Here is the video-ready package for “Salesforce — OWD, Sharing Rules, Custom Settings & Metadata (with code)”. It contains a tight video outline, speak-as-you-record script, slide text, demo steps, and copy-pasteable code (Apex + metadata + SFDX commands). Use this as your shot-by-shot guide.

Video title (suggested)

Salesforce OWD, Sharing Rules, Custom Settings & Metadata — Complete Guide (with Code)

1 — Short video outline (ideal ~8–12 min)

1. Intro (0:00–0:20) — what you'll cover
2. OWD basics (0:20–1:30) — purpose & examples
3. Sharing Rules (1:30–3:00) — owner vs criteria-based + demo
4. Custom Settings (3:00–4:30) — List vs Hierarchy + Apex examples
5. Manual Sharing via Apex (4:30–5:30) — why & how
6. Custom Metadata vs Custom Settings (5:30–6:30) — deployability & use-cases
7. Metadata & SFDX (6:30–8:00) — retrieve/deploy sharing metadata
8. Wrap & best practices (8:00–8:30)

2 — Shot-by-shot script (readable, short lines)

Intro:

“Hi — today we’ll cover OWD, Sharing Rules, Custom Settings and Metadata in Salesforce, and I’ll show working Apex and SFDX commands so you can reproduce everything in a sandbox.”

OWD:

“Organization-Wide Defaults set the baseline: Private, Public Read Only, or Public Read/Write. Always start secure — set most restrictive and open via sharing.”

Sharing Rules:

“Sharing rules expand access. Owner-based shares are by owner’s role or group. Criteria-based use field values — great for business logic.”

Custom Settings:

“List custom settings hold repeating config rows; Hierarchy settings allow profile/user overrides. They’re fast and accessible in Apex.”

Manual shares:

“Manual shares are for edge cases or when declarative sharing can’t handle an access requirement — carefully maintain them.”

Metadata:

“Use Metadata API/SFDX to retrieve and deploy SharingRules and SharingSettings. For production, prefer metadata-driven approaches.”

Wrap:

“Test with ‘Login As’, document RowCause values for manual shares, and prefer criteria rules over manual shares when possible.”

3 — On-screen slide text (copy/paste)

• “OWD = baseline access: Private | Public Read Only | Public Read/Write”
• “Sharing Rules: Owner-based ▪ Criteria-based”
• “Custom Settings: List ▪ Hierarchy — fast Apex access”
• “Manual Sharing: Insert <Object>Share record (RowCause = Manual)”
• “Metadata: Retrieve SharingRules & SharingSettings via SFDX/MDAPI”

4 — Demo steps (what to record)

1. Setup → Security → Sharing Settings: show OWD values.
2. Create a Public Group.
3. Create a Criteria-based Sharing Rule (e.g., Project__c where Priority__c = 'High' share Read to your Public Group).
4. Create List and Hierarchy Custom Settings; add sample rows.
5. Execute Anonymous: read custom settings values in Apex and show debug.
6. Execute Anonymous: insert a manual share (MyCustom__Share or AccountShare), show receiving user’s access via “Login As”.
7. Use SFDX to retrieve sharing metadata and show the resulting XML files.

5 — Copy-pasteable Code Snippets

A) Apex — Read Hierarchy Custom Setting

// Hierarchy Custom Setting: OrgConfig__c with field: Default_Expiry_Hours__c (Number)
OrgConfig__c cfg = OrgConfig__c.getOrgDefaults();
System.debug('Org-level expiry hours: ' + cfg.Default_Expiry_Hours__c);

// User-level override example
OrgConfig__c userCfg = OrgConfig__c.getInstance(UserInfo.getUserId());
System.debug('User-level expiry hours: ' + (userCfg != null ? userCfg.Default_Expiry_Hours__c : 'no override'));

B) Apex — Read List Custom Setting

// List Custom Setting: FeatureToggle__c (Name is key, field: Is_Enabled__c)
Map<String, FeatureToggle__c> toggles = FeatureToggle__c.getAll();
for (FeatureToggle__c ft : toggles.values()) {
    System.debug('Feature: ' + ft.Name + ' => Enabled: ' + ft.Is_Enabled__c);
}
FeatureToggle__c single = FeatureToggle__c.getValues('NewUI');
System.debug('NewUI enabled? ' + (single != null ? single.Is_Enabled__c : 'not found'));

C) Apex — Manual Sharing (Custom Object example)

// Custom object API name: Project__c -> share object: Project__Share
Id projectId = 'a0BXXXXXXXXXXXX'; // replace with record id
Id groupId   = '00GXXXXXXXXXXXX'; // public group or queue id

Project__Share ps = new Project__Share();
ps.ParentId = projectId;
ps.UserOrGroupId = groupId;
ps.AccessLevel = 'Read'; // 'Read' or 'Edit'
ps.RowCause = Schema.Project__Share.RowCause.Manual;
insert ps;
System.debug('Inserted Project__Share id: ' + ps.Id);

D) Apex — Manual Sharing (Account example)

Id acctId = '001XXXXXXXXXXXX';
Id userOrGroupId = '005XXXXXXXXXXXX'; // Could be user or group Id

AccountShare ash = new AccountShare();
ash.AccountId = acctId;
ash.UserOrGroupId = userOrGroupId;
ash.AccountAccessLevel = 'Read'; // or 'Edit'
ash.RowCause = Schema.AccountShare.RowCause.Manual;
insert ash;

Note: Use correct RowCause constant for your use-case. Manual is common when adding shares via UI or Apex.

6 — Metadata examples (deployable XML)

A) sharingRules metadata (criteria-based example for custom object Project__c)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SharingRules xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
  <criteriaBasedSharingRules>
    <fullName>Project_HighPriority_to_Team</fullName>
    <accessLevel>Read</accessLevel>
    <description>Share high priority projects to Support Team</description>
    <booleanFilter>1</booleanFilter>
    <criteriaItems>
      <field>Priority__c</field>
      <operation>equals</operation>
      <value>High</value>
    </criteriaItems>
    <sharedTo>00Gxxxxxxxxxxxx</sharedTo> <!-- public group Id placeholder -->
    <shareTo>Group</shareTo>
  </criteriaBasedSharingRules>
</SharingRules>

B) sharingSettings (org default snippet for a custom object)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><br><SharingSettings xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata"><br>  <customObjectSharingRules><br>    <!-- custom object rules placed here --><br>  </customObjectSharingRules><br>  <defaultSettings><br>    <object>Project__c</object><br>    <defaultInternalAccess>Private</defaultInternalAccess><br>    <defaultExternalAccess>Private</defaultExternalAccess><br>  </defaultSettings><br></SharingSettings><br>

Tip: Actual SharingSettings structure varies by API version — retrieve from the org to get the correct format for your org.

7 — Custom Metadata Type example (deployable)

Custom Metadata type: AppConfig__mdt with field Default_Expiry_Hours__c

Custom Metadata record (XML)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomMetadata xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
  <label>Default App Config</label>
  <protected>false</protected>
  <values>
    <field>Default_Expiry_Hours__c</field>
    <value>24</value>
  </values>
</CustomMetadata>

8 — SFDX / MDAPI commands (retrieve & deploy)

package.xml (include types you need)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
  <types><members>*</members><name>SharingRules</name></types>
  <types><members>*</members><name>SharingSettings</name></types>
  <types><members>*</members><name>CustomObject</name></types>
  <types><members>*</members><name>CustomMetadata</name></types>
  <version>57.0</version>
</Package>

Retrieve (mdapi)

# Authenticate first: sfdx auth:web:login -a MySandbox
sfdx force:mdapi:retrieve -s -r ./mdapi_out -k ./package.xml -u MySandbox
unzip -q mdapi_out/unpackaged.zip -d mdapi_out/unpackaged

Or source:retrieve (source-tracked org)

sfdx force:source:retrieve -m SharingSettings,SharingRules,CustomMetadata -u MySandbox

Deploy

sfdx force:mdapi:deploy -d ./mdapi_out/unpackaged -u MySandbox --wait 10 --checkonly=false

9 — Quick testing checklist (record these steps)

• Use a sandbox for changes.
• Create test users in different roles/profiles.
• Use “Login As” to verify access after sharing rules/manual share.
• Run Apex in Execute Anonymous and inspect debug logs.
• Retrieve metadata after creating rules to show the exact XML that will deploy.

10 — Best practices to call out (short)

• Always prefer restrictive OWD + sharing rules vs. loosening OWD.
• Use criteria-based sharing rules for scalable access.
• Prefer Custom Metadata over Custom Settings for deployable config.
• Document manual RowCause values and who creates manual shares.
• Test thoroughly with different user contexts.