---
schema_version: "1"
id: 4842082a319ba220b94acb87baf6a2684943ac73c60ae90f7cef5aafef173cc2
title: Flags and Arguments
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/salesforcedx/sfcliplugin/guides/design/flags.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-cli-plugin/guide/flags.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: dda41ed9715e829208e17e0e9718370c03bb6373400025dfea2805d1dbdff82d
products:
  - Salesforce CLI Plugin Developer Guide
  - salesforcedx
---
# Flags and Arguments

Flags (sometimes called options), provide specific values for a single execution of the command.

We highly discourage flags that branch the behavior of the command based on a value. For simplicity and usability, every command must perform one distinct task. The command's flags can modify how that task executes, but the flags mustn't change the command's fundamental nature.

When creating a flag that accepts multiple values, we recommend you use the `multiple:true` flag property. We also then encourage your users to specify the flag multiple times rather than one time with a comma-separated list of the values. For example, the `--metadata` flag used for deploying accepts multiple values and users run the command this way:

`sf project deploy start --metadata ApexClass:MyClass --metadata ApexClass:MyOtherClass`

And not this way:

`sf project deploy start --metadata ApexClass:MyClass,ApexClass:MyOtherClass`

## Flag Guidelines

- Flags can either accept a value or switch a specific behavior on or off.
- Flags are prefixed with double dashes, such as `--filename`, and optional single-letter names prefixed with one dash, such as `-f`.
- We recommend that all long flag names are lowercase and use kebab-case (as opposed to camelCase or PascalCase) so that your commands are consistent with the rest of the Salesforce CLI. For example, use `--no-prompt` and not `--noPrompt`.
- You can specify flags in any order as long as they come after the command.
- JSON output of the command shouldn't change based on the flags.

Consider these ideas when naming your flag:

- For flags that accept a value, select a long name that briefly describes the value, such as `--job-id`.
- For flags of type Boolean, which alter the behavior of a command but don’t accept a value, select a long name that briefly describes the flag’s effect, such as `--use-most-recent`.

We recommend using short names (single character) for any required flags to reduce the amount of typing the user has to do. Generally speaking, the short name is the first letter of the flag name or the most dominant consonant in the name, such as `-i` for `--id` and `-c` for `--ignore-conflicts`.

Use PascalCase for the permissible values of option flags. For example, these are the permissible values for the `—test-level` flag of `sf project deploy start`: `NoTestRun`, `RunSpecifiedTests`, `RunLocalTests`, `RunAllTestsInOrg`.

The core Salesforce CLI commands use these flag naming patterns:

- ID values
  - Short name: `-i`
  - Long name: The type of ID, such as `--testrun-id`
- Files
  - Short name: `-f`
  - Long name: The type of file, such as `--csv-file` or `--definition-file`
- Directory paths
  - Short name: `-d`
  - Long name: The type of directory, such as `--output-dir` or `--source-dir`
- Names
  - Short name: `-n`
  - Long name: The type of name, such as `--field-name`

Finally, Salesforce CLI reserves these flag names:

- `--help` and `-h`
- `--flags-dir`
- `--json`
- `--version` and `-v`

## Arguments

The core Salesforce CLI commands avoid the usage of positional arguments and varargs, and instead opt for flags. We believe flags are more specific and don't depend on the user providing them in the correct order.