ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 Metadata Type in SFDX

Architectural Overview#

The ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 metadata type configures the Amazon S3 Egress Connector for an ActivationPlatform in Salesforce Data Cloud. Many external demand-side platforms (DSPs), direct-mail fulfillment houses, and enterprise data lakes ingest audience segments via scheduled batch drops (JSON, CSV, or Parquet) into a dedicated Amazon S3 bucket and folder prefix.

In Data Cloud architecture, ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 encapsulates the S3 endpoint contract—bucket location, export folder path, and connector metadata—so it can be packaged alongside ActivationPlatform in SFDX repositories or AppExchange Data Kits.

Directory and File Conventions#

In SFDX source format (apiVersion 68.0), ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 files reside in the actvPfrmDataConnectorS3s directory.

Key Metadata Fields#

The ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 XML schema includes the following core properties:

Declarative XML and Package Manifest Examples#

Below is an ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 metadata file defining the S3 egress folder structure for Enterprise_DSP_Platform:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <bucketName>enterprise-dsp-audience-ingress</bucketName>
    <exportFolderName>datacloud/segments</exportFolderName>
    <masterLabel>Enterprise DSP S3 Connector</masterLabel>
</ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3>

Package Manifest (package.xml)#

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <types>
        <members>Enterprise_DSP_S3_Connector</members>
        <name>ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3</name>
    </types>
    <types>
        <members>Enterprise_DSP_Platform</members>
        <name>ActivationPlatform</name>
    </types>
    <version>68.0</version>
</Package>

SOQL Queries and CLI Automation#

Inspect ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 records via SOQL or deploy them using Salesforce CLI:

SELECT Id, DeveloperName, MasterLabel, BucketName, ExportFolderName
FROM ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3
ORDER BY DeveloperName ASC

# Retrieve all ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 definitions
sf project retrieve start --metadata "ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3:*"

# Deploy a specific S3 connector configuration
sf project deploy start --metadata ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3:Enterprise_DSP_S3_Connector

Architect Best Practices and Gotchas#

• Least-Privilege S3 Bucket Policies: Configure the target AWS S3 bucket policy and IAM role with least-privilege permissions (s3:PutObject, s3:ListBucket, s3:GetBucketLocation) scoped strictly to the <exportFolderName> prefix, and enforce server-side encryption (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS).
• Environment Isolation: Ensure sandbox Data Cloud orgs point to a non-production bucketName (such as enterprise-dsp-audience-ingress-uat) so UAT segment runs do not trigger live ad-spend campaigns in your production DSP.

Frequently asked questions

What is ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 used for in Salesforce Data Cloud?

It configures the Amazon S3 storage connector details—such as bucket name, directory path, and parent ActivationPlatform link—for file-based Data Cloud segment activations.

How does ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 connect to ActivationPlatform?

The ActivationPlatform metadata component references the ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 developer name in its dataConnector field when connectorType is set to AmazonS3.

Where are ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 files stored in SFDX source format?

They are stored in force-app/main/default/actvPfrmDataConnectorS3s with the .actvPfrmDataConnectorS3-meta.xml file extension.

Are secret AWS keys stored in plain text inside ActvPfrmDataConnectorS3 XML?

No. Sensitive secret keys are encrypted or managed securely at the Activation Target / Named Credential layer and are never exported in plain text in source control.