UserCriteria Metadata Type in SFDX

Architectural Overview#

The UserCriteria metadata type defines declarative user filtering logic utilized across Salesforce Experience Cloud for content moderation, community protection, and dynamic audience personalization. High-traffic public portals and partner communities face significant threats from spam bots, malicious links, and unauthorized data disclosure.

Rather than authoring complex Apex triggers to inspect every community comment or feed item, architects deploy UserCriteria rules that classify members based on user profile, member type (Internal, Customer, Partner, Guest), and membership age in seconds. These criteria are attached directly to community moderation rules to automatically flag, hold for review, or block suspicious content before it becomes visible to other users.

Directory and File Conventions#

In Salesforce DX projects, UserCriteria files are saved within the userCriteria/ directory.

Key Metadata Fields#

The UserCriteria XML definition contains the following parameters:

Declarative XML and Package Manifest Examples#

Below is a declarative XML definition designed to flag posts from external users whose accounts were created within the past 48 hours:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<UserCriteria xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <creationAgeInSeconds>172800</creationAgeInSeconds>
    <description>Identifies customer and partner community members registered within the past 48 hours.</description>
    <masterLabel>New External Members</masterLabel>
    <userTypes>Customer</userTypes>
    <userTypes>Partner</userTypes>
</UserCriteria>

Manifest Definition (package.xml)#

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

CLI Retrieval and Deployment Commands#

Retrieve and deploy UserCriteria using standard Salesforce CLI commands:

# Retrieve all user criteria definitions
sf project retrieve start --metadata UserCriteria

# Retrieve a specific user criteria rule
sf project retrieve start --metadata UserCriteria:New_External_Members

# Deploy to a target community sandbox
sf project deploy start --metadata UserCriteria:New_External_Members --target-org experience-dev

Architect Best Practices and Gotchas#

• Bot and Spam Mitigation: Combine creationAgeInSeconds filters with keyword-based Content Rules to intercept spam campaigns initiated by automated bot registrations.
• Dependency on Experience Workspaces: UserCriteria cannot be created or deployed unless Digital Experiences (Communities) is enabled in the target org settings.
• Granular Profiling: Avoid attaching internal employee profiles to aggressive moderation criteria, as this can trigger unintended moderation holds on support agents participating in customer forums.

Frequently asked questions

What does UserCriteria configure in Salesforce Experience Cloud?

It establishes conditional logic based on user types, profiles, permission sets, and account creation age to identify specific groups of community members.

How do moderation rules leverage UserCriteria?

Moderation rules evaluate incoming posts against UserCriteria to flag or freeze suspicious content authored by newly created or unverified community accounts.

How do you retrieve UserCriteria using the Salesforce CLI?

Execute sf project retrieve start with the metadata flag set to UserCriteria to pull all criteria definitions into the userCriteria directory.

Can UserCriteria reference custom user types or guest users?

Yes, UserCriteria can target Guest users, Customer Community users, Partner Community members, or internal Standard profiles.