version: "1.0.1" name: platform-encryption-configure description: "Configure Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption — generate deployable encryption settings and encrypted-field metadata, and answer key-model and lifecycle questions. TRIGGER when: user wants to turn on deterministic encryption, encrypt a field, set up Cache-Only Keys, External Key Management, or replay detection, or mentions Shield Platform Encryption, encryption at rest, deterministic vs probabilistic encryption, encryptionScheme, PlatformEncryptionSettings, EncryptionKeySettings, BYOK, BYOKMS, tenant secrets, key rotation, or .settings-meta.xml / .field-meta.xml for encryption — even when they don't say 'Shield'. SKIP when: user needs a generic custom field with no encryption (use platform-custom-field-generate), needs the raw Metadata API type reference (use platform-metadata-api-context-get), or asks about Classic Encryption (encrypted text fields), which is a different feature. Use this skill for any Platform Encryption configuration, field-encryption, or key-model question." metadata: version: "1.0" domains: ["Platform"] minApiVersion: "62.0" relatedSkills:

• "platform-custom-field-generate"
• "platform-metadata-api-context-get"

Configure Platform Encryption

Configures Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption by generating the metadata that turns it on and choosing the right settings: which encryption scheme a field should use, which key-management model fits a requirement, and how the tenant-secret lifecycle works. This is a hybrid skill — it emits deployable *.settings-meta.xml / *.field-meta.xml where Platform Encryption exposes a real Metadata API surface, and returns grounded guidance where the operation is UI/REST-only.

Scope

• In scope: choosing and applying encryptionScheme on a field; enabling deterministic encryption, Cache-Only Keys, External Key Management, and replay detection via PlatformEncryptionSettings / EncryptionKeySettings; explaining BYOK / BYOKMS / EKM / Cache-Only key models; tenant-secret rotation and destruction semantics; the query behavior of encrypted fields.
• Out of scope: a plain custom field with no encryption (use platform-custom-field-generate); the raw Metadata API field reference (use platform-metadata-api-context-get); Classic Encryption (EncryptedText fields) — that is a separate, legacy feature; deploying/pushing metadata to an org (that belongs to a deploy lifecycle skill).

Required Inputs

Gather or infer before proceeding:

• Question type: is the user asking for a deployable artifact (a settings file, an encrypted field) or guidance (which model, what happens when I rotate a key)? Deployable → generate XML from assets/. Guidance → answer from references/. A question is guidance whenever the ask is to explain, confirm, or compare — "is that right?", "what's the relationship?", "can we…?", "is there an ordering requirement?", "explain the difference between X and Y", "which key model should we use?" — even if the user also says they are about to write, deploy, or author settings themselves. The user writing settings is their action; it does not make the skill's deliverable a file. Only an explicit "generate / create / give me the file / here is my field, encrypt it" is an artifact request.
• Key-model choice questions are guidance, not deployable metadata. "Explain BYOK vs external key management / BYOKMS / EKM / Cache-Only", "which one keeps key material out of Salesforce?", "should we use BYOK or EKM?" → answer them in a single markdown answer file (the guidance write-up), not a deployable *.settings-meta.xml. Naming the enabling setting in that answer (e.g. `canExternalKeyManagement`, `enableCacheOnlyKeys`) does NOT turn it into a settings artifact — cite the field name inline in the answer file; do not emit an EncryptionKey.settings-meta.xml unless the user explicitly says "generate/create the settings file."
• Field encryption target (for field work): the object and field API name, and whether the user needs to filter, sort, or group on the field (drives deterministic vs probabilistic).
• Key model (for key work): whether keys are Salesforce-derived (default), customer-supplied (BYOK), stored in an external KMS (BYOKMS/EKM), or fetched on demand (Cache-Only).

If the request is clear, generate or answer immediately — do not interrogate the user.

Workflow

1. Classify the request — deployable artifact vs guidance, using the Required Inputs above. Then scope the output to exactly what was asked:

• A guidance question produces exactly one markdown answer file — a single file (e.g. answer.md) containing the full written diagnosis/explanation — and nothing else. Do not also emit a *.settings-meta.xml, a *.field-meta.xml, or a second helper doc. This covers every "what happens when…?", "how do I…?", "which model…?", "is X right…?", "can we…?", "what's the relationship / ordering…?" question, including query-behavior and Cache-Only/replay questions. A clause like "before I write our settings" or "before I author the file" describes the *user's* next step and does NOT turn the question into a deployable-metadata request — write the answer file, not a settings file.
• Naming a metadata change in a guidance answer does NOT mean emitting the deployable file for it. A remediation or diagnosis question — "how do I make the field queryable?", "why did my query fail and how do I fix it?", "which key model keeps material out of Salesforce?" — is answered inside the one markdown answer file, naming the relevant element/scheme inline (e.g. "switch to a Deterministic* scheme and enable enableDeterministicEncryption", or "use External Key Management — canExternalKeyManagement"). Do not additionally materialize a *.field-meta.xml or *.settings-meta.xml to demonstrate that change — mentioning the element in the answer is the complete deliverable. Produce a deployable metadata file only when the user explicitly says generate/create/give me the field or settings file.
• An artifact request gets only the specific metadata file(s) named — do not add a DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md, README.md, an EXPLANATION.md, an org-settings file, or any companion artifact the user did not ask for.
• If a deploy step or org setting is a prerequisite, state it inside the one answer file (for guidance) or in a code comment inside the one artifact (for an artifact request) — never as an extra file.

1. For field encryption — read references/encryption-schemes.md to choose the scheme, then load assets/encrypted-field.field-meta.xml as the starting template. Set encryptionScheme to exactly one of the four valid enum values (see the reference). Only Deterministic* schemes are filterable.

> Write the field file at the SFDX source path, not the root. A *.field-meta.xml must live at objects/<ObjectApiName>/fields/<FieldApiName>__c.field-meta.xml (e.g. objects/Patient__c/fields/Diagnosis_Notes__c.field-meta.xml) — the object folder uses the object's API name (Patient__c for a custom object, Contact for a standard one) and the file is named after the field API name. Emitting the file at the repo root, in a flat directory, or under any other folder is a structural miss even when the XML itself is correct.

1. For org-level encryption settings — load assets/PlatformEncryption.settings-meta.xml (deterministic encryption, field-history encryption, MEK permission) or assets/EncryptionKey.settings-meta.xml (Cache-Only, EKM, Data 360, transactional DB, replay detection). Read references/key-models.md before setting any key-model field.

> Name the output file after the Settings *member*, not the root element, and write it under `settings/`. A Settings file must be settings/<member>.settings-meta.xml, where <member> is the org's metadata member name — `EncryptionKey` (root <EncryptionKeySettings>) and `PlatformEncryption` (root <PlatformEncryptionSettings>). Put it in the settings/ source folder (e.g. settings/EncryptionKey.settings-meta.xml), not the repo root. Naming the key-settings file Encryption.settings-meta.xml or EncryptionKeySettings.settings-meta.xml fails deployment with "The object '…' of type Settings metadata does not exist."

> Cache-Only Keys and replay detection are a one-way dependency, not an auto-enable. You may set enableReplayDetection only after enableCacheOnlyKeys is true; enabling Cache-Only does not turn replay detection on by itself. An org can validly run Cache-Only with replay detection off.

1. For tenant-secret operations (rotate, destroy, BYOK upload, Cache-Only callout setup) — read references/tenant-secret-lifecycle.md. These are UI/REST-only; capture the guidance in the single markdown answer file, not a deployable metadata file.

1. Validate any generated settings XML — run scripts/validate-encryption-metadata.sh with the file path as its argument, and fix anything it reports. It checks the replay-detection dependency and the encryptionScheme enum deterministically.

1. Compare against the worked example — verify a generated EncryptionKeySettings file against examples/cache-only-keys.settings-meta.xml.

Rules / Constraints

Gotchas

Output Expectations

Deliverables depend on the request — produce exactly these and nothing more:

• Guidance questions produce exactly ONE markdown answer file. Any "what happens when…", "how do I…", "which model…", "is X right…" question — including encrypted-field query behavior, Cache-Only/replay-detection relationships, tenant-secret / BYOK / Cache-Only lifecycle, and key-model choices — is answered by writing a single markdown file (e.g. answer.md) that fully captures the diagnosis/explanation. Do not additionally emit a deployable *.settings-meta.xml / *.field-meta.xml or a second doc, and do not answer with no file at all — the answer file is the user's persistent reference document.
• Field encryption artifact: only the *.field-meta.xml with encryptionScheme set, written at objects/<ObjectApiName>/fields/<FieldApiName>__c.field-meta.xml. Not a settings file, not a deploy guide. Pick <type> to match the request: `Text` for a string field up to 255 chars; `LongTextArea` only when the field must exceed 255 chars (256+). "Long text … up to 255 characters" is a Text field, not LongTextArea. Strip the template's instructional comment block from the delivered file — ship clean metadata. Keep the accompanying chat prose tight — one or two sentences naming the scheme chosen and why (e.g. "ProbabilisticEncryption — strongest at-rest protection; the field can't be filtered/sorted/grouped, which matches your no-query requirement"). Do not restate the whole prompt, enumerate every scheme, or add setup/deployment walkthroughs; the deliverable is the file, not an essay.
• Org settings artifact: only the settings file the request needs, at settings/<member>.settings-meta.xml named after its Metadata API member — settings/PlatformEncryption.settings-meta.xml (root <PlatformEncryptionSettings>) and/or settings/EncryptionKey.settings-meta.xml (root <EncryptionKeySettings>). Do not name the file after the root element, and do not drop it at the repo root.

Do not add companion files (DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md, README.md, an extra org-settings file) that the user did not ask for — state prerequisites in a code comment inside the artifact, or inside the single answer file for guidance. File structure follows the templates in assets/.

Cross-Skill Integration

Reference File Index