Managing Org-Wide Defaults

Retrieve and update Organization-Wide Default (OWD) sharing settings for standard and custom objects in a Salesforce org. OWDs define the baseline level of access users have to records they do not own.

Scope

• In scope: Retrieving current OWD settings, updating internal/external access levels for standard and custom objects
• Out of scope: Sharing rules, role hierarchy configuration, manual sharing, permission sets, criteria-based sharing — delegate to appropriate skills

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Clarifying Questions

Before proceeding, confirm with the user if not already clear:

• Which object(s) do you want to get or update OWD settings for?
• What access level do you want to set? (Private, Public Read Only, Public Read/Write, Controlled by Parent)
• Do you need to change both internal and external access, or just one?

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Required Inputs

Gather or infer before proceeding:

• Target org: The org alias or username to query/update (use default org if not specified)
• Object name(s): Standard object API name (e.g., Account, Contact) or custom object API name (e.g., Invoice__c)
• Operation: Get (retrieve current settings) or Update (change access levels)
• Access levels (for update): Internal access and/or external access values

Defaults unless specified:

• Use the default connected org
• If only one access level is provided, assume it applies to internal access

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Workflow

All steps are sequential. Do not skip or reorder.

Phase 1 — Retrieve Current Settings

1. Query current OWD settings using the Salesforce CLI Tooling API: sf data query --query "SELECT QualifiedApiName, InternalSharingModel, ExternalSharingModel FROM EntityDefinition WHERE QualifiedApiName = '<ObjectName>'" --use-tooling-api --target-org <org>

2. For retrieving all OWD settings at once: sf data query --query "SELECT QualifiedApiName, InternalSharingModel, ExternalSharingModel FROM EntityDefinition WHERE IsCustomizable = true ORDER BY QualifiedApiName" --use-tooling-api --target-org <org>

3. Present results clearly — read references/access_levels.md for valid values and display a formatted table to the user.

Phase 2 — Update Settings (if requested)

4. Validate the requested access level — read references/access_levels.md to confirm the value is valid for the target object.

5. Retrieve the object metadata using the Metadata API (same command for both standard and custom objects): sf project retrieve start --metadata CustomObject:<ObjectName> --target-org <org>. This retrieves <ObjectName>.object-meta.xml containing <sharingModel> and <externalSharingModel>. See references/metadata_api_approach.md for the full procedure.

6. Modify the sharing settings — update the <sharingModel> (internal access) and/or <externalSharingModel> (external access) in the object's .object-meta.xml. Read references/metadata_api_approach.md for details.

7. Pre-deploy verification — before deploying, confirm:

   • External access is not more permissive than internal access
   • Objects with Master-Detail relationships use ControlledByParent
   • The requested access level is valid for the target object (see references/access_levels.md)
   • Cross-object constraints are satisfied (see "Cross-Object Constraints" in references/access_levels.md)

8. Deploy the updated settings: sf project deploy start --metadata CustomObject:<ObjectName> --target-org <org>. If the deploy fails, check the error message for the specific cause (see Gotchas table). A failed deploy does not change the org. To discard local edits, re-retrieve from the org: sf project retrieve start --metadata CustomObject:<ObjectName> --target-org <org>.

9. Verify the change by re-running the query from Step 1.

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Rules / Constraints

Constraint	Rationale
Objects with Master-Detail relationships must use ControlledByParent	Platform enforces this — attempting other values fails
External access cannot be more permissive than internal access	Salesforce rejects configurations where external > internal
Some standard objects have fixed OWD (e.g., User, Activity)	Not all objects support OWD changes
Changing OWD to more restrictive triggers sharing recalculation	This can take significant time on large orgs — warn the user
Custom objects default to Public Read/Write when created	Users may not realize the default is permissive
For managed package custom objects, use the full API name including namespace prefix (e.g., ns__Object__c)	Namespace-prefixed objects require the prefix in both queries and metadata retrieval
Always verify the org connection before querying	Prevents confusing error messages

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Gotchas

Issue	Resolution
INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS error when updating	User needs Manage Sharing permission or System Administrator profile
OWD change appears stuck	Sharing recalculation is running — check Setup > Sharing Settings for progress
Custom object not found in query	Use the full API name including __c suffix
ControlledByParent not available	Object has no Master-Detail relationship — use Private, Public Read Only, or Public Read/Write
External access field not showing	External sharing model only appears when external org-wide defaults are enabled
Query returns no results	Object may not be customizable or API name may be incorrect — verify spelling

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Output Expectations

Deliverables:

• For get operations: Formatted table showing object name, internal access level, and external access level
• For update operations: Confirmation of the change with before/after comparison

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Cross-Skill Integration

Need	Delegate to
Creating sharing rules after restricting OWD	platform-sharing-rules-generate skill
Deploying metadata changes to another org	platform-metadata-deploy skill

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Reference File Index

File	When to read
references/access_levels.md	When validating or explaining OWD access level values
references/metadata_api_approach.md	When using Metadata API to update OWD instead of Tooling API
examples/get_owd_output.md	To verify formatted output matches expected structure
examples/update_owd_output.md	To verify update confirmation matches expected structure