afv-library/skills/generating-experience-lwr-site/docs/configure-guest-sharing-rules.md

Guest User Sharing Rules (Public Sites Only)

Use when the user asks to create or modify a guest sharing rule, mentions a username containing "Guest User" or "Site Guest User" (e.g. "ZenLease Site Guest User"), or wants to share object records with unauthenticated visitors.

Steps

1. Resolve the guest user identity: If the user provides a username like "ZenLease Site Guest User", use it directly as the <guestUser> value (CommunityNickname). If a user ID is provided (e.g. 005AAC00003f8EP), query the org to get the CommunityNickname first.
2. Check for existing file: Look for sharingRules/{ObjectName}.sharingRules-meta.xml locally. If missing, retrieve it from the org before editing.
3. Generate the rule: Follow the XML example and critical requirements below. Never use sharingCriteriaRules or <role>/<group> for guest rules.

If sharingRules metadata is not available locally in force-app/main/default/sharingRules, retrieve it from the org before creating new rules.

Retrieve Full SharingRules Schema

Use the metadata MCP tool with metadataType "SharingRules" to retrieve schema.

XML Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SharingRules xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
  <sharingGuestRules>
    <fullName>ShareAccountsWithSiteGuest</fullName>
    <accessLevel>Read</accessLevel>
    <includeHVUOwnedRecords>false</includeHVUOwnedRecords>
    <label>Share Accounts With Site Guest</label>
    <sharedTo>
      <guestUser>[site Guest User's CommunityNickanme]</guestUser>
    </sharedTo>
    <criteriaItems>
      <field>Name</field>
      <operation>notEqual</operation>
      <value>null</value>
    </criteriaItems>
  </sharingGuestRules>
</SharingRules>

Critical Requirements

1. SharedTo Element: Must use <guestUser>{site Guest User's CommunityNickanme}</guestUser> (not URL path prefix).
2. includeHVUOwnedRecords: Required field. Set to false unless records owned by high-volume site users should be included.
3. One XML file per object: Put all rules for a given object in one file. Do not create additional.

Common Mistakes

• Using <role> or <group> instead of <guestUser> in sharedTo
• Omitting the required includeHVUOwnedRecords field
• Using includeRecordsOwnedByAll (that's for sharingCriteriaRules, not guest rules)