Salesforce Spring 26 Developer Updates That Actually Change How You Build
Every Salesforce release claims to make development easier. Spring 26 is one of the few that quietly proves it. Instead of headline features that look good in release notes but rarely change day to day work, this release focuses on friction points developers deal with daily: too much Apex for simple UI actions, slow deployments, repetitive query logic, and front end patterns that feel a step behind modern frameworks.
For teams that build custom solutions on Salesforce, understanding these features helps shape planning for adoption, modernization of existing patterns, and more sophisticated design of new components. This blog explores the nine key developer-focused updates in the Spring 26 release.
Salesforce Spring 26 release updates
If you build, maintain, or scale Salesforce applications, these updates are not theoretical improvements. They affect how you write code, how fast you ship, and how clean your architecture stays over time.
Structuring Agent Reasoning With Agent Script
One of the headline additions is Agent Script. Agents driven by reasoning models are increasingly prominent in dynamic systems, but their variability can lead to unpredictable responses in a business context.
- Agent Script provides a structured format, similar to YAML, for defining how agents should behave and reason.
- It allows developers to establish clear sections for system settings, variable definitions, language rules, and topic-specific logic.
- Agent Script files are stored within a designated folder in your project and compiled into metadata that the agent runtime uses.
The feature is currently marked as beta, giving development teams early access to experiment and provide feedback
Apex Cursor Class for Large-Scale Queries
Salesforce expands asynchronous Apex capabilities with the new Cursor class. Traditional asynchronous patterns either involve queueable jobs or batch processing, but both have limitations when handling very large datasets.
- The Cursor class allows a server-side query to be cached and traversed with fine control. This mechanism supports retrieval of up to 50 million records, subject to throughput limits.
- To improve usability in user-centric interfaces, the Pagination Cursor variant offers consistent page sizes, mitigating issues caused by record deletions between fetches.
- Pagination Cursor supports a smaller record set but increases the number of permissible executions per day.
These additions simplify bulk data access and navigation while minimising the complexity developers previously faced when writing custom paging logic.
RunRelevantTests Reduces Unnecessary Testing
Deployments in complex orgs have historically required running the full suite of Apex tests, even for small code changes. Spring 26 introduces RunRelevantTests, a new test level that determines the tests to run based on dependencies and references to the changed code.
- The system analyses relationships in deployed Apex and selects relevant tests automatically, reducing build time and strain on continuous integration pipelines.
- Developers can also refine test execution by marking tests with a new test For parameter in @isTest annotations to explicitly tie them to specific Apex classes or triggers.
- Tests deemed essential can be marked critical to ensure they always run.
This feature remains in beta, giving teams a means to iterate faster with focused testing
Named Query API for Reusable SOQL Queries
The Named Query API simplifies interaction with SOQL queries by turning them into invocable endpoints. Developers can define a SOQL query in Setup under Integrations, bind parameters, and expose it through a stable API endpoint. This makes queries reusable and accessible without embedding them directly in Apex code. The API also integrates with features like Agentforce, enabling developers to call predefined queries within agent actions. For teams that rely on tested and repeatable queries, this reduces both development effort and runtime errors associated with dynamic query generation.
GraphQL Mutations in Lightning Web Components
Spring 26 expands the GraphQL API by supporting mutation operations directly from Lightning Web Components (LWC). Until now, Lightning Web Components could read data cleanly using GraphQL, but the moment you needed to create or update a record, Apex became unavoidable. That often meant writing small server side classes that existed only to pass data back and forth.
With Spring 26, GraphQL mutations close that gap. A new execute Mutation function from the lightning/graphql adapter makes this practical. For example, an account creation can be initiated in an LWC without writing server-side logic. This shift reduces boilerplate Apex code, shortens feedback loops during development, and aligns client and server interaction models more closely.
Enhanced TypeScript Support for LWCs
TypeScript support in Lightning Web Components continues to evolve. In this release, Salesforce provides an official package that contains type definitions for base LWC components.
Prior to Spring 26, developers often created their own type definition files. Using the new npm package ensures standardised type information and reduces maintenance overhead. Development teams can also use tools provided as part of Agentforce Vibes to convert existing JavaScript LWCs to TypeScript.
While still in preview, this feature marks a step toward stronger type safety and improved developer productivity for complex component libraries.
Support for Complex Expressions in LWC Templates
Historically, template expressions in LWCs were limited to simple property and getter references. This restricted dynamic logic in markup, forcing developers to handle more advanced conditions in JavaScript.
Spring 26 introduces beta support for complex expressions in templates. The release notes reference a comprehensive subset of JavaScript expressions now supported in LWC markup. Although documentation is pending, this change can reduce the need for auxiliary getters, making templates more expressive and concise. It supports clearer component code and reduces the gap between data logic and presentation.
Discoverability of LWCs by Agentforce for Setup
Agentic setup assistants are becoming part of how Salesforce configures applications. To ensure that custom Lightning Web Components and Aura components are surfaced as options within these guided setup tools, developers can now include configuration and descriptive metadata in the component’s XML file. Providing component and property descriptions allows Agentforce for Setup to recognise and recommend these components during page configuration. This simplifies adoption of custom interfaces and supports consistent UX across application pages.
Removal of Session Id in Outbound Messages
Outbound messages have long been a mechanism for external integrations triggered by workflow actions. In recognition of security concerns around session identifier usage, Salesforce has removed session ids from outbound message payloads. Two-way integrations relying on sessions to authenticate back into Salesforce will need review and corrective design. Given that workflow rules are being deprecated in favour of modern Flow-based approvals, integration patterns should be updated to use more current approaches, such as platform events or REST APIs. This change aligns Salesforce integration models with best practices for secure, token-based authentication.
Conclusion
The Spring 26 release for Salesforce developers introduces practical improvements across multiple areas of application development. From query execution and large data access to client-centric APIs and type safety, these changes help reduce friction and focus development efforts on business logic rather than platform limitations.
Features like RunRelevantTests and Named Query APIs can streamline deployments and code reuse. Development teams should evaluate these features early in pre-release orgs to plan adoption and refine internal standards.
CloudCache Consulting helps clients worldwide with salesforce implementation including the Spring 26 release. With our rich Salesforce professional resources library we deliver custom solutions as per business needs. Contact us today.
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