Documentation
A guide to seeding and moving Salesforce data with OrgSquirrel.
OrgSquirrel copies records between Salesforce orgs — for example, seeding a freshly refreshed sandbox from production, or migrating reference data between orgs. You pick a starting object and the related objects around it, and OrgSquirrel walks the relationships, moves the records in the right order, rewires every lookup and master-detail relationship to the new IDs in the target, optionally masks sensitive fields, and streams live progress as it goes.
This guide covers everything you do in the app. If you get stuck, email us at support@orgsquirrel.com.
Contents
- Before you start
- 1. Connect your orgs
- 2. Build a seed and run it
- 3. Mask sensitive data
- 4. Save and reuse templates
- 5. Load a CSV with Data Loader
- 6. Review history and errors
- Multi-currency orgs
- Limits and plans
- FAQ
Before you start
OrgSquirrel connects to Salesforce over its standard APIs, so your orgs need API access enabled. That covers the Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer editions out of the box. Professional Edition works only if API access has been added, and Essentials Edition is not supported.
You will connect two orgs: a source (where records are read from) and a target (where they are created). Each can be a sandbox or a production org. You need permission to read the objects in the source and to create records in the target.
1. Connect your orgs
Go to Connections and choose Connect an org. Pick whether it is a Production or Sandbox environment (this decides which Salesforce login URL is used), then complete the standard Salesforce login and approve access. You will be returned to OrgSquirrel with the org connected.
- Connect at least two orgs — one to seed from and one to seed into. The same org can be reused across many seeds.
- OrgSquirrel signs in through Salesforce's OAuth flow, so it never sees your password and you can revoke access from Salesforce at any time.
- If a connection later shows as expired, reconnect it from this page — your existing templates keep working.
2. Build a seed and run it
Seeding is the heart of the app. A seed is defined in a few steps:
Choose your orgs
Select the source and target you connected earlier. When the target is a production org, OrgSquirrel flags it clearly so you don't write to prod by accident.
Pick a starting object and its relatives
Choose the object you want to seed from (for example Account). OrgSquirrel reads your schema and lets you add the related objects around it — children (like Contacts and Opportunities) and the parents they depend on — to form a seed tree.
Filter and cap each object
For the starting object you can add a filter (a SOQL WHERE condition, e.g. Industry = 'Technology') and a record limit so you pull a focused slice instead of the whole org. Related records are gathered automatically based on what the starting records reference.
Choose fields (and remap names if needed)
For each object, pick which fields to copy. If a field is named differently in the target, use field mappingto send a source field into a differently named target field. System-managed fields (Id, created/modified stamps) and read-only formula fields are handled for you and can't be written.
Run the deploy
Start the run and watch live progress. Each object shows Found, Inserted, Failed, and any Errors as it goes. You can cancel mid-run; already-inserted records stay in the target.
Behind the scenes OrgSquirrel inserts parents before children and rewrites every lookup and master-detail relationship so it points at the newly created records in the target — you don't manage any IDs by hand. If a record can't be created because a parent it depends on failed, that row is skipped and the reason is recorded rather than creating an orphan.
3. Mask sensitive data
When you seed a sandbox from production you often want to scramble personal data. For any field, choose a mask that is applied to the value beforeit's written to the target:
| Mask | What it does |
|---|---|
| Null | Clears the value — the field is left blank in the target. |
| Redact | Replaces the value with a fixed placeholder. |
| Swaps in a realistic-looking fake email address. | |
| Name | Swaps in a realistic-looking fake name. |
| Phone | Swaps in a fake phone number. |
| Hash | Replaces the value with a one-way hash — consistent for the same input, but not reversible. |
OrgSquirrel suggests sensible masks automatically based on a field's type and any data-classification tags in your org (for example, email and phone fields, or fields tagged for GDPR/PCI). You can override every suggestion. Fields with no mask are copied as-is.
4. Save and reuse templates
A seed you've configured — objects, fields, filters, mappings, and masks — can be saved with Save as template. Templates live under Templates and let you re-run the same seed after every sandbox refresh without rebuilding it. Open a template to run it again or adjust it.
5. Load a CSV with Data Loader
Data Loader is for pushing a spreadsheet of records straight into one object — no source org involved. Pick a target connection and object, upload a CSV, map the columns to fields, and choose an operation:
| Operation | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Insert | Create new records from each CSV row. |
| Update | Change existing records — the CSV must include an Id column. |
| Upsert | Create or update, matched on an External ID field you select. |
| Delete | Remove records — the CSV needs only an Id column. |
Run the load and OrgSquirrel reports how many rows succeeded and failed, with per-row errors for anything Salesforce rejected. Recent loads are listed on the same page.
6. Review history and errors
Every seed and load is recorded under History. Open a run to see its status, per-object counts (found, inserted, failed), and the full error log — including the exact Salesforce message for any record that didn't make it. This is where you go to confirm a run finished cleanly or to diagnose what to fix and re-run.
Multi-currency orgs
If your orgs use Salesforce's Multiple Currencies feature, OrgSquirrel handles the currency field for you:
- If the target org is single-currency, the currency field is dropped and records take the target's currency.
- If the target is multi-currencyand a record's currency is active there, it's kept as-is.
- If a record uses a currency that isn't active in the target, that row fails with a clear message rather than being silently re-priced. Activate the currency in the target org and re-run.
Limits and plans
Your plan sets how much you can move — for example a cap on records per object per seed and how fast OrgSquirrel calls the Salesforce API (to stay within your org's API limits). If a seed would exceed a cap you'll be told before it runs. See pricing for what each plan includes.
FAQ
Does OrgSquirrel store my Salesforce data?
No. Records pass through only while a deploy runs. We keep audit details — timestamps, counts, and error messages — so you can review a run, but not the record data itself.
Will it overwrite records in my target org?
A seed always creates records in the target. To update or replace existing records, use Data Loader with the Update or Upsert operation.
What happens to lookups and master-detail fields?
They're rewired automatically. OrgSquirrel inserts parents first and updates each child's relationship fields to point at the new records in the target — you never copy IDs by hand.
Can I stop a run that's already going?
Yes. Cancel from the live progress view. Records inserted before you cancelled remain in the target; nothing is rolled back.
A lot of records failed — where do I look?
Open the run in History and read the error log. Each failed row shows the Salesforce error (for example a validation rule, a required field, or an inactive currency) so you can fix the cause and re-run.
Which Salesforce editions are supported?
Any edition with API access: Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer. Professional needs the API add-on; Essentials isn't supported.
Still stuck? Email support@orgsquirrel.comand we'll help.