Dev Agent Isn't a Chatbot. It's What Happens When AI Stops Suggesting and Starts Doing.
- Sangamesh Gella
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
I've been waiting for this moment.
Not the moment where Salesforce releases another AI tool (we're averaging one every three months now). The moment when the tool stops pretending to be helpful and does the work.
Dev Agent dropped, and it's the first time I've looked at a Salesforce AI product and thought: "Oh. This actually changes my workflow."
Let me explain why.
The Thing About Dev Assistant
Dev Assistant was fine. Good, even. You'd ask it a question, it'd suggest code, you'd copy-paste, tweak it, test it, and deploy it. It saved time. Made you faster.
But here's what it didn't do: it didn't finish the job.
You still had to context-switch. Still had to open a terminal. Still had to run SF org deploy. Still had to verify the metadata. Still had to check if the test passed.
Dev Assistant gave you answers. Dev Agent gives you outcomes.
What Actually Changed
Dev Agent is built on MCP (Model Context Protocol). If you've been following agentic AI (and if you're reading this, you probably have), MCP is the infrastructure layer that lets AI models talk to external tools and data securely.
I've been deep in MCP for months. Built a Hidden Automation Detector using Cursor and Claude Code, both of which lean heavily on MCP servers. The pattern is consistent: you describe intent, the agent figures out the steps, executes them, and surfaces results.
Dev Agent brings that same pattern into VS Code for Salesforce development.
Here's what it can do:
Execute Salesforce CLI commands without opening a terminal
Deploy metadata through conversation
Run tests and surface results inline
Query org metadata and understand your project structure
Handle multi-step workflows automatically
The difference isn't subtle. It's the difference between a calculator and a spreadsheet. One gives you an answer. The other does the work.
The Shift Nobody's Talking About AI Dev Agent
Here's the thing I keep coming back to: Dev Agent doesn't make you a faster coder. It makes you a different kind of developer.
When I'm working with Cursor or Claude Code, I spend less time typing and more time thinking. Less "how do I write this loop" and more "is this loop even the right approach?"
Dev Agent does the same thing, but for the operational layer. You stop thinking about deployment commands and start thinking about architecture. You stop worrying about whether you formatted the SOQL query correctly and start worrying about whether you're querying the proper object.
The mechanics compress. The strategy expands.
And that's where this gets interesting for Salesforce developers.
What This Means for Your Workflow
I've been a Salesforce dev long enough to remember when deploying a changeset felt like a small victory. Then we got CLI. Then SFDX. Then scratch orgs. Each iteration made the mechanics easier, allowing us to focus on more complex problems.
Dev Agent is the next iteration.
Instead of:
Write code in VS Code
Open terminal
Run sf org deploy
Wait
Check results
Run tests
Check the results again
Switch back to code
You tell Dev Agent what you're trying to do. It handles the steps.
That sounds small. It's not.
Because when you remove friction from the boring parts, you get more energy for the interesting parts. You spend less time managing your tools and more time designing systems.
The Paradox of Agentic Development
Here's what I'm wrestling with, though.
The better these tools get, the more critical it becomes to understand what they're doing under the hood. If Dev Agent is deploying metadata for you, you'd better understand metadata architecture. If it's running tests, you'd better understand the test coverage strategy.
You can't delegate judgment. You can only delegate execution.
So while Dev Agent makes the mechanics easier, it raises the floor on what "competent" looks like. You can't get by on knowing commands anymore. You have to understand systems.
Here's the thing about working with AI agents: they're only as smart as the context you give them. If you understand the architecture, the file structure, the deployment checklist - the agent becomes an extension of that knowledge. It's a reflection of your expertise, just working at machine speed.
That's not a bad thing. It's just... different. And if you're early in your Salesforce career, it means the path to expertise looks different than it did five years ago.
The Practical Part
Dev Agent is available now in VS Code. It's pre-configured with the Salesforce DX MCP Server, which means it's connected to your org by default. No setup. No configuration hell. Just install and start talking to it.
If you've used Cursor or any other agentic coding tool, the interaction pattern will feel familiar. Natural language commands. Context-aware responses. Multi-step execution.
If you haven't, it'll feel like magic for about 10 minutes, and then it'll just feel like how development should have worked all along.
Where This Goes
Agentforce Vibes handles the "build an entire app from a description" use case. Dev Agent handles the "manage my existing workflow" use case.
Together, they're compressing both ends of the development process. The initial build gets faster. The ongoing maintenance gets smoother.
What's left is the middle: the architecture decisions, the data modelling, the integration strategy, the governance frameworks.
That's where the real work has always been. We're just finally getting tools that clear away the noise so we can focus on it.
If you're experimenting with Dev Agent, I want to hear about it. What workflows are you automating? What's clicking? What feels awkward?
I'm building in public with these tools and documenting what works. The shift isn't just about the tools themselves; it's about how we think about building software when AI becomes the execution layer.
Related:
Try Hidden Automation Detector - Chrome extension for debugging Salesforce flows, built with agentic AI.
Agentforce Vibes deep dive (coming soon)
P.S. If you found this helpful, I write about Salesforce, AI tools, and productivity stuff that actually works: no fluff, no generic advice, just real experiences from the trenches. For more information, please visit my website's home page and subscribe. Thank you for reading this.