Metadata Skill Skill | Agent Skills

Metadata Skill

This skill guides you through working with site metadata XML for Salesforce B2C Commerce, including custom attributes, custom objects, and site preferences.

Overview

Metadata defines the structure of your B2C Commerce data:

| Metadata Type | Purpose | |---------------|---------| | System Object Extensions | Add custom attributes to Products, Orders, Customers, etc. | | Custom Objects | Define entirely new data types | | Site Preferences | Site-specific configuration values |

Site Archive Structure

Metadata is organized in site archives:

/site-archive
    /meta
        system-objecttype-extensions.xml    # Custom attributes on system objects
        custom-objecttype-definitions.xml   # Custom object definitions
    /sites
        /MySite
            preferences.xml                 # Site preferences

System Object Extensions

Add custom attributes to existing system objects.

Basic Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="Product">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="myCustomAttribute">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">My Custom Attribute</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <externally-managed-flag>false</externally-managed-flag>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="MyCustomGroup">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">My Custom Group</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="myCustomAttribute"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Common System Objects

| Object Type | Use Case | |-------------|----------| | Product | Product attributes | | Order | Order metadata | | Profile | Customer profile data | | Basket | Cart data | | SitePreferences | Site configuration | | Category | Category attributes | | Content | Content asset attributes |

Attribute Types

| Type | Description | Example | |------|-------------|---------| | string | Text (max 4000 chars) | SKU, descriptions | | text | Long text (unlimited) | Rich content | | int | Integer | Quantity, rank | | double | Decimal | Percentage, weight | | boolean | true/false | Flags | | date | Date only | Birth date | | datetime | Date and time | Timestamps | | email | Email address | Contact email | | password | Encrypted | API keys | | html | HTML content | Rich text | | enum-of-string | Single select | Status | | enum-of-int | Numeric enum | Priority level | | set-of-string | Multi-select | Tags | | set-of-int | Numeric multi-select | Categories | | image | Image reference | Thumbnails |

Enum Value Definitions

Enum types (enum-of-string, enum-of-int, set-of-string, set-of-int) require value-definitions with value/display pairs:

<attribute-definition attribute-id="warrantyType">
    <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Warranty Type</display-name>
    <type>enum-of-string</type>
    <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
    <value-definitions>
        <value-definition>
            <value>none</value>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">No Warranty</display>
        </value-definition>
        <value-definition>
            <value>limited</value>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">Limited Warranty</display>
        </value-definition>
        <value-definition>
            <value>full</value>
            <display xml:lang="x-default">Full Warranty</display>
        </value-definition>
    </value-definitions>
</attribute-definition>

| Element | Purpose | |---------|---------| | <value> | The stored/API value (use lowercase, no spaces) | | <display> | Human-readable label shown in Business Manager |

Product Custom Attribute Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="Product">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <!-- Simple string attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="vendorSKU">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Vendor SKU</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <externally-managed-flag>true</externally-managed-flag>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Enum (dropdown) attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="productCondition">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Product Condition</display-name>
                <type>enum-of-string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <value-definitions>
                    <value-definition>
                        <value>new</value>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">New</display>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <value>refurbished</value>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Refurbished</display>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <value>used</value>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Used</display>
                    </value-definition>
                </value-definitions>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Boolean attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="isHazardous">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Hazardous Material</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <default-value>false</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>

            <!-- Multi-select attribute -->
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="productFeatures">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Product Features</display-name>
                <type>set-of-string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
                <value-definitions>
                    <value-definition>
                        <value>waterproof</value>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Waterproof</display>
                    </value-definition>
                    <value-definition>
                        <value>recyclable</value>
                        <display xml:lang="x-default">Recyclable</display>
                    </value-definition>
                </value-definitions>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>

        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="CustomProductInfo">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Custom Product Information</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="vendorSKU"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="productCondition"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="isHazardous"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="productFeatures"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Custom Object Definitions

Create entirely new data types.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <custom-type type-id="StoreLocations">
        <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Locations</display-name>
        <description xml:lang="x-default">Physical store information</description>
        <staging-mode>source-to-target</staging-mode>
        <storage-scope>site</storage-scope>
        <key-definition attribute-id="storeId">
            <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store ID</display-name>
            <type>string</type>
            <min-length>1</min-length>
        </key-definition>
        <attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="storeName">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Name</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
                <mandatory-flag>true</mandatory-flag>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="latitude">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Latitude</display-name>
                <type>double</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="longitude">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Longitude</display-name>
                <type>double</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="phone">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Phone</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="isActive">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Active</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <default-value>true</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
        </attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="StoreInfo">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Store Information</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="storeId" system="true"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="storeName"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="latitude"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="longitude"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="phone"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="isActive"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </custom-type>
</metadata>

Site Preferences

Site-specific configuration via custom attributes on SitePreferences.

Metadata (system-objecttype-extensions.xml)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<metadata xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/metadata/2006-10-31">
    <type-extension type-id="SitePreferences">
        <custom-attribute-definitions>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="enableFeatureX">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Enable Feature X</display-name>
                <type>boolean</type>
                <default-value>false</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="apiEndpoint">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">API Endpoint</display-name>
                <type>string</type>
            </attribute-definition>
            <attribute-definition attribute-id="maxItemsPerPage">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Max Items Per Page</display-name>
                <type>int</type>
                <default-value>20</default-value>
            </attribute-definition>
        </custom-attribute-definitions>
        <group-definitions>
            <attribute-group group-id="CustomSettings">
                <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Custom Settings</display-name>
                <attribute attribute-id="enableFeatureX"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="apiEndpoint"/>
                <attribute attribute-id="maxItemsPerPage"/>
            </attribute-group>
        </group-definitions>
    </type-extension>
</metadata>

Values (sites/MySite/preferences.xml)

Preferences can be set per instance type (development, staging, production) or for all instances:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<preferences xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/impex/preferences/2007-03-31">
    <custom-preferences>
        <all-instances>
            <!-- Values that apply to all instance types -->
            <preference preference-id="maxItemsPerPage">25</preference>
        </all-instances>
        <development>
            <!-- Development-specific values -->
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">true</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://dev-api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </development>
        <staging>
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">true</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://staging-api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </staging>
        <production>
            <preference preference-id="enableFeatureX">false</preference>
            <preference preference-id="apiEndpoint">https://api.example.com/v1</preference>
        </production>
    </custom-preferences>
</preferences>

Access in Code

var Site = require('dw/system/Site');

var enableFeatureX = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('enableFeatureX');
var apiEndpoint = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('apiEndpoint');
var maxItems = Site.current.getCustomPreferenceValue('maxItemsPerPage');

Attribute Definition Options

<attribute-definition attribute-id="myAttribute">
    <display-name xml:lang="x-default">Display Name</display-name>
    <description xml:lang="x-default">Description for BM tooltip</description>
    <type>string</type>
    <localizable-flag>false</localizable-flag>
    <mandatory-flag>false</mandatory-flag>
    <externally-managed-flag>false</externally-managed-flag>
    <visible-flag>true</visible-flag>
    <site-specific-flag>false</site-specific-flag>
    <order-required-flag>false</order-required-flag>
    <searchable-flag>false</searchable-flag>
    <min-length>0</min-length>
    <max-length>256</max-length>
    <default-value>default</default-value>
    <select-mode>none</select-mode>
    <unit>kg</unit>
</attribute-definition>

| Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | localizable-flag | Can have different values per locale | | mandatory-flag | Required in BM | | externally-managed-flag | Read-only in BM | | visible-flag | Shown in BM | | site-specific-flag | Different value per site | | order-required-flag | Required for order export | | searchable-flag | Indexed for search |

Best Practices

Use attribute groups to organize in Business Manager
Prefix custom attributes with organization name (e.g., acme_myAttribute)
Set externally-managed for data imported from external systems
Use enums over strings for controlled vocabularies
Document with descriptions - they appear as tooltips

Detailed Reference

System Objects Reference - All system object types
XML Examples - Complete import/export examples

Agent Skills: Metadata Skill

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