Salesforce Loader

The Salesforce loader pulls data from your Salesforce org into your data warehouse using the Salesforce REST API. It supports incremental sync via Salesforce’s SystemModstamp field and handles both standard and custom objects.

Prerequisites

• A Salesforce org (Production, Sandbox, or Developer Edition)
• A Salesforce user with API access (the “API Enabled” permission must be active)
• A connected Warehouse (target warehouse) with write permissions on the target schema

Authentication

The Salesforce loader uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication.

OAuth 2.0 Setup

1. In SignalSmith, click Add Loader and select Salesforce
2. Click Connect with Salesforce
3. You’ll be redirected to the Salesforce login page
4. Log in with your Salesforce credentials and click Allow to grant SignalSmith access
5. You’ll be redirected back to SignalSmith with the connection established

SignalSmith requests the following OAuth scopes:

SignalSmith automatically refreshes the access token before it expires. If the refresh token is revoked (e.g., user password reset, admin action), you’ll need to re-authenticate.

Sandbox Connections

To connect to a Salesforce Sandbox, toggle the Sandbox option before clicking “Connect.” This directs the OAuth flow to test.salesforce.com instead of login.salesforce.com.

Available Objects

The Salesforce loader can sync any standard or custom object accessible to the authenticated user. The most commonly used objects are:

Custom Objects

Custom objects are automatically discovered during the connection setup. They appear in the object list alongside standard objects, identified by the __c suffix. Custom fields on standard objects are also included in the extracted schema.

Configuration

Scheduling Notes

• Incremental sync uses SystemModstamp, which Salesforce updates whenever any field on a record changes, including system-level changes. This ensures no modifications are missed.
• Rate limits: Salesforce enforces API call limits based on your edition and license count. A standard Enterprise edition provides approximately 100,000 API calls per 24-hour period. Each loader run consumes API calls proportional to the number of objects and records extracted.
• Bulk API: For objects with more than 10,000 records, SignalSmith automatically uses the Salesforce Bulk API 2.0 to extract data more efficiently and consume fewer API calls.
• Deleted records: SignalSmith queries the Salesforce queryAll endpoint to capture soft-deleted records (those in the Recycle Bin). These records are marked with IsDeleted = true in your warehouse.

Schema Mapping

Salesforce field types are mapped to warehouse-compatible types:

Troubleshooting

Example API Configuration

curl -X POST https://your-workspace.signalsmith.dev/api/v1/loaders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Salesforce Production",
    "connector": "salesforce",
    "auth": {
      "type": "oauth2",
      "access_token": "00D...",
      "refresh_token": "5Aep...",
      "instance_url": "https://mycompany.my.salesforce.com"
    },
    "objects": [
      {
        "name": "Contact",
        "sync_mode": "incremental",
        "cursor_field": "SystemModstamp",
        "primary_key": ["Id"]
      },
      {
        "name": "Lead",
        "sync_mode": "incremental",
        "cursor_field": "SystemModstamp",
        "primary_key": ["Id"]
      },
      {
        "name": "Account",
        "sync_mode": "incremental",
        "cursor_field": "SystemModstamp",
        "primary_key": ["Id"]
      },
      {
        "name": "Opportunity",
        "sync_mode": "incremental",
        "cursor_field": "SystemModstamp",
        "primary_key": ["Id"]
      }
    ],
    "target": {
      "source_id": "src_abc123",
      "schema": "SALESFORCE_RAW",
      "table_prefix": "sf_"
    },
    "schedule": {
      "interval": "hourly"
    }
  }'

Next Steps

• Create a model to transform your raw Salesforce data
• Build an audience using Salesforce contacts and leads
• Sync audiences back to Salesforce as a destination