Knowledge Base

Integrating with Salesforce using Batch Apex

This guide walks you through setting up a reliable batch integration between your system and Salesforce. It covers authentication, data extraction, transformations, and loading using Salesforce Batch Apex.

Prerequisites

• Salesforce org with API access enabled.
• Connected App with OAuth 2.0 client credentials.
• Node.js (v14+) or Python (3.8+) for the external script.
• Access to the target object(s) you intend to process.

Step 1 – Create a Connected App

1. Navigate to Setup → App Manager → New Connected App.
2. Enable OAuth Settings and check “Enable OAuth Settings”.
3. Add the following OAuth scopes:
   • Access and manage your data (api)
   • Perform requests on your behalf at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
4. Set the callback URL to https://yourdomain.com/oauth/callback (dummy URL for server‑to‑server).
5. Save and record the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret.

Step 2 – Obtain an Access Token

curl -X POST https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token \
 -d "grant_type=client_credentials" \
 -d "client_id=YOUR_CONSUMER_KEY" \
 -d "client_secret=YOUR_CONSUMER_SECRET"
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Step 3 – Build the Batch Apex Class

global class IntegrationBatch implements Database.Batchable<SObject>, Database.Stateful {
    global Database.QueryLocator start(Database.BatchableContext bc) {
        return Database.getQueryLocator('SELECT Id, Name, Custom_Field__c FROM Custom_Object__c WHERE Needs_Integration__c = true');
    }

    global void execute(Database.BatchableContext bc, List<SObject> scope) {
        List<Custom_Object__c> records = (List<Custom_Object__c>)scope;
        // Transform and flag records
        for(Custom_Object__c rec : records){
            // Example: Concatenate fields for external system
            rec.Integration_Payload__c = rec.Name + '|' + rec.Custom_Field__c;
            rec.Needs_Integration__c = false;
        }
        update records;
    }

    global void finish(Database.BatchableContext bc) {
        // Optional: call an external web service or send a platform event
    }
}
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Step 4 – Schedule the Batch

global class IntegrationBatchScheduler implements Schedulable {
    global void execute(SchedulableContext sc) {
        IntegrationBatch batch = new IntegrationBatch();
        Database.executeBatch(batch, 200);
    }
}
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Schedule with the UI (Setup → Apex Classes → Schedule Apex) or via CLI:

sfdx force:apex:schedule -n IntegrationBatchScheduler -l "Every Night" -c "0 0 * * *"Copy

Step 5 – Consuming the Payload Externally

const fetch = require('node-fetch');

const token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN';
const query = \`SELECT Id, Integration_Payload__c FROM Custom_Object__c WHERE Integration_Payload__c != NULL\`;

async function fetchPayloads() {
  const url = \`https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/services/data/v57.0/query?q=\${encodeURIComponent(query)}\`;
  const res = await fetch(url, {
    headers: { Authorization: \`Bearer \${token}\` }
  });
  const data = await res.json();
  data.records.forEach(r => {
    console.log('Payload:', r.Integration_Payload__c);
    // Send to external system here
  });
}

fetchPayloads().catch(console.error);
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import requests

access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
instance_url = 'https://yourInstance.salesforce.com'
query = "SELECT Id, Integration_Payload__c FROM Custom_Object__c WHERE Integration_Payload__c != NULL"

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {access_token}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

url = f"{instance_url}/services/data/v57.0/query"
params = {'q': query}
resp = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
resp.raise_for_status()
for rec in resp.json()['records']:
    print('Payload:', rec['Integration_Payload__c'])
    # Forward to external endpoint here
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