Salesforce Spring '26 Release

1 Release Timeline

The Spring '26 release helps companies accelerate their journey to becoming an Agentic Enterprise by combining human expertise and AI agents. Here are the key dates from the official Salesforce Admin blog:

2 Agentforce & Einstein

Supercharge your workforce efficiency with predictive and generative AI. Spring '26 brings major enhancements to the Agentforce platform.

Agentforce Builder Enhancements

Agent Configuration

• Connect Agents to Knowledge Sources: Build agents grounded in your unique business data with the predictability your business demands. Use the Answer Questions with Knowledge action via an Agentforce Data Library in the new Agentforce Builder. Agents can access knowledge you've added to their assigned data library, ensuring they provide the most accurate and up-to-date responses to users.
• Migrate Connected Apps to External Client App Framework: With Spring '26, you can no longer create connected apps. For the best customer experience, migrate your connected apps to external client apps, which provide enhanced security, streamlined packaging, and a more robust framework. Existing connected apps and connected apps for Slack in the legacy Agentforce Builder aren't impacted.
• Agentforce Agents Settings Have Moved: The Enable the Agentforce (Default) Agent and Select the Model for Agentforce settings have moved to the Einstein Audit, Analytics, and Monitoring Setup page. These settings were previously on the Agentforce Agents page in Setup. The Migrate to an Agentforce Employee Agent section has been replaced with a Migrate to an Employee Agent action in the action dropdown.
• New and Changed Standard Agent Topics and Actions: New standard topics and actions for Agentforce help you build more powerful agents faster. Review the complete list of new topics and actions available with this release to determine which capabilities you can leverage out-of-the-box rather than building custom solutions.

Einstein Development

Supported Models Updates

• Prepare for Claude 3.7 Sonnet Reroute Date: Starting February 7, 2026, all features using the Claude 3.5 Sonnet v1 model are automatically rerouted to Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Review your implementations that use generative AI features to prepare for this change and test your agents with the new model to ensure continued performance.
• Prepare for Claude 3 Haiku Reroute Date: Features using Claude 3 Haiku will be rerouted to a newer model on a scheduled date. Plan ahead to test your agents and ensure they continue to perform as expected after the reroute occurs. Monitor Salesforce announcements for the specific date.

3 Flow Builder

Compose intelligent workflows with Flow Builder and Flow Orchestration. Integrate across any system with Flow Integration.

AI-Powered Flow Building

Builder Experience Improvements

• Simplify Your Flow Builder Layout by Collapsing Branching Elements: Reduce visual clutter in complex flows by collapsing Decision and Loop elements on the canvas. This enhancement makes it easier to navigate and understand large flows by hiding nested branches until you need to see them, helping admins work more efficiently with complex automation.
• Navigate Flow Builder Faster with Enhanced Scrolling: Use enhanced mouse scrolling to pan around the Flow Builder canvas more quickly and intuitively. This improvement is especially helpful for large flows with many elements, allowing you to navigate to different sections without using the minimap or zoom controls.
• Decision Logic Labels Were Updated for Clarity: The labels for decision outcome logic in Flow Builder have been updated to use clearer, more descriptive terminology. These changes help flow builders better understand what conditions are being evaluated without ambiguity.
• View Subflow Input and Output Variable Descriptions More Easily: When configuring subflow elements, you can now more easily view the descriptions of input and output variables defined in the referenced flow. This improvement helps builders understand what data to pass into subflows and what to expect back without leaving the current flow.
• View Action Input Descriptions More Easily: Action input descriptions are now more prominently displayed when configuring actions in Flow Builder. This enhancement helps you understand what each input field expects, reducing configuration errors and improving flow quality.
• Set Up the Agentforce Panel Without Admin Configuration: Flow builders can now set up the Agentforce panel to use AI assistance directly in Flow Builder without requiring admin pre-configuration. This self-service capability lets builders leverage Agentforce AI features to help create and troubleshoot flows more quickly.

Flow Orchestration

• Create Orchestrations from the Automation Lightning App: Start building orchestrations directly from the Automation Lightning App without navigating to Setup. This new entry point streamlines the orchestration creation process and puts the capability where automation builders work most often.
• Complete Orchestration Work Items in Flow Builder While Debugging: Debug orchestration work items directly in Flow Builder to test end-to-end processes without leaving the builder. You can now simulate work item completion during debugging sessions to verify orchestration behavior throughout the entire workflow.
• Debug Specific Segments of Flow Orchestrations: Set custom start and end points when debugging orchestrations to focus testing on specific segments. This targeted debugging capability saves time when troubleshooting issues in long or complex orchestration flows.

Flow Marketing Cloud Integration

• Automate Marketing Cloud Engagement Emails from Flow Builder: Send Marketing Cloud Engagement emails directly from Salesforce flows without leaving Flow Builder. This integration enables you to trigger marketing emails as part of your automated business processes, connecting CRM actions with marketing communications seamlessly.
• Ensure Recipients Don't Get Duplicate Messages: Improved contact point selection logic prevents recipients from receiving duplicate messages when the same person exists multiple times in your flow audience. This enhancement ensures cleaner communications and better subscriber experience.
• Send Email Messages Using Activation Data: Pass activation data from your flow directly into Marketing Cloud email messages for personalization. This capability enables dynamic content in your emails based on the data that triggered the flow or was processed during flow execution.
• Run Segment-Triggered Flows at The Right Time with More Scheduling Options: Configure when segment-triggered flows execute with expanded scheduling options. Control timing more precisely to reach recipients at optimal moments and align automated campaigns with your marketing calendar.

4 Screen Flows

Screen flows get major enhancements for data management, visualization, and user experience.

Data Table Enhancements

Kanban Boards

Styling and UX

• Tailor Screen Flows to Your Audience with Component-Level Styling Overrides: Apply custom CSS styling to individual screen flow components to match your brand or specific use case requirements. Override default styles at the component level for precise control over appearance, enabling unique visual experiences for different audiences within the same flow.
• Add Visually Distinct and Accessible Messages to Screen Flows: Use the new message component to display information, warnings, success, or error messages with consistent styling and full accessibility support. These pre-styled messages help guide users through flows with clear, visually distinct feedback at each step.
• Preview Files Natively in Screen Flows: Display file previews directly within screen flows so users can view documents, images, and other attachments without navigating away. This native preview capability improves user experience and keeps users focused on completing the flow.
• Find and Select Flow Resources More Easily in Screen Flows: The enhanced resource picker makes it faster to find and select variables, formulas, and other resources when configuring screen components. Improved search and filtering capabilities reduce the time spent locating resources in flows with many elements.

Navigation

# Basic Flow URL
/lightning/flow/My_Onboarding_Flow

# Run Specific Flow Version
/lightning/flow/My_Onboarding_Flow/301xx000000001ABC

# Pass Single Variable
/lightning/flow/Case_Handler?flow__CaseId={!Case.Id}

# Pass Multiple Variables
/lightning/flow/User_Setup?flow__FirstName={!$User.FirstName}&flow__LastName={!$User.LastName}

# Control Finish Behavior (redirect after completion)
/lightning/flow/My_Flow?retURL=/lightning/o/Account/list

# Full URL Example for Email Links
https://yourorg.lightning.force.com/lightning/flow/Support_Case_Flow?flow__CaseNumber={!Case.CaseNumber}

5 Lightning Web Components & Development

Whether you're using Lightning components, Visualforce, Apex, or Salesforce APIs with your favorite programming language, these enhancements help you develop amazing applications.

LWC API Version 66.0

<!-- Before: Required getter in JS -->
<template if:true={isHighPriority}>
    <span class="priority-badge">{priorityLabel}</span>
</template>

<!-- After: Direct expressions in template (Beta) -->
<template lwc:if={priority > 5}>
    <span class="priority-badge">{priority > 8 ? 'Critical' : 'High'}</span>
</template>

<!-- More expression examples -->
<p>Total: {quantity * price}</p>
<p class={isActive && hasPermission ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}>Status</p>
<span>{firstName + ' ' + lastName}</span>

MCP Tools for LWC Development

To get started with MCP tools, you have two options:

• Recommended: Use the Agentforce for Developers Extension in VS Code, which comes pre-configured with the Salesforce DX MCP Server
• Alternative: Install the Salesforce DX MCP Server separately for use with other AI clients like Cursor, Claude Code, or VS Code with Copilot

Configure MCP Server for Your AI Client

Add the following configuration to your MCP client's settings file. Replace DEFAULT_TARGET_ORG with your authorized org alias:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Salesforce DX": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "@salesforce/mcp",
        "--orgs", "DEFAULT_TARGET_ORG",
        "--toolsets", "lwc-experts,aura-experts,metadata,data",
        "--allow-non-ga-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "Salesforce DX": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "@salesforce/mcp",
        "--orgs", "DEFAULT_TARGET_ORG",
        "--toolsets", "lwc-experts,aura-experts,metadata,data",
        "--allow-non-ga-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Toolsets

Learn more in the official MCP Tools documentation and the Salesforce DX MCP GitHub repository.

Lightning Component Updates

• Update Your Custom Components for Use in Setup with Agentforce (Beta): Add AI-readable descriptions to your custom LWC and Aura components so Agentforce can understand and use them in Setup. This integration enables AI-assisted configuration using your custom components, expanding the capabilities of Setup with Agentforce.
• Check For Errors From the Disconnected DOM Node Rehydration Fix: A fix for disconnected DOM node rehydration may surface previously hidden issues in your components. Review your error logs for new rehydration-related errors and update affected components to ensure proper DOM node handling.
• Manage Page Errors with Error Console: The new Error Console provides a centralized view of errors occurring on Lightning pages. Developers and admins can quickly identify, diagnose, and resolve component errors without digging through browser developer tools or server logs.

• Do More with Lightning Out 2.0 Improvements: Lightning Out 2.0 receives enhancements for embedding Lightning components in external applications. These improvements offer better performance, expanded functionality, and improved compatibility with modern web frameworks and hosting environments.
• LWS Trusted Mode Enablement Is Discontinued: Salesforce is no longer enabling Lightning Web Security (LWS) trusted mode for orgs. If your org relies on trusted mode behavior, review your components and update them to work correctly under standard LWS security policies.
• API Distortion Changes in Lightning Web Security: LWS distortion rules have been updated, which may affect how your components access certain browser and DOM APIs. Review the specific changes to ensure your components continue to function correctly under the new distortion rules.

Lightning Design System

• Salesforce Lightning Design System Component Blueprints Updates: SLDS component blueprints have been updated with new patterns, accessibility improvements, and design refinements. Review the updated blueprints to ensure your custom components align with the latest Salesforce design standards and best practices.
• Use Dark Mode in More Editions (Beta): Dark mode support expands to additional Salesforce editions in this beta release. Users can switch to dark mode for a more comfortable viewing experience in low-light environments. Test your custom components to ensure they display correctly in both light and dark themes.

6 Apex & API

Apex Enhancements

// Create a cursor for large dataset processing
Database.Cursor cursor = Database.getCursor(
    'SELECT Id, Name, Email FROM Contact WHERE CreatedDate = THIS_YEAR'
);

// Process records in batches using the cursor
while (cursor.hasNext()) {
    List<Contact> contacts = cursor.fetch(200); // Fetch 200 at a time

    for (Contact c : contacts) {
        // Process each contact
        System.debug('Processing: ' + c.Name);
    }
}

// Get cursor position for resumability
String cursorId = cursor.getCursorId();
Integer position = cursor.getPosition();

// Resume from saved position in another transaction
Database.Cursor resumedCursor = Database.getCursor(cursorId);
resumedCursor.setPosition(position);

// Expose existing AuraEnabled method as Agent Action
public class OrderService {

    @AuraEnabled(cacheable=false)
    @InvocableMethod(label='Get Order Status'
                     description='Retrieves the current status of an order')
    public static List<OrderStatus> getOrderStatus(List<String> orderIds) {
        List<OrderStatus> results = new List<OrderStatus>();

        for (Order__c order : [SELECT Id, Status__c, ShipDate__c
                                FROM Order__c
                                WHERE Id IN :orderIds]) {
            results.add(new OrderStatus(order));
        }
        return results;
    }

    public class OrderStatus {
        @InvocableVariable public String status;
        @InvocableVariable public Date estimatedDelivery;

        public OrderStatus(Order__c order) {
            this.status = order.Status__c;
            this.estimatedDelivery = order.ShipDate__c;
        }
    }
}

// Get picklist values for a specific Record Type
public class PicklistHelper {

    @AuraEnabled(cacheable=true)
    public static List<PicklistOption> getPicklistValues(
        String objectName,
        String fieldName,
        String recordTypeId
    ) {
        List<PicklistOption> options = new List<PicklistOption>();

        // Get the describe result for the object
        Schema.DescribeSObjectResult objDescribe =
            Schema.getGlobalDescribe().get(objectName).getDescribe();

        // Get Record Type info
        Schema.RecordTypeInfo rtInfo =
            objDescribe.getRecordTypeInfosById().get(recordTypeId);

        // Get picklist values for this Record Type
        Schema.DescribeFieldResult fieldDescribe =
            objDescribe.fields.getMap().get(fieldName).getDescribe();

        for (Schema.PicklistEntry entry :
             fieldDescribe.getPicklistValues(rtInfo)) {
            if (entry.isActive()) {
                options.add(new PicklistOption(entry.getLabel(), entry.getValue()));
            }
        }
        return options;
    }

    public class PicklistOption {
        @AuraEnabled public String label;
        @AuraEnabled public String value;

        public PicklistOption(String label, String value) {
            this.label = label;
            this.value = value;
        }
    }
}

// Generate PDF from HTML content using Blob.toPdf()
public class PdfGenerator {

    public static void generateInvoicePdf(Id accountId) {
        Account acc = [SELECT Id, Name, BillingStreet, BillingCity
                       FROM Account WHERE Id = :accountId];

        // Build HTML content for PDF
        String htmlContent = '<html><head>' +
            '<style>body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; } ' +
            '.header { background: #032D60; color: white; padding: 20px; } ' +
            '.content { padding: 20px; }</style></head>' +
            '<body><div class="header"><h1>Invoice</h1></div>' +
            '<div class="content"><h2>' + acc.Name + '</h2>' +
            '<p>' + acc.BillingStreet + ', ' + acc.BillingCity + '</p>' +
            '</div></body></html>';

        // Convert HTML to PDF using Visualforce rendering service
        Blob pdfBlob = Blob.toPdf(htmlContent);

        // Save as ContentVersion (File)
        ContentVersion cv = new ContentVersion();
        cv.Title = 'Invoice_' + acc.Name + '.pdf';
        cv.PathOnClient = cv.Title;
        cv.VersionData = pdfBlob;
        cv.FirstPublishLocationId = accountId;
        insert cv;
    }
}

Additional Apex Features

• Review Apex Code for Changed Sharing Recalculation Behavior: Sharing recalculation behavior has changed in specific scenarios. Review your Apex code that depends on sharing rules to ensure correct behavior, especially code that runs with inherited sharing context or modifies record ownership.
• Filter Test Discovery API Results by Test Category: The Test Discovery API now supports filtering by test category, making it easier to organize and run specific test suites. Use categories to group related tests and improve your deployment and testing workflows.
• Specify the Number of Async Jobs to Delete: A new overloaded method lets you specify exactly how many old async jobs to purge when cleaning up. This granular control helps manage storage and maintain system performance while preserving job history as needed.

API Updates

// Define Named Query in Setup (no code required!)
// Query Name: GetActiveOpportunities
// SOQL: SELECT Id, Name, Amount, CloseDate
//       FROM Opportunity
//       WHERE StageName != 'Closed Lost'
//       AND OwnerId = :userId

// Call via REST API
fetch('/services/data/v66.0/query/GetActiveOpportunities', {
    method: 'GET',
    headers: {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + accessToken,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    // Pass parameters as URL params
    params: {
        userId: '005xx000001234ABC'
    }
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
    console.log('Opportunities:', data.records);
    // Returns: [{ Id, Name, Amount, CloseDate }, ...]
});

API Changes and Retirements

7 Security, Identity, and Privacy

Redirections end for legacy host names, including instanced host names in API calls. Connected app creation is disabled by default for all Salesforce orgs.

Backup & Recover

Identity and Access Management

<!-- externalClientApps/MyIntegration.eca-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ExternalClientApp xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <label>My Integration App</label>
    <contactEmail>admin@company.com</contactEmail>
    <description>Integration for external system</description>

    <!-- OAuth Configuration -->
    <oauthConfig>
        <callbackUrl>https://myapp.com/oauth/callback</callbackUrl>
        <scopes>api</scopes>
        <scopes>refresh_token</scopes>
        <isSecretRequired>true</isSecretRequired>
        <certificate>MyCertificate</certificate>
    </oauthConfig>

    <!-- IP Restrictions -->
    <ipRanges>
        <start>192.168.1.0</start>
        <end>192.168.1.255</end>
    </ipRanges>
</ExternalClientApp>

Domain Updates

• Update References to Legacy Host Names (Release Update): Redirections from legacy host names are ending. Update all bookmarks, integrations, and hardcoded references to use your My Domain URL. Failure to update will result in connection failures after the enforcement date.
• Replace Instanced URLs in API Traffic: API calls using instanced URLs (like na1.salesforce.com) must be updated to use My Domain URLs. Audit your integrations, middleware, and custom code to identify and replace all instanced URL references.
• Switch to a Stable Target Host Name for Your Custom Domain: Use the new stable target host name for your custom domain CNAME records. This change improves reliability by decoupling your domain from instance-specific infrastructure and simplifies future migrations.
• A Warning Was Added for Potential Custom Domain Disruption: New warnings alert admins when domain configuration changes could disrupt access. Pay attention to these warnings when modifying domain settings to avoid unintended service interruptions.

Security Health Check

• New Configurable Settings Added to Health Check: Additional security settings have been added to the Health Check tool, giving you more comprehensive visibility into your org's security posture. Review the new settings and remediate any identified risks to maintain a strong security baseline.
• Stay Secure with Proactive Health Check Notifications: Receive proactive notifications when your Security Health Check score drops or new risks are detected. These automated alerts help you stay ahead of security issues and maintain compliance without constantly monitoring the dashboard.

Additional Security Updates

• Track Attempts to Use Uninstalled Connected Apps: Monitor and track when users or integrations attempt to use connected apps that have been uninstalled from your org. This visibility helps identify potential security risks and unauthorized access attempts.
• New and Updated Security Alerts for OAuth Flows: Enhanced security alerts for OAuth flows help you monitor and respond to suspicious authentication activity. Review these alerts to quickly identify potential credential compromise or unauthorized access attempts.
• Device Activation Is Required for Single Sign-On: Users must now activate their devices when logging in via SSO from unrecognized devices. This additional verification step strengthens security by ensuring only authorized devices can access your org.
• API-Only Users Are Blocked from Bridging into UI Sessions: API-only users can no longer use frontdoor.jsp or similar mechanisms to bridge into UI sessions. This change closes a potential security gap and enforces proper separation between API and UI access.
• Migrate SAML-Enabled Connected Apps to External Client Apps: A clear migration path is now available for SAML-enabled connected apps to the External Client App framework. Follow the migration guide to transition your SAML apps and take advantage of enhanced security features.
• New LinkedIn Authentication Providers Use LinkedIn API v2: Newly created LinkedIn authentication providers automatically use LinkedIn API v2. Existing providers continue to work, but consider updating to v2 for improved functionality and continued LinkedIn support.
• Triple DES for SAML Single Sign-On Stops Working in Summer '26: In Summer '26, SAML SSO configurations using the Triple Data Encryption Standard (Triple DES) algorithm will stop working completely. This affects all SSO configurations whether Salesforce is used as an identity provider or service provider. Triple DES uses a cryptographic key that's too short to be secure. Before Summer '26, update your configurations to use AES 128 or AES 256 algorithms which offer stronger security with longer encryption keys.

8 Frequently Asked Questions

Official Resources

This guide was compiled from the official 826-page Salesforce Spring '26 Release Notes PDF. For complete details, visit:

• Salesforce Spring '26 Release Notes - Complete official release notes
• Admin Release Countdown - Key dates and preparation tips
• Release in a Box - Enablement kit for teams
• Be Release Ready - Consolidated release resources

Related Reading

Continue your Salesforce learning journey with these related guides:

• Salesforce Security Ultimate Guide - Comprehensive guide to securing your Salesforce org with profiles, permission sets, sharing rules, and more.
• 7 Ways to Secure Experience Cloud - Best practices for securing your Salesforce Experience Cloud sites and portals.
• Apex Design Patterns - Learn essential design patterns for writing maintainable and scalable Apex code.
• Solution vs Technical Architect - Understand the key differences between these two Salesforce architect roles.