🚀 Mastering SFCC B2C CLI: Activate Code Without Business Manager

As an SFCC (Salesforce Commerce Cloud) Developer, we often log in to Business Manager just to:

• Check code versions
• Activate a new code version
• Verify deployments

But what if I tell you, you can do all this without opening Business Manager? 😎

Thanks to the SFCC B2C CLI, you can manage code versions directly from your terminal.

In this article, I’ll share the exact setup and daily commands I use.

🛠 Step 1: Configure Commerce API Settings in Business Manager

Before using CLI commands, you must configure API access.

Go to:

Administration → Site Development → Open Commerce API Settings

Add the following configuration:

Select type must be Data

{
  "client_id": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
  "resources": [
    {
      "resource_id": "/code_versions",
      "methods": ["get"],
      "read_attributes": "(**)",
      "write_attributes": "(**)"
    },
    {
      "resource_id": "/code_versions/*",
      "methods": ["get", "patch", "put"],
      "read_attributes": "(**)",
      "write_attributes": "(**)"
    }
  ]
}

✅ This allows:

• Listing code versions
• Activating code versions
• Updating code versions

🔐 Step 2: Set Environment Variables

Instead of logging in repeatedly, export credentials in your terminal:

export SFCC_SERVER=your-instance.demandware.net
export SFCC_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
export SFCC_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret

Example from my daily workflow:

export SFCC_SERVER=bhgx-005.dx.commercecloud.salesforce.com/on/demandware.store
export SFCC_CLIENT_ID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
export SFCC_CLIENT_SECRET=***************

Now your CLI is authenticated 🚀

📋 Step 3: List Available Code Versions

To check all available code versions:

b2c code list

This command shows:

• All uploaded code versions
• Active version
• Version details

No Business Manager needed!

⚡ Step 4: Activate Code Version from CLI

To activate a code version:

b2c code activate --code-version "verKumar"

I want to activate the code version named ‘verKumar’.

That’s it.

Within seconds, your code version is active directly from terminal.

💡 Why Use CLI Instead of Business Manager?

✅ Faster deployments ✅ Automation friendly ✅ CI/CD integration ✅ No UI dependency ✅ Great for DevOps workflows

👉 For full CLI documentation, visit: 🔗https://salesforcecommercecloud.github.io/b2c-developer-tooling/cli/code.html

If this helped you, connect with me and follow for more SFCC development tips 🚀

SFCC #SalesforceCommerceCloud #B2CCommerce #EcommerceDevelopment #CLI #DevOps