Salesforce validation rule writer skill

salesforce-validation-rule-writer-skill

Pure-generation T0 skill that translates plain-English business rules into production-ready Salesforce validation rule formula syntax. Outputs the formula, a clear error message, profile bypass guidance, null handling, and a formula compilation checklist. Nothing is deployed — this skill generates text only.

When This Skill Owns the Task

Use salesforce-validation-rule-writer-skill when the request is to write or design a validation rule formula:

• "Write a validation rule that requires Billing Country when the account type is Partner"
• "Block reps from saving an Opportunity with Stage = Closed Won if Amount is blank"
• "Create a formula to enforce that Close Date cannot be in the past on new records"
• "Require phone number when Lead Source is Outbound"
• "Prevent picklist selection of Status = Inactive if there are open Cases"

Delegate elsewhere when:

Situation	Skill to use
Reviewing or auditing existing validation rule logic	salesforce-platform-admin-review-agent
Deploying the generated formula to an org	salesforce-deployment-validator-skill
Bulk enabling/disabling many rules across objects	salesforce-bulk-data-ops-skill
Need to check what existing rules are on an object	salesforce-metadata-fetcher-skill

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Required Context to Gather First

Before generating a formula, confirm:

1. Target object — standard (Account, Contact, Opportunity, Lead, Case) or custom (My_Object__c).
2. Field API names — the exact API names of every field referenced in the rule. Ask if only labels are provided.
3. Trigger condition — precisely when should the save be blocked? Describe the AND/OR logic in English.
4. Record types in scope — does the rule apply to all record types or only specific ones? (Affects RecordType.DeveloperName branching.)
5. New vs. edit context — should the rule fire on new records only, edits only, or both? (ISNEW, ISCHANGED implications.)
6. Profile bypass requirement — which profiles (if any) should be exempt? (System Admin bypass is almost always required.)
7. Error message placement — field-level error or page-level error?
8. Picklist field types — if picklist fields are used, confirm the exact API values (not labels) of the controlling values.

If any critical context is missing, ask before generating.

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Recommended Workflow

Step 1 — Confirm and rephrase the business rule

Restate the rule in your own words to confirm understanding:

"This rule fires when: [condition]. It blocks save with: [error text]. It is bypassed for: [profile/record type]. It applies on: [new/edit/both]."

Ask for confirmation before proceeding.

Step 2 — Decompose into atomic conditions

Break the rule into atomic boolean conditions. Map each condition to the appropriate Salesforce formula function:

Condition type	Formula pattern
Field is blank	ISBLANK(Field__c) for text; ISNULL(Field__c) for number/date
Field equals picklist value	TEXT(Field__c) = "API_Value"
Field changed	ISCHANGED(Field__c)
New record	ISNEW
Prior value comparison	PRIORVALUE(Field__c)
Record type check	RecordType.DeveloperName = "RecordTypeName"
Date in past	Field__c < TODAY

Step 3 — Compose the formula with AND/OR/NOT

Wrap atomic conditions using:

• AND(cond1, cond2) — both must be true
• OR(cond1, cond2) — either must be true
• NOT(cond) — negation

Prefer explicit AND/OR over &&/|| operators for readability and tooling compatibility. Nest carefully — Salesforce formulas have a 5,000-character compiled size limit.

Step 4 — Add profile bypass

Unless the customer explicitly opts out, wrap the core logic with a System Administrator bypass:

AND(
  $Profile.Name <> "System Administrator",
  <your_core_formula>
)

For additional profiles, use:

AND(
  NOT(OR(
    $Profile.Name = "System Administrator",
    $Profile.Name = "Sales Ops"
  )),
  <your_core_formula>
)

Step 5 — Apply null handling

Validate that every text, date, and number field access guards against null where needed:

• Text fields: use ISBLANK not = ""
• Number/currency fields: use ISNULL or BLANKVALUE(Field__c, 0) before arithmetic
• Date fields: use ISNULL or compare after null guard
• Picklist fields: use TEXT(Field__c) = "Value" not Field__c = "Value"
• Multi-select picklists: use INCLUDES(Field__c, "Value")

Step 6 — Write the error message

Apply these principles (see references/error-message-style.md):

• 15 words or fewer for the primary instruction
• Start with what the user must do, not what they did wrong
• Name the specific field or value required
• Include the condition context when space allows
• No jargon: avoid "null", "API name", "formula"

Good: "Close Date cannot be in the past. Set a future date to save." Bad: "Validation error: CloseDate field value failed validation formula."

Step 7 — Compile safety check

Before emitting, verify mentally:

• Formula evaluates to TRUE when the rule should block (not the inverse)
• No division by zero if arithmetic is used (use IF(divisor = 0, ...))
• PRIORVALUE only used on edits (wrap with NOT(ISNEW))
• ISCHANGED only used on edits (same)
• All referenced fields exist on the stated object
• No cross-object formula deeper than 10 relationship hops
• No circular reference risk (field does not reference itself)
• Picklist values use TEXT wrapper

Step 8 — Emit structured output

Produce the full output block per the Output Format section below.

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Quality Scoring Rubric (100-point)

Score every output before emitting. Threshold: 85+ ship, 70–84 ship with caveat, below 70 reject and revise.

Dimension	Points	What earns full marks
Formula correctness	30	Formula evaluates to TRUE when it should block; correct operators; picklist TEXT wrapper; ISBLANK/ISNULL appropriately placed
Error message clarity	20	≤ 15 words, action-oriented, names the required field or condition, no technical jargon
Profile bypass awareness	15	System Admin bypass present unless explicitly opted out; additional profiles listed; bypass wrapper syntactically correct
Null handling	15	Every field access null-guarded; no runtime errors on blank fields; BLANKVALUE used where arithmetic is involved
Governor limit safety	10	Compiled size < 5,000 chars; no cross-object formula chain deeper than 5 hops; no expensive SOQL-like patterns in formulas
Formula compilation safety	10	PRIORVALUE/ISCHANGED gated by NOT(ISNEW); no division by zero; no circular references; all functions used with correct argument counts

Scoring penalties:

• Formula evaluates to FALSE when it should block (inverted logic): -30
• Missing null guard on a field that can be blank in the target object: -10 per field (max -20)
• Missing System Admin bypass when not explicitly opted out: -10
• Error message exceeds 30 words: -10
• PRIORVALUE used without ISNEW guard: -15

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T0 Contract

This skill is static-review (T0) only:

• No Salesforce org connection required or permitted.
• No CLI commands are executed.
• No metadata is fetched from a live org.
• Output is a text formula and supporting notes only.
• The user must copy the formula into Setup → Object Manager → Validation Rules or deploy it via salesforce-deployment-validator-skill.

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Refusal Triggers

Stop and decline if:

• The request is to review or audit an existing formula (route to salesforce-platform-admin-review-agent).
• The request is to deploy the formula to a live org (route to salesforce-deployment-validator-skill).
• The formula requested would bypass all validation for all profiles permanently (security risk — flag and decline).
• The target object cannot be determined after two clarification attempts.

---

Output Format

verdict: "ship | ship-with-caveat | reject"
quality_score: <0-100>
quality_notes: "<what drove the score>"

validation_rule:
  object_api_name: "<SObjectApiName>"
  rule_name_suggestion: "<DescriptiveRuleName_NoSpaces>"
  active: true
  description: "<one-sentence plain English description>"
  error_condition_formula: |
    <multiline formula text>
  error_message: "<≤15 word actionable message>"
  error_display_field: "<FieldApiName | blank for page-level>"

profile_bypass:
  included: <true|false>
  profiles_bypassed: ["System Administrator"]
  notes: "<any bypass caveats>"

null_handling_notes: "<summary of null guards applied>"

compilation_checklist:
  formula_is_true_when_blocking: <true|false>
  priorvalue_gated_by_isnew: <true|false|not_applicable>
  ischanged_gated_by_isnew: <true|false|not_applicable>
  no_division_by_zero: <true|false>
  all_picklists_use_text_wrapper: <true|false|not_applicable>
  compiled_size_estimate: "<characters>"

deployment_notes: "<instructions for deploying in Setup UI or via Change Set>"

handoff_suggestions:
  - "<any recommended follow-up actions>"

assumptions:
  - "<explicit list of assumptions made>"

---

Redaction Rules

This is a T0 generation skill with no live org connection. Apply:

1. Never emit actual production org IDs, user IDs, or credentials even if the user includes them in their prompt.
2. Sanitize any pasted metadata that includes Org IDs (18-char starting 00D) or User IDs (18-char starting 005) before incorporating into output.
3. Do not include field values that appear to be real customer data (e.g., email addresses, account names, SSNs) in example output.

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Handoff Rules

Situation	Hand off to
User wants to deploy the generated rule	salesforce-deployment-validator-skill
User wants to review existing rules on the object	salesforce-metadata-fetcher-skill → salesforce-platform-admin-review-agent
Formula involves complex record types or permission topology	salesforce-permission-model-review-skill
User needs bulk enable/disable of rules	salesforce-bulk-data-ops-skill

---

Stop Conditions

• Requested formula would unconditionally block all saves on a standard critical object (Account, Contact, Opportunity) without any bypass — stop and require explicit confirmation plus bypass design.
• Formula references fields that do not exist on the stated object — stop, list the missing fields, ask for correct API names.
• Rule logic contradicts itself (e.g., require field X when X is already required by a page layout rule that cannot be changed) — stop and surface the conflict.

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Security Notes

• T0 static generation only: No org connection, no CLI, no MCP calls.
• No credential handling: Skill never requests or emits OAuth tokens, session IDs, or Connected App credentials.
• Profile bypass required by default: Unconditional validation rules without System Admin bypass are a common data-migration blocker and governance risk — always include unless explicitly opted out with documented reason.
• Formula compilation safety: Inverted formula logic (evaluates FALSE when it should block) is the most common validation rule bug. The compilation checklist catches this before emission.

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Reference File Index

File	When to read
references/formula-syntax-quickref.md	Operators, ISBLANK/ISNULL, AND/OR/NOT, TEXT/VALUE/DATEVALUE, BLANKVALUE, PRIORVALUE
references/validation-patterns.md	Required-when patterns, prevent-bypass-by-profile, conditional require by record type, dependent picklist validation
references/error-message-style.md	Concise actionable errors, no jargon, point to fix