generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: developer.salesforce.com REST API developer guide + derived from openapi/*
docs: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_rest.meta/api_rest/
notes: >-
  Cross-cutting request/response semantics for the Salesforce REST platform APIs. Combines the
  documented conventions with what the harvested OpenAPI implies. Cross-links errors/,
  lifecycle/, authentication/, scopes/, and rate-limits/.
authentication:
  style: "OAuth 2.0 Bearer token (Authorization: Bearer <access_token>)"
  ref: authentication/salesforce-authentication.yml
  scopes: scopes/salesforce-scopes.yml
base_url: https://{instance}.salesforce.com/services/data/v{version}
versioning:
  style: uri-path integer (v{NN}.0), seasonal
  ref: lifecycle/salesforce-lifecycle.yml
content_types: [application/json, application/xml, text/csv]
pagination:
  style: cursor
  mechanism: Query results return `done` (bool) and `nextRecordsUrl`; follow nextRecordsUrl until done=true.
  response_fields: [totalSize, done, nextRecordsUrl, records]
  bulk: Bulk API 2.0 query jobs page results via Sforce-Locator header and maxRecords.
field_selection:
  soql: Explicit field lists in SOQL SELECT; no sparse-fieldset query params.
  graphql: GraphQL API allows precise field selection over /services/data/vNN/graphql.
composite:
  description: Composite, Composite Batch, and sObject Tree resources bundle multiple operations into one request with reference IDs for dependent chaining.
  ref: apis.yml salesforce-composite-api
idempotency:
  header: null
  mechanism: >-
    No generic idempotency-key header. Idempotent upserts are achieved via PATCH on an external-Id
    field (/sobjects/{Object}/{ExternalIdField}/{value}); Platform Event publishes are at-least-once.
error_envelope:
  shape: JSON array of {message, errorCode, fields[]}
  ref: errors/salesforce-error-codes.yml
rate_limiting:
  signal_header: Sforce-Limit-Info
  scope: Rolling 24-hour org-wide API request allocation (edition-based) + concurrent-request limits.
  ref: rate-limits/
  docs: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.salesforce_app_limits_cheatsheet.meta/salesforce_app_limits_cheatsheet/salesforce_app_limits_platform_api.htm
request_tracing:
  headers: [X-Request-Id, Sforce-Request-Id]
  note: Salesforce returns request identifiers on responses for support correlation.
conditional_requests:
  support: If-Modified-Since / If-Unmodified-Since supported on record GET/PATCH for optimistic concurrency.