Sharing Settings for Custom Objects

Sharing Settings (OWD) for Custom Objects are part of the CustomObject metadata and cannot be deployed or committed as a separate component. This behavior is consistent with how the Salesforce Metadata API manages object-level sharing settings.

When committing only the Custom Object (for example, to update OWD), Salesforce requires the following mandatory XML nodes to be present in the CustomObject.object-meta.xml file for a successful deployment across orgs:

• <label> – User-visible object name

• <pluralLabel> – Required for UI usage

• <nameField> – Primary record identifier (must include <label> and <type>: Text or AutoNumber)

• <deploymentStatus> – Deployed or InDevelopment

• <sharingModel> – Record-level access (ReadWrite, ReadOnly, or Private)

If any of these nodes are missing or invalid, the deployment will fail in the target org.

Currently, the only safe and supported approach to commit only the OWD change is the following controlled method:

• Download the package from the Review Artifact screen

• Navigate to the Objects folder

• Retain only the required CustomObject.object file

• Remove other subfolders (fields, listViews, recordTypes, layouts, etc.)

• Review the CustomObject XML and keep only the required nodes (including the OWD update)

• Re-upload the updated .zip file and proceed with the commit

This ensures that only the intended Sharing Settings change is committed, without promoting any unintended metadata.