--- schema_version: "1" id: b9dcf2f3757f44d983886665d8952c6d44c0efb3fe2851e290cd15722ab04bc9 title: MatchingRule collection: legacydeveloper version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/legacydeveloper/current/en-us/api_meta/meta_matchingrule.md canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_matchingrule.htm source_site: developer.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 672c1f0a767bb0a64d7e859919b5b2dbc515381e131b6e6fd2b53c12a496c3f3 description: Represents a matching rule that is used to identify duplicate records. --- # MatchingRule Represents a matching rule that is used to identify duplicate records. This type extends the [Metadata](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/metadata.htm "The base class for all metadata types. You can’t edit this object. A component is an instance of a metadata type.") metadata type and inherits its fullName field. ## File Suffix and Directory Location Matching rule components have the .matchingRule suffix and are stored in the matchingRules folder. The name of the component file is the standard or custom object name that is associated with the matching rule. In API version 39.0 and later, MatchingRule supports the Person Account object. - The component file name is PersonAccount.matchingRule. - The component directory is matchingRules. ## Version MatchingRule is available in API version 33.0 and later. ## Fields
Field Name Field Type Description
booleanFilter string Specifies filter logic conditions.
description string The description of the matching rule.
label string Required. The name of the matching rule.
matchingRuleItems MatchingRuleItem The criteria that make up a matching rule.
ruleStatus MatchingRuleStatus (enumeration of type string) Required. The activation status of the matching rule. Values are:
  • Inactive
  • Deactivating
  • DeactivationFailed
  • Active
  • Activating
  • ActivationFailed
Important

Important

The only valid values you can declare when deploying a package are Active and Inactive.
## MatchingRuleItem
Field Name Field Type Description
blankValueBehavior BlankValueBehavior (enumeration of type string) Specifies how blank fields affect whether the fields being compared are considered matches. Valid values are:
  • MatchBlanks
  • NullNotAllowed (default)
fieldName string Required. Indicates which field to compare when determining if a record is similar enough to an existing record to be considered a match.
matchingMethod MatchingMethod (enumeration of type string) Required. Defines how the fields are compared. Choose between the exact matching method and various fuzzy matching methods. Valid values are:
  • Exact
  • FirstName
  • LastName
  • CompanyName
  • Phone
  • City
  • Street
  • Zip
  • Title
For details on each matching method, see “Matching Methods Used with Matching Rules” in the Salesforce Help.
## Declarative Metadata Sample Definition The following is a sample XML definition of a matching rule. A matching rule can be associated with either a standard or a custom object. AccountMatchingRule Matching rule for accounts this is sample rule description NullNotAllowed BillingCity City NullNotAllowed Name CompanyName Inactive The following package.xml shows how to reference a matching rule by name. It specifies the type name of MatchingRule. Account.AccountMatchingRule MatchingRule 68.0 The following package.xml shows how to reference all matching rules by specifying the plural MatchingRules type name and using a wildcard to include all members. \* MatchingRules 68.0 ## Wildcard Support in the Manifest File This metadata type supports the wildcard character \* (asterisk) in the package.xml manifest file. For information about using the manifest file, see [Deploying and Retrieving Metadata with the Zip File](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/file_based_zip_file.htm "The deploy() and retrieve() calls are used to deploy and retrieve a .zip file. Within the .zip file is a project manifest (package.xml) that lists what to retrieve or deploy, and one or more XML components that are organized into folders.").