They are temporary, disposable environments that can be created on demand and customized to match a development project's specific needs.

In the past, Salesforce development was typically carried out in sandboxes. Changes were moved using change sets or other metadata deployment tools.

Salesforce has however introduced a new development model, which includes scratch orgs. Some users are thus unsure about if they should be doing their development work in a sandbox or a scratch org.

To determine which one should be used when knowing the differences between them is crucial.

Scratch orgs are typically managed using command-line Interface (CLI) commands and metadata configuration files. SFDX enforces continuous integration, delivery, and version control.

Here are the main steps involved in managing scratch orgs:

In essence, managing scratch orgs from the command line is like playing Tetris with command-line blocks; it's fun but can get messy quickly. With that being said, managing Salesforce scratch orgs can present several challenges:

• Managing scratch orgs using the CLI requires a good understanding of Salesforce CLI commands and metadata configuration files, which can be challenging for new users.
• Setting up and configuring scratch orgs using the CLI can be time-consuming, especially when working on complex Salesforce projects requiring multiple scratch orgs. For some products, it may take hours for a scratch org to spin up. This means that development is halted during this waiting period.
• Configuring scratch orgs using the CLI is a manual process requiring users to enter commands and make configuration changes manually. This can be prone to errors and make it challenging to ensure that all scratch orgs are set up consistently.
• Managing scratch orgs using the CLI can be challenging, as it can be difficult to track which changes have been made to which orgs.

However, what if there's a better way to manage your scratch orgs?

With Hutte, a web UI to SFDX that enables visual Salesforce version control, Salesforce scratch org management becomes a labor-saving development workflow.

Hutte enables developers to easily create, modify, and delete scratch orgs as needed.

Hutte is truly one of the best tools that we use. Product owners, Salesforce solution architects, business analysts — anyone on our team can easily and visually accomplish the tasks that would otherwise take a lot of clicks, time, and coding.

Sebastian Lechner

Product Management Director of IPfolio
Clarivate

Source: Hutte

With that being said, let’s go through how to manage scratch orgs using Hutte.

Create scratch orgs in a collaboration-friendly environment

You can create scratch orgs that can be accessed together as a team. Users can create scratch orgs using the “New scratch org” button.

You can choose a Git branch from which you want to create your environment and name it.

Without Hutte, you need to rely solely on CLI. With Hutte, you can:

• Easily make changes to the latest state of your source
• Implement the new feature
• Ship it to Git
• It will get integrated with Hutte.

If a developer has executed new features and submitted it to Git, instead of them manually having to tell the team that they have provisioned an environment, the team can simply view it on the scratch orgs dashboard.

They will tell the team which branch they added the features to. You can then find the branches by “New scratch orgs.” From there, you can create a scratch org from that branch. It will appear in your list of scratch orgs.

• You won’t need to run the code locally
• It won’t block your machine, and it won’t block you
• It will run asynchronously on Hutte’s infrastructure.

Hutte essentially empowers users to manage and pick their own environments easily.

Pick a scratch org from the pool

Hutte has a pool of orgs pre-created for you, so you don't need to wait, as you can spin them up visually. Picking a scratch org from the pool speeds up the process even further when you need an environment from the latest state of your source.

You can “Take from pool,” enter the name of the pool you want to claim, and it will appear in your pool.

You can dimensionate your pool by going to “Settings.” You can also decide its size and length.

Hutte offers easier sandboxes

Without Hutte, you need to follow these steps for sandboxes:

• Install the necessary CLI tools
• Create a new sandbox
• Configure the sandbox
• Use the sandbox
• Clean up the sandbox.

There is also a “Features” tab that enables collaboration on changes within sandboxes, such as with scratch orgs.

Hutte’s Jira plugin

If you use Jira, there will be a work item for it. Hutte’s Jira plugin will then find scratch orgs that reference the same name as your work item (or issue).

As a product manager, you can then leave a comment for the developer who worked on the scratch org you selected. This enables collaboration without any interference or overriding of work already done by a developer.

This plugin is still very new, so watch this space for more updates.

Scratch org management made easy

Even though scratch orgs are intended to be workspaces where individuals can explore and test features in isolation, when you work together, you can conquer challenges. Obstacles like configuration management, data management, and juggling multiple scratch orgs become more streamlined.

So, consider utilizing Hutte, work together, and watch your Salesforce development efforts skyrocket with better outcomes and top-notch code quality.