Salesforce Files Bulk Downloader

Salesforce Files Bulk Downloader is a Robot Framework and Python tool for downloading files from lists of Salesforce ContentDocumentId values. It is built for migrations, backups, and archives of any size.

Built with

• Robot Framework
• Python
• SeleniumLibrary
• Salesforce REST API
• Salesforce CLI
• Google Chrome

Why this tool exists

Salesforce stores a file, its versions, and its record associations in separate objects. Moving those files means preserving the relationships while dealing with API limits, expiring sessions, large binaries, and partial failures.

This tool separates metadata queries from binary downloads, validates each file, keeps batch output isolated, and records any failures. It can also create Data Loader-ready workbooks. The Introduction explains the Salesforce data model and migration workflow.

Typical use cases

• Enterprise file migration projects
• Salesforce org consolidation
• Divestitures and acquisitions
• Backup and archival
• Migration validation and reconciliation
• Large-scale ContentDocument extraction
• Sandbox preparation
• Disaster recovery preparation

Key features

• Accepts 15- and 18-character ContentDocumentId values, canonicalizes them to 18 characters, and removes duplicates
• Uses Salesforce CLI authentication without storing usernames or passwords
• Queries ContentDocument and all associated ContentDocumentLink records in batches
• Checks Salesforce daily API capacity before starting download work
• Downloads each physical file once into a ContentDocument-specific directory
• Isolates download and artifact directories for each batch and worker
• Checks completion, stability, and final size against Salesforce ContentSize
• Keeps downloaded files and migration-workbook rows consistent if a workbook update fails
• Automatically retries transient download failures and writes structured failure codes, messages, and attempt counts for unresolved IDs
• Writes a per-batch JSONL manifest for reconciliation and auditing
• Detects expired REST and browser sessions instead of reporting them as generic download failures
• Creates optional ContentVersion and ContentDocumentLink import workbooks
• Escapes formula-like ContentVersion titles before writing migration workbooks
• Supports headless Chrome and Pabot test-level parallel execution
• Validates Python and Robot code with Ruff, Robocop, and cross-platform CI

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/b-vamsipunnam/salesforce-files-downloader-tool.git
cd salesforce-files-downloader-tool
python -m venv venv
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Complete the Installation checks first, then follow Authentication to log in and create org_info.json:

robot --variable ORG_ALIAS:<org_alias> --output NONE --log NONE --report NONE src/robot/orchestrators/authenticate.robot

Add ContentDocumentId values to the first column of input/Inputfile_1.xlsx, then run the downloader:

robot --outputdir results src/robot/orchestrators/download.robot

Downloaded files appear in downloads/, migration and failure workbooks in artifacts/, and Robot Framework reports in results/.

Architecture

Salesforce REST APIs provide the metadata, and an authenticated Selenium browser downloads the binaries from Shepherd. Robot Framework handles the workflow and reporting, while Pabot can run isolated batches in parallel. See Architecture for details.

Contents

Documentation	Description
Introduction	Salesforce Files concepts, enterprise migration challenges, and why this tool exists
Installation	Prerequisites and environment setup
Authentication	Salesforce CLI authentication and session handling
Configuration	Runtime variables, paths, timeouts, and execution settings
Usage	Sequential and parallel execution instructions
Examples	Common execution scenarios
Architecture	End-to-end system design and component responsibilities
Performance	Benchmark results, worker scaling, retries, and validation
Keyword Documentation	Robot Framework keywords grouped by responsibility
Troubleshooting	Common errors and recommended resolutions
FAQ	Frequently asked technical and usage questions
Limitations	Current constraints and unsupported scenarios
Roadmap	Planned improvements and future direction
Contributing	Development workflow and contribution guidelines

Repository structure

salesforce-files-downloader-tool/
├── docs/
├── src/
│   └── robot/
│       ├── libraries/
│       ├── orchestrators/
│       └── resources/
├── input/
├── downloads/
├── artifacts/
├── results/
├── requirements.txt
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
└── SECURITY.md

• docs/ contains the project documentation and architecture diagram.
• src/robot/libraries/ contains custom Python libraries used by Robot Framework.
• src/robot/orchestrators/ defines executable download batches.
• src/robot/resources/ contains configuration and reusable workflow keywords.
• input/ contains Excel workbooks listing source ContentDocumentIds.
• downloads/ stores validated file binaries in isolated batch directories.
• artifacts/ stores JSONL execution manifests, migration workbooks, and structured failed-ID workbooks.
• results/ receives Robot Framework and Pabot execution reports.
• requirements.txt pins the Python dependencies used by the project.
• requirements-dev.txt pins the Ruff and Robocop versions used by contributors and CI.

Contributing

Before opening an issue or pull request, read the Contributing guide, Code of Conduct, and Security Policy.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.