native (Java), native_kotlin (Kotlin)
Hybrid: hybrid_local, hybrid_remote
React Native: react_native, react_native_typescript

Packaging

Create distributable NPM packages:

# Package all CLI tools
./pack/pack.js --cli=forceios,forcedroid,forcehybrid,forcereact

# Package specific tools
./pack/pack.js --cli=forceios

# Package SFDX plugin
./pack/pack.js --sfdx-plugin

Output: <name>-<version>.tgz files in the current directory.

Release Process

The release/release.js script orchestrates releases across all 10 Mobile SDK repositories:

SalesforceMobileSDK-Shared
SalesforceMobileSDK-Android
SalesforceMobileSDK-iOS
SalesforceMobileSDK-iOS-Hybrid
SalesforceMobileSDK-iOS-Specs
SalesforceMobileSDK-iOS-SPM
SalesforceMobileSDK-CordovaPlugin
SalesforceMobileSDK-ReactNative
SalesforceMobileSDK-Templates
SalesforceMobileSDK-Package (this repo)

Running a Release

./release/release.js

The script will interactively prompt for:

Work directory
GitHub organization
Branch names (master/dev/gh-pages)
Version being released
Next version
Android version code

What the Release Script Does

For each repository:

Clone or pull latest code
Merge dev → master (unless patch release)
Update version numbers in source files
Generate documentation (Android Javadoc, iOS docs)
Build XCFrameworks (iOS-SPM)
Update podspecs (iOS-Specs)
Run update scripts (CordovaPlugin)
Commit and tag release
Push to GitHub
Update dev branch for next version

Post-Release Steps

After release.js completes, follow the instructions to:

Test the packages:

cd <work-dir>/SalesforceMobileSDK-Package
./test/test_force.js --cli=forceios,forcedroid,forcereact,forcehybrid --pluginrepouri=<github-url>

Publish to NPM:

npm publish forceios-<version>.tgz
npm publish forcedroid-<version>.tgz
npm publish forcehybrid-<version>.tgz
npm publish forcereact-<version>.tgz
npm publish sfdx-mobilesdk-plugin-<version>.tgz
npm publish salesforce-mobilesdk-cordova-plugin-<version>.tgz

Publish to Maven Central (Android):

cd <work-dir>/SalesforceMobileSDK-Android
./publish/publish.sh

Repository Structure

SalesforceMobileSDK-Package/
├── ios/                      # forceios CLI tool
│   ├── forceios.js           # Entry point
│   └── package.json          # NPM package definition
├── android/                  # forcedroid CLI tool
│   ├── forcedroid.js         # Entry point
│   └── package.json
├── hybrid/                   # forcehybrid CLI tool
│   ├── forcehybrid.js        # Entry point
│   └── package.json
├── react/                    # forcereact CLI tool
│   ├── forcereact.js         # Entry point
│   └── package.json
├── sfdx/                     # SFDX plugin (sf mobilesdk)
│   ├── generate_oclif.js     # Generates OCLIF command classes
│   ├── package.json          # Plugin package definition
│   └── README.md             # Plugin documentation
├── shared/                   # Shared utilities (symlinked into tools)
│   ├── constants.js          # SDK version, tool requirements
│   ├── createHelper.js       # App creation logic
│   ├── templateHelper.js     # Template handling
│   ├── configHelper.js       # CLI argument parsing
│   └── utils.js              # File operations, git, shell
├── test/                     # Testing framework
│   └── test_force.js         # Integration tests
├── release/                  # Release automation
│   ├── release.js            # Main release orchestrator
│   └── common.js             # Release utilities
├── pack/                     # NPM packaging
│   └── pack.js               # Creates .tgz packages
├── unittests/                # Unit tests
│   └── *.test.js             # Jest tests
└── package.json              # Root package definition

How It Works

CLI Architecture

All CLI tools share common code via the shared/ directory:

Entry Points (ios/forceios.js, etc.): Minimal wrappers that call createHelper.createApp()
Constants (shared/constants.js): Defines SDK version, tool requirements, CLI configurations
Create Helper (shared/createHelper.js): Main app creation logic for native and hybrid workflows
Template Helper (shared/templateHelper.js): Template discovery, listing, and execution