afv-library/skills/platform-metadata-deploy/assets/destructiveChanges.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <!--
    Destructive Changes Template

    Use this file to specify metadata components to delete from the target org.
    This file should be used with --pre-destructive-changes or --post-destructive-changes

    Example:
    sf project deploy start \
      --manifest manifest/package.xml \
      --post-destructive-changes manifest/destructiveChanges.xml \
      --target-org production
    -->

    <!-- Delete Apex Classes -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>DeprecatedClass1</members>
        <members>DeprecatedClass2</members>
        <name>ApexClass</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Apex Triggers -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>OldTrigger</members>
        <name>ApexTrigger</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Custom Objects -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>ObsoleteObject__c</members>
        <name>CustomObject</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Custom Fields -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>Account.DeprecatedField__c</members>
        <members>Contact.OldField__c</members>
        <name>CustomField</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Lightning Components -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>oldComponent</members>
        <name>LightningComponentBundle</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Aura Components -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>deprecatedAuraComponent</members>
        <name>AuraDefinitionBundle</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Validation Rules -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>Account.OldValidationRule</members>
        <name>ValidationRule</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Workflow Rules -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>Account.OldWorkflowRule</members>
        <name>WorkflowRule</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Flows -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>Deprecated_Flow</members>
        <name>Flow</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Permission Sets -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>ObsoletePermissionSet</members>
        <name>PermissionSet</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- Delete Static Resources -->
    <!--
    <types>
        <members>oldStaticResource</members>
        <name>StaticResource</name>
    </types>
    -->

    <!-- API Version -->
    <version>66.0</version>
</Package>

<!--
IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Order of operations:
   - Pre-destructive: Deleted BEFORE deployment (--pre-destructive-changes)
   - Post-destructive: Deleted AFTER deployment (--post-destructive-changes)

2. Best practices:
   - Test destructive changes in sandbox first
   - Backup metadata before deletion
   - Use --dry-run to validate before actual deployment
   - Delete fields before objects
   - Be careful with dependencies

3. Common destructive change scenarios:
   - Removing deprecated features
   - Cleaning up unused metadata
   - Refactoring object structures
   - Removing test/demo data objects

4. Example usage:
   sf project deploy start \
     --manifest manifest/package.xml \
     --post-destructive-changes manifest/destructiveChanges.xml \
     --target-org sandbox \
     --dry-run \
     --test-level RunLocalTests \
     --wait 30

5. Rollback:
   - Keep backup of deleted metadata in version control
   - Tag the commit before destructive deployment
   - Can redeploy from backup if needed
-->