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Orgs, editions, sandboxes and scratch orgs
Orgs, editions, sandboxes and scratch orgs
An org is one Salesforce instance, with its own users, data, metadata and URL. When people say "deploy to the org", that's what they mean.
Editions
Production orgs come in editions (Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited…), which decide the features and limits you get. As a developer you mostly care about one:
- Developer Edition (DE): free and full-featured, with limited storage. It doesn't expire as long as you log in now and then. This is your learning org.
Sandboxes
Companies don't build straight in production. A sandbox is a copy of production:
| Type | Copies | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Metadata only | Building features |
| Developer Pro | Metadata, more storage | Building + testing |
| Partial Copy | Metadata + sample data | QA / UAT |
| Full | Everything | Staging, performance testing |
Scratch orgs
Scratch orgs are disposable orgs you spin up from source with the sf CLI. A JSON file configures them, and they expire after a few days (30 at most). They're the modern, source-driven way to develop, and you'll use them in the DevOps track.
Which org should you use for Apex Quest?
A Developer Edition org, or a Trailhead Playground (which is a DE org under the hood). Apex Quest won't connect to sandboxes or production orgs, because you shouldn't be learning on your employer's data.