Destructive Changes
Salesforce deployments that remove metadata, tracked separately from additive changes so deletions stay deliberate.
Definition
Destructive changes are Salesforce deployments that remove metadata, fields, objects, Apex classes, and similar, using a destructiveChanges.xml manifest deployed alongside, or instead of, a regular package.xml. Deletions can't happen through a normal metadata deployment; Salesforce requires this separate manifest specifically so removals are explicit and reviewable rather than an accidental side effect of a regular deployment. Destructive deployments run in two modes, pre- (delete before deploying new metadata) or post- (delete after), and getting the order wrong can break dependent components mid-deployment. Because deletions aren't easily reversible, most teams treat destructive changes as higher-risk than additive ones, and some fields or records with data still attached will block deletion until the data is handled. Our Salesforce DevOps guide covers safe release practices including handling removals.
How it works in Serpent
Serpent tracks removals the same way it tracks any other change, so a task that deletes a field or class produces a proper destructive changes manifest automatically, with pre- or post-deploy ordering resolved for you. Preflight checks flag when a deletion has dependent components or data that could block it before the deployment runs in production, not after. And because every release has one-click rollback, a destructive change that turns out to be wrong can be undone without a manual recovery effort. See release management in Serpent for how rollback and destructive changes work together.
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