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dx-org-trial-expiration-check

forcedotcom/sf-skills

Check Salesforce org trial expiration dates and days remaining across one or all authenticated orgs.

What is dx-org-trial-expiration-check?

Determines when Salesforce trial, Developer Edition, and scratch orgs expire, how many days remain, and whether they have already expired. Use this when checking trial status, filtering orgs expiring soon, setting up expiration alerts, backing up at-risk orgs, or learning how to renew an expiring trial.

  • Query trial/Developer Edition expiration dates via SOQL or scratch org metadata
  • Prioritize output by urgency (expired first, then expiring soon, then active)
  • Filter orgs expiring within a specified number of days
  • Emit machine-readable JSON or CSV output for alerting and cron jobs
  • Print backup commands for at-risk orgs before they lapse
  • Provide renewal and reactivation guidance for expiring trials

How to install dx-org-trial-expiration-check

npx skills add https://github.com/forcedotcom/sf-skills --skill dx-org-trial-expiration-check
Prerequisites
  • Salesforce CLI (sf) version 2.0.0 or later
  • jq version 1.6.0 or later for JSON processing
  • One or more authenticated Salesforce orgs via sf org login
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How to use dx-org-trial-expiration-check

  1. 1.Run the helper script with an org alias or username to check a single org: bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" <alias>
  2. 2.Run without arguments to check your default org: bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh"
  3. 3.Run with --all to check every authenticated org: bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all
  4. 4.Add --within N to filter only orgs expiring within N days: bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all --within 30
  5. 5.Use --json or --csv flags to get machine-readable output for automation and alerting
  6. 6.Use --preserve to print backup commands for expiring orgs before they lapse
  7. 7.Use --fail-if-expiring to exit with code 3 if any org expires soon, suitable for cron job gates

Use cases

Good for
  • Check when your default trial org expires and how many days remain
  • List all authenticated orgs sorted by expiration urgency to identify at-risk accounts
  • Set up a cron job that alerts you if any org expires within 7 days using --fail-if-expiring
  • Export expiring org data as JSON for a dashboard or spreadsheet
  • Generate backup commands for a trial org before it expires to preserve metadata and data
Who it's for
  • Salesforce developers managing multiple trial or Developer Edition orgs
  • DevOps engineers setting up expiration monitoring and alerting
  • Teams needing to back up trial orgs before they become inaccessible
  • Developers new to Salesforce who need to understand trial lifecycle

dx-org-trial-expiration-check FAQ

What is the difference between trial expiration and sandbox refresh?

Trial expiration (TrialExpirationDate) is when a trial or Developer Edition org becomes inaccessible. Sandbox refresh is a separate maintenance window for sandbox orgs and is not an expiration date. This skill only handles trial expiration.

Does this skill modify or delete my orgs?

No. This skill only reads expiration dates and prints guidance. It never creates, deletes, refreshes, or switches the active org.

Can I use this for non-Salesforce trials like AWS or Netflix?

No. This skill is Salesforce-specific and reads expiration from Salesforce orgs only. For other vendors' trials, check their respective dashboards or CLIs.

How do I set up automated alerts for expiring orgs?

Use --json or --csv with --all and --within N to get machine-readable output, then pipe it to your alerting system. Or use --fail-if-expiring in a cron job to trigger alerts when orgs expire within a threshold.

What happens if an org has already expired?

The skill reports it as EXPIRED with the number of days since expiration. You lose access to the org's data and metadata, but --preserve can print backup commands to recover your work before expiration occurs.

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from forcedotcom/sf-skills.


name: dx-org-trial-expiration-check description: "Check when Salesforce orgs expire (or already expired) and what to do about it, for one org, the default org, or across all authenticated orgs, using the Salesforce CLI (sf). Use when the user asks about org or trial expiration, "when does my trial expire", "is my trial org still active", "how many days are left", "which orgs are expiring soon", wants to filter orgs expiring within N days, needs machine-readable (JSON/CSV) output for cron or alerting, wants to back up an at-risk org before it lapses, or asks how to extend or renew an expiring trial or Developer Edition org. Covers trial editions, Developer Edition orgs (anything with a TrialExpirationDate), and scratch orgs (via sf org list). DO NOT TRIGGER for sandbox refresh timing, for creating, deleting, or switching the active org, or for non-Salesforce trials such as AWS, Netflix, or other vendors — this skill reads expiration and prints guidance, it does not modify orgs." allowed-tools: Read, Bash(bash), Bash(sf data query), Bash(sf org list), Bash(sf config get), Bash(jq), Bash(date) metadata: relatedSkills: - "dx-org-switch" version: "2.0" domains: ["Developer Experience"] cliTools: - tool: ["jq"] semver: ">=1.6.0" - tool: ["sf"] semver: ">=2.0.0"

Org Expiration Check

Determine when a Salesforce org expires, how many days remain, and whether it has already expired — for one org, the default org, or every authenticated org. Results are prioritized (already-expired and soonest-expiring first) with a one-line summary. The skill can also emit machine-readable output for alerting, print backup commands for an at-risk org, and explain how to renew an expiring trial or Developer Edition org.

When to use

Trigger on requests like:

  • "When does my trial org expire?" / "Is it still active or has it expired?"
  • "How many days are left on my trial?"
  • "Which of my orgs are expiring soon?" / "expiring within 30 days?"
  • "Alert me / set up a cron job for expiring orgs" (use --json + --fail-if-expiring).
  • "Back up my org before it expires" (use --preserve).
  • "How do I extend / renew my trial (or Developer Edition) org?" (use --renew).

This skill covers trial editions, Developer Edition orgs (anything with a TrialExpirationDate), and scratch orgs (via the expirationDate from sf org list).

When NOT to use

Do not trigger this skill for:

  • Sandbox refresh timing — that is not an expiration date.
  • Creating, deleting, or switching orgs — this skill only reads expiration and prints guidance; it never creates, deletes, refreshes, or changes the active/default org. (To switch the default org, use dx-org-switch.)
  • Non-Salesforce trials — e.g. AWS free tier, Netflix, or any other vendor's trial. This skill is Salesforce-only.

How expiration is determined

  • Trial / Developer Edition orgs: the authoritative source is the org's Organization.TrialExpirationDate field, read via SOQL (sf data query). This field is null for paid/production orgs, which therefore report no trial expiration — that is expected, not an error.
  • Scratch orgs: the expirationDate reported by sf org list (no SOQL query is issued for scratch orgs).

Steps

  1. CRITICAL: Run the bundled helper script, which handles date math (days remaining, expired, expiring-soon warnings), prioritized sorting, and structured output, and works on macOS and Linux. Always invoke it by absolute path from the skill directory — never ./scripts/, which resolves against the user's current directory and will either run the wrong script or fail.

    Before executing, verify:

    • <skill_dir> is an absolute path (starts with /), not a relative path
    • The path points at this skill's own directory (the one containing this SKILL.md)
    bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" <alias-or-username>   # one org
    bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh"                       # default org (target-org config)
    bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all                 # every authenticated org
    bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all --within 30     # only orgs expiring within 30 days
    

    <skill_dir> is the absolute path to the directory containing this SKILL.md.

  2. Relay the script output to the user. When an org could not be queried, surface the sf org login web command the script prints so the user can authenticate. Pick optional flags based on what the user asked for (see below): --preserve when they want to save their work, --renew when they ask how to extend, --json/--csv for automation, --fail-if-expiring for a cron/CI gate.

Options

FlagPurpose
--all, -aCheck every authenticated org.
--within <days>, -wShow only orgs expiring within N days (includes already-expired; omits paid/production). --within=30 also works.
--jsonEmit a JSON array of org records (data only).
--csvEmit CSV rows (data only).
--preservePrint backup commands for expiring/expired orgs.
--renewPrint trial/DE extension & reactivation guidance.
--fail-if-expiring[=N]Exit 3 if any org expires within N days (default 7).
--no-scratchExclude scratch orgs (trial/DE only).
--help, -hShow usage.

Flag order is flexible and flags combine (e.g. --all --within 30 --json).

Prioritized output

Human output is grouped by urgency — Expired first, then Expiring soon (within 7 days, flagged Warning), then Active, then No trial expiration, then any orgs that could not be queried — and ends with a one-line summary:

Org expiration status for all authenticated orgs:

Expired:
  old-trial                       trial/DE edition expired 2026-06-20  (EXPIRED 19 day(s) ago)

Expiring soon (within 7 day(s)):
  almost-up                       trial/DE edition expires 2026-07-14  (expires in 5 day(s)  Warning)

Active (not expiring soon):
  acme-trial                      trial/DE edition expires 2026-08-15  (expires in 37 day(s))
  my-scratch                      scratch org expires 2026-07-25  (expires in 16 day(s))

No trial expiration (paid/production):
  prod                            no trial expiration (paid/production org)

Summary: 1 expired, 1 expiring within 7 day(s), 2 active, 1 with no expiration.

Structured output for alerting and cron (--json / --csv)

For dashboards, spreadsheets, or scheduled jobs, use --json or --csv to get machine-readable records (no prose). Each record has org, kind, expirationDate, daysRemaining (negative = expired, null = no expiration), status, and orgId. This is deterministic and needs no LLM in the loop.

# JSON, filtered to orgs expiring within 30 days:
bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all --within 30 --json

Cron watchdog — --fail-if-expiring[=N] exits 3 (and prints an ALERT: line to stderr) if any org expires within N days (default 7), so a scheduled job can page you before an org lapses:

# crontab: every morning at 9, alert if anything expires within 7 days
0 9 * * *  bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" --all --fail-if-expiring 7 \
             || mail -s "Salesforce org expiring soon" me@example.com

Preserve your work before an org lapses (--preserve)

When an org expires you lose access to its metadata and data. --preserve prints ready-to-run backup commands (metadata manifest + retrieve, and a bulk data export) for each expiring or already-expired org. It only prints the commands — review and run them yourself:

bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/check_expiration.sh" my-trial --preserve

Extend or renew a trial / Developer Edition org (--renew)

--renew prints the current guidance for keeping an org alive, and surfaces the Org IDs of at-risk orgs so the steps are actionable:

  • Partners: request a Trial Org extension (up to +12 months) via partners.salesforce.com → Ask Agentforce → "I want to extend my Trial Org", providing the Org ID. Eligible while active or expired < 30 days; not for LDV orgs. (Salesforce Help article 000387818.)
  • Nonprofits: email your Account Executive with subject "Trial Extension" and the trial-starter email, Org ID, and username; AMER PowerOfUsDesk@salesforce.com, other regions myaccount@salesforce.com / 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. Works even if already expired. (Article 004754220.)
  • Developer Edition: DE orgs have no subscription clock but are deactivated after prolonged inactivity (~180 days without a login); log in periodically. If locked (not yet deleted), open a Salesforce Customer Support case to reactivate — once permanently deleted, an org cannot be recovered.
  • To keep a standard trial's data/config, convert/subscribe to a paid edition before it lapses.

Exit codes

  • 0 success
  • 1 an org could not be queried (auth/connection error)
  • 2 bad usage or a missing dependency (sf or jq)
  • 3 --fail-if-expiring threshold breached (at least one org expiring)

When both apply, a --fail-if-expiring breach (3) takes precedence over an auth error (1): the alerting signal wins so a watchdog still fires. If your job must also detect unreachable orgs, run --json and inspect the records for status: "auth_error" in addition to checking the exit code. Note that an org whose credentials fail cannot be date-checked, so it never counts toward a --fail-if-expiring breach on its own.

--fail-if-expiring with no explicit number treats a following all-numeric argument as the day count (e.g. --fail-if-expiring 12345). In the rare case an org's alias is purely numeric, pass the org first (check_expiration.sh 12345 --fail-if-expiring 7) so it isn't mistaken for the threshold.

Authentication

If an org isn't authenticated (no saved credentials, or an expired/revoked token), the script does not fail silently — it prints the exact command to log in and then re-run:

  my-trial                       not authenticated — no saved credentials for this org

  To authenticate, run one of:
    sf org login web --alias "my-trial"
    sf org login web --alias <my-alias> --instance-url https://test.salesforce.com
  Then re-run this check. List existing logins with:  sf org list

sf org login web opens a browser to complete the OAuth flow. Use --instance-url https://test.salesforce.com for sandboxes, or a custom My Domain URL where applicable.

Manual fallback (if the script is unavailable)

# Trial/DE expiration for one org (null = not a trial / paid org):
sf data query --query "SELECT Id, TrialExpirationDate FROM Organization" --target-org <org> --json

# Scratch org expiration comes from the org list, not SOQL:
sf org list --json

Notes

  • Requires the Salesforce CLI (sf) and jq on the PATH, plus at least one authenticated org (sf org login web).
  • Avoid launching many sf commands concurrently — the CLI can be slow under contention. The script queries orgs sequentially for this reason.
  • sf org list exposes a trailExpirationDate (note the typo) field that is often null; the script does not rely on it for trial/DE orgs — it uses the SOQL TrialExpirationDate, which is reliable. It does use expirationDate from the list for scratch orgs.