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SDF Project Setup

This guide walks you through creating a new SDF project from scratch using VSCode.

Project Setup Flow​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         SDF PROJECT SETUP FLOW                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

     ┌──────────────┐
     │    START     │
     └──────┬───────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Install Prerequisites           │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  • Node.js (LTS)                    │
│  • VSCode                           │
│  • SuiteCloud Extension             │
│  • SuiteCloud CLI                   │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  2. Create Project Folder           │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  • Create empty folder              │
│  • Open in VSCode                   │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  3. Initialize SDF Project          │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Ctrl+Shift+P →                     │
│  "SuiteCloud: Create Project"       │
│  • Select Account Customization     │
│  • Enter project name               │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  4. Configure Account               │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Ctrl+Shift+P →                     │
│  "SuiteCloud: Set Up Account"       │
│  • Enter Account ID                 │
│  • Enter Token credentials          │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  5. Verify Setup                    │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Ctrl+Shift+P →                     │
│  "SuiteCloud: Validate Project"     │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
     ┌──────────────┐
     │    DONE!     │
     │ Ready to     │
     │ develop      │
     └──────────────┘

Step 1: Install Prerequisites​

Node.js​

  1. Download from https://nodejs.org/ (LTS version)
  2. Run installer with default options
  3. Verify installation:
node --version
# Expected: v18.x.x or higher

npm --version
# Expected: 9.x.x or higher

VSCode​

  1. Download from https://code.visualstudio.com/
  2. Install with default options

SuiteCloud Extension​

  1. Open VSCode
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Extensions)
  3. Search "SuiteCloud"
  4. Install Oracle SuiteCloud Extension for VS Code

SuiteCloud CLI​

npm install -g @oracle/suitecloud-cli

Verify:

suitecloud --version

Step 2: Create Project Folder​

# Create project directory
mkdir C:\Projects\my-netsuite-project
cd C:\Projects\my-netsuite-project

# Open in VSCode
code .

Or manually:

  1. Create folder: C:\Projects\my-netsuite-project
  2. VSCode → File → Open Folder → Select folder

Step 3: Initialize SDF Project​

Using VSCode Command Palette​

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
  2. Type "SuiteCloud: Create Project"
  3. Select project type:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Select Project Type                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  → Account Customization Project (Recommended)       │
│    For scripts, custom records, workflows            │
│                                                      │
│    SuiteApp Project                                  │
│    For distributable applications                    │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  1. Enter project name (e.g., my-netsuite-project)
  2. Wait for project initialization

Using Terminal​

suitecloud project:create -t ACCOUNTCUSTOMIZATION -n "my-netsuite-project"

Step 4: Configure Account​

Get Credentials from NetSuite​

Before configuring, you need:

CredentialWhere to Find
Account IDSetup → Company → Company Information
Token IDSetup → Users/Roles → Access Tokens
Token SecretProvided when token was created

Set Up Account in VSCode​

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
  2. Type "SuiteCloud: Set Up Account"
  3. Follow the prompts:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Account Setup Wizard                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  Step 1: Account ID                                  │
│  ─────────────────                                   │
│  Enter: TSTDRV1234567 (Sandbox)                     │
│         or 1234567 (Production)                      │
│                                                      │
│  Step 2: Authentication Method                       │
│  ─────────────────────────────                       │
│  → Token-Based Authentication (Recommended)          │
│                                                      │
│  Step 3: Token Credentials                           │
│  ─────────────────────────                           │
│  Token ID: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                     │
│  Token Secret: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                 │
│                                                      │
│  Step 4: Account Name (for reference)                │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────               │
│  Enter: "Sandbox" or "Production"                    │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Using Terminal​

suitecloud account:setup

Step 5: Verify Setup​

Validate Project​

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
  2. Type "SuiteCloud: Validate Project"
  3. Wait for validation to complete
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Validation Results                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  ✓ Project structure valid                          │
│  ✓ manifest.xml valid                               │
│  ✓ suitecloud.config.js valid                       │
│  ✓ No syntax errors found                           │
│                                                      │
│  Validation completed successfully!                  │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Project Structure Created​

After initialization, your project looks like:

📁 my-netsuite-project/
├── 📄 suitecloud.config.js      # SDF configuration
├── 📄 manifest.xml              # Deployment manifest
├── 📁 src/
│   ├── 📁 FileCabinet/
│   │   └── 📁 SuiteScripts/     # Your scripts go here
│   ├── 📁 Objects/              # Custom objects (XML)
│   └── 📁 Templates/            # HTML templates
└── 📁 node_modules/             # Dependencies

Key Files Explained​

suitecloud.config.js​

module.exports = {
    defaultProjectFolder: 'src',
    commands: {}
};

manifest.xml​

<manifest projecttype="ACCOUNTCUSTOMIZATION">
    <projectname>my-netsuite-project</projectname>
    <frameworkversion>1.0</frameworkversion>
    <dependencies>
        <features>
            <feature required="true">CUSTOMRECORDS</feature>
            <feature required="true">SERVERSIDESCRIPTING</feature>
        </features>
    </dependencies>
</manifest>

Creating Your First Script​

Create Folder Structure​

# Create script folders
mkdir src\FileCabinet\SuiteScripts\Suitelets
mkdir src\FileCabinet\SuiteScripts\UserEvents
mkdir src\FileCabinet\SuiteScripts\ClientScripts

Create a Test Suitelet​

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
  2. Type "SuiteCloud: Create SuiteScript"
  3. Select "Suitelet"
  4. Enter filename: test_suitelet.js

Or create manually:

src/FileCabinet/SuiteScripts/Suitelets/test_suitelet.js

/**
 * @NApiVersion 2.1
 * @NScriptType Suitelet
 * @NModuleScope SameAccount
 */
define(['N/ui/serverWidget'], (serverWidget) => {

    const onRequest = (context) => {
        const form = serverWidget.createForm({
            title: 'My First Suitelet'
        });

        form.addField({
            id: 'custpage_message',
            type: serverWidget.FieldType.INLINEHTML,
            label: ' '
        }).defaultValue = '<h2>Hello from SDF!</h2><p>Your project is set up correctly.</p>';

        context.response.writePage(form);
    };

    return { onRequest };
});

Deploy to Sandbox​

Validate First​

Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Validate Project

Deploy​

Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Deploy to Account
→ Select your Sandbox account
→ Wait for deployment

Deployment Flow​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           DEPLOYMENT FLOW                                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

     ┌──────────────┐
     │  Your Code   │
     │  (Local)     │
     └──────┬───────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Validate Project                │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Check syntax, structure, XML       │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
     ┌──────────────┐     Errors?     ┌─────────────────┐
     │  Valid?      ├────────────────►│ Fix errors      │
     └──────┬───────┘      Yes        └────────┬────────┘
            │ No                               │
            │       ◄──────────────────────────┘
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  2. Package Project                 │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Bundle files for upload            │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  3. Upload to NetSuite              │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Transfer to target account         │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  4. Install Objects                 │
│  ───────────────────────────────────│
│  Create scripts, records, etc.      │
└───────────┬─────────────────────────┘
            │
            ▼
     ┌──────────────┐
     │   SUCCESS    │
     │  Deployed!   │
     └──────────────┘

Common Setup Issues​

"Account not found"​

  • Verify Account ID is correct
  • Check if using Sandbox ID (starts with TSTDRV) vs Production ID

"Authentication failed"​

  • Token may be expired - create new token in NetSuite
  • Verify Token ID and Secret are correct
  • Ensure token has proper role permissions

"Project validation failed"​

  • Check manifest.xml syntax
  • Ensure all required folders exist
  • Verify script file syntax

Next Steps​