Salesforce Service Cloud API Essential Guide

What type of API does Salesforce Service Cloud provide?

Salesforce Service Cloud offers multiple types of APIs, including REST, SOAP, GraphQL, and others. Here's a breakdown of the key API types available:

REST API

• Salesforce provides a REST API that uses JSON or XML for data format.
• It's ideal for building modern web and mobile applications due to its lightweight nature and simple request-response structure.
• REST API is commonly used for data integration and developing custom applications.

SOAP API

• Salesforce offers a SOAP API that uses XML for data format.
• It's well-suited for complex enterprise system integrations, especially with older systems or ERPs.
• SOAP API provides features like WS-Security, transactional support, and stateful operations.

GraphQL API

• Salesforce has introduced a GraphQL API, which became generally available in Winter '23.
• It allows clients to request exactly the data they need, making it more efficient and flexible than traditional REST APIs.
• GraphQL API is useful for creating rich, performant mobile and web applications.

Other API Types

• Bulk API: Designed for high-volume data operations using JSON or CSV formats.
• Streaming API: Used for real-time data updates with JSON format.
• Metadata API: Focused on Salesforce environment management using XML.
• Chatter REST API: Specifically for social collaboration features.
• Tooling API: Used for managing Salesforce metadata and development tools.

Does the Salesforce Service Cloud API have webhooks?

Yes, Salesforce Service Cloud API does have webhooks, but they are primarily available through the Event Notification Service (ENS) in Marketing Cloud Engagement. Here are the key points to consider:

Webhook Availability

1. Salesforce Service Cloud API does not have native webhook support, but it can be implemented through the Event Notification Service (ENS) in Marketing Cloud Engagement.

2. The Event Notification Service allows you to subscribe to various events and receive notifications via webhooks.

Event Types and Subscription

1. You can subscribe to different event types using the Event Notification Service.

2. To use the ENS, you need to create a subscription that specifies which event types you want to receive notifications for and which callback (webhook) should receive them.

Setting Up Webhooks

1. To set up webhooks, you need to:

   • Set up your development environment for using Marketing Cloud Engagement APIs
   • Create an API integration in Installed Packages to get a client ID and client secret
   • Supply an HTTPS callback URL (webhook) for your application
   • Register and verify your callback URL
   • Create a subscription for notification events

2. The callback URL (webhook) must use HTTPS; HTTP is not supported.

Permissions and Security

1. When creating the API integration, you need to set specific permissions:

   • Event Notifications: Callbacks - Read, Create, Update, Delete
   • Event Notifications: Subscriptions - Read, Create, Update, Delete

2. It's crucial to store your client ID and secret securely and never expose them on the client side or in mobile applications.

Best Practices

1. Prepare your system to potentially receive notification events more than once, as ENS is an "at least once" delivery system.

2. You can pause and unpause subscriptions as needed. When unpaused, only new event notifications are delivered.

3. Be aware of Salesforce IP Addresses and Domains that need to be allowed for the Event Notification Service to function properly.

While this information primarily relates to Marketing Cloud Engagement, it's worth noting that Salesforce's ecosystem is interconnected, and similar functionality might be available or integrated with Service Cloud through various means. For the most up-to-date and specific information about Service Cloud API capabilities, it's recommended to consult the latest Salesforce Service Cloud documentation or contact Salesforce support directly.

Rate Limits and other limitations

Here are the key points about Salesforce API rate limits for the Service Cloud API:

API Request Limits

• The API request limit is per organization, not per user [4][5].

• The daily limit is calculated based on the number and types of licenses purchased [4][5].

• For Enterprise Edition orgs, the base limit is 100,000 calls per 24-hour period, plus 1,000 additional calls per Salesforce license [2].

• For Unlimited/Performance Edition orgs, the base limit is 100,000 calls per 24-hour period, plus 5,000 additional calls per Salesforce license [2].

• Sandbox orgs have a flat limit of 5,000,000 API calls per 24-hour period, regardless of licenses [2][5].

Other Key Limits

• Concurrent API request limit: 25 for production orgs, 5 for Developer Edition/trial orgs [2].

• API timeout limit: 600 seconds (10 minutes) per request [2].

• Bulk API limit: 15,000 batch submissions per 24-hour period [2].

• Streaming API limits vary by edition, e.g. 1,000,000 events per day for Performance/Unlimited editions [2].

Checking and Managing Limits

• API usage can be checked in the System Overview page in Salesforce Setup [2][5].

• Organizations can purchase additional API call capacity if needed [2][4].

• It's important to monitor API usage and optimize integrations to stay within limits [2][4].

In summary, the API limits are organization-wide and based on licenses, with the ability to purchase more capacity if required. Proper monitoring and optimization is key to maximizing the available API request limit.

Latest API Version

Based on the search results provided, here is the most up-to-date information on the latest version of the Salesforce Service Cloud API:

The most recent version of the Salesforce API is version 60.0, which was released for Spring 2024 [2].

Key points to consider:

• Salesforce regularly releases new API versions to provide access to new features and ensure the safest product possible for managing customer relationships [2].

• The current version number (60.0) follows Salesforce's naming convention of using season names and years in their version numbers [2].

• It's important to stay updated on the latest API versions to ensure compatibility with the latest Salesforce releases and to take advantage of new features and bug fixes [2].

• Salesforce offers multiple types of APIs, including REST API, SOAP API, Bulk API, Metadata API, Tooling API, and Streaming API [2].

To check your current Salesforce API version:

1. Log into your Salesforce account
2. Use the Quick Find box to search for the component you want to check
3. Click on the component in the search results
4. The API version information will be displayed on the component's detail page [2]

Best practices:

• Regularly check for updates to ensure you're using the most recent API version
• Test your integrations and custom code when updating to a new API version to ensure compatibility
• Refer to Salesforce's official documentation for the most up-to-date information on API versions and their features

How to get a Salesforce Service Cloud developer account and API Keys?

To get a developer account for Salesforce Service Cloud to create an API integration, you can follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a Salesforce Developer Account:

   • Visit the Salesforce Developer website (https://developer.salesforce.com/signup)
   • Fill out the registration form with your personal information
   • Choose a username and password for your account
   • Agree to the terms of service and click "Sign Up"

2. Activate your account:

   • Check your email for an activation link from Salesforce
   • Click on the link to verify your email address and activate your account

3. Access your Developer Edition org:

   • After activation, you'll be redirected to your new Salesforce Developer Edition org
   • This org is a free, full-featured Salesforce environment for development and testing

What can you do with the Salesforce Service Cloud API?

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Here's a list of data models you can interact with using the Salesforce Service Cloud API, along with what is possible for each:

Account

• Create, read, update, and delete account records
• Manage account hierarchies and relationships
• Update account details such as name, industry, and contact information
• Associate contacts, opportunities, and cases with accounts

Contact

• Create, read, update, and delete contact records
• Manage contact information including name, email, phone, and address
• Link contacts to accounts and opportunities
• Track contact roles and relationships

Case

• Create, read, update, and delete case records
• Manage case details such as status, priority, and description
• Assign cases to users or queues
• Track case history and resolution

Task

• Create, read, update, and delete task records
• Set due dates, priorities, and status for tasks
• Assign tasks to users
• Link tasks to other objects like accounts, contacts, or cases

Event

• Create, read, update, and delete event records
• Manage event details such as start and end times, location, and attendees
• Associate events with accounts, contacts, or opportunities

Knowledge Article

• Create, read, update, and delete knowledge articles
• Manage article versions and publication status
• Categorize articles and set visibility rules
• Search and retrieve articles based on various criteria

Asset

• Create, read, update, and delete asset records
• Track product information, serial numbers, and installation dates
• Associate assets with accounts and contacts
• Manage asset hierarchies and relationships

Entitlement

• Create, read, update, and delete entitlement records
• Manage service contracts and support levels
• Associate entitlements with accounts, contacts, and assets
• Track entitlement usage and expiration

Service Contract

• Create, read, update, and delete service contract records
• Manage contract terms, start and end dates, and pricing
• Associate service contracts with accounts and assets
• Track contract renewals and expirations

Opportunity

• Create, read, update, and delete opportunity records
• Manage opportunity stages, close dates, and amounts
• Associate opportunities with accounts and contacts
• Track opportunity team members and roles

Product

• Create, read, update, and delete product records
• Manage product details such as name, description, and pricing
• Associate products with opportunities and quotes
• Track product inventory and availability

Custom Objects

• Create, read, update, and delete custom object records
• Define custom fields and relationships
• Use custom objects to model business-specific data
• Integrate custom objects with standard objects

These data models allow you to interact with various aspects of customer service, sales, and support processes through the Salesforce Service Cloud API. You can perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on these objects, as well as manage relationships between them and leverage custom fields and objects to tailor the system to your specific business needs.