---
schema_version: "1"
id: 6597000675c9a979c0f72a03fd37574451bdd07a1b00b972331e6e6693d1a66c
title: Listing Components for a Metadata Type
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/platform/salesforce-migration-guide/guides/daas/forcemigrationtool-listmetadata.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-migration-guide/guide/forcemigrationtool-listmetadata.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 3eb4004a02c0f8e19feae5c516baebfcbf8329733136e529dbb45d1cd751449a
products:
  - Ant Migration Tool Guide
  - Platform Developer Content
---

# Listing Components for a Metadata Type

The `listMetadata` target retrieves property information about your metadata components.This target is useful to identify individual components in package.xml for a retrieval or a high-level view of particular metadata types. For example, you can use this target to return a list of names of all your `CustomObject` or `Layout` components. Then use the information retrieve a subset of the components.

**note:** The Ant Migration Tool is retired with Spring ’24. The tool continues to function as-is for future API versions but isn’t updated with new functionality and isn’t supported. If Salesforce adds a new feature that is incompatible with Ant, the Ant Migration Tool won't be updated to support it. To manage metadata changes, switch to Salesforce CLI for a modern, supported developer experience.

You can set parameters for each `<sf:listMetadata>` target.

|Field|Description|
|-----|-----------|
|`username`|Required if `sessionId` isn’t specified. The Salesforce username used for login. The username associated with this connection must have the Modify Metadata through Metadata API Functions permission.|
|`password`|Required if `sessionId` isn’t specified. The password you use to log in to the organization associated with this project. If you are using a security token, paste the 25-digit token value to the end of your password.|
|`sessionId`|Required if `username` and `password` aren’t specified. The ID of an active Salesforce session or the OAuth access token. A session is created after a user logs in to Salesforce successfully with a username and password. Use a session ID for logging in to an existing session instead of creating a new session. Alternatively, use an access token for OAuth authentication. For more information, see [Authenticating Apps with OAuth](https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewHelpDoc?id=remoteaccess_authenticate.htm) in the Salesforce Help.|
|`serverurl`|Optional. The Salesforce server URL (if blank, defaults to `login.salesforce.com`). To connect to a sandbox instance, change this value to `test.salesforce.com`.|
|`metadataType`|Required. The name of the metadata type that you’re retrieving property information for, such as `CustomObject` for custom objects or `Report` for custom reports. The [StandardValueSet](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_standardvalueset.htm) metadata type isn’t supported. To review the supported types, see the [Metadata Types](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_types_list.htm) chapter in the *Metadata API Developer Guide*.|
|`folder`|The folder associated with the component. This field is required for components that use folders, such as [Dashboard](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_dashboard.htm), [Document](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_document.htm), [EmailTemplate](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_emailtemplate.htm), or [Report](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_report.htm).|
|`apiVersion`|Optional. The API version to use for the metadata. The default is 68.0.|
|`resultFilePath`|Optional. The path of the output file where results are stored. The default output is the console. Directing the output to a file makes it easier to extract the relevant information for your package.xml manifest file.|
|`trace`|Optional. Defaults to `false`. Prints the SOAP requests and responses to the console. This option shows the user’s password in plain text during login.|

To get property information for components of one metadata type, such as `CustomObject`, specify a target in the build.xml file that uses `<sf:listMetadata>`.

```xml
<target name="listMetadata">
  <sf:listMetadata
    username="${sf.username}"
    password="${sf.password}"
    sessionId="${sf.sessionId}"
    serverurl="${sf.serverurl}"
    metadataType="CustomObject"
    resultFilePath="listMetadata/list.log"/>
  </target>
```

This example uses a component that resides in a folder.

```xml
<target name="listMetadata">
  <sf:listMetadata
    username="${sf.username}"
    password="${sf.password}"
    sessionId="${sf.sessionId}"
    serverurl="${sf.serverurl}"
    metadataType="Report"
    folder="Marketing_Reports"
    resultFilePath="listMetadata/list.log"/>
</target>
```