Running Your First Scan
A scan is the process through which aprity reads your Salesforce metadata, builds a dependency graph, analyzes it with AI, and produces documentation. This guide shows you how to run your first scan.
Before you begin
Make sure you have completed the previous setup steps:
- Installed the managed package
- Registered your organization
- Configured JWT Bearer authentication and verified the connection
Starting a scan
- Open the aprity app in Salesforce.
- Go to the Generate tab.
- Configure your scan options:
Documentation language
Select the language for the generated documentation. Available languages depend on your plan:
| Language | Trial | Starter | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| French | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| Spanish | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| German | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| Italian | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| Portuguese | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
Output formats
Select one or more output formats. Available formats depend on your plan:
| Format | Description | Trial | Starter | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markdown | Plain text with formatting, ideal for Git repositories | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HTML | Single-page web document with collapsible sections | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DOCX | Microsoft Word document with branded formatting | -- | -- | Yes | Yes |
| Print-ready PDF document | -- | -- | Yes | Yes | |
| Salesforce Knowledge | Articles importable into Salesforce Knowledge | -- | -- | -- | Yes |
| Confluence | Pages ready for Atlassian Confluence | -- | -- | -- | Yes |
- Click Generate.
For your first scan, start with Markdown and HTML formats. These generate quickly and are easy to review. You can always re-run the scan with additional formats later.
What happens during a scan
After you click Generate, aprity runs through four phases. You can monitor progress on the screen as the scan advances.
Phase 1: Metadata extraction
aprity connects to your org via the JWT Bearer flow and reads your metadata. This includes:
- Custom and standard objects, fields, and relationships
- Validation rules, formula fields, and roll-up summaries
- Flows, Process Builder processes, and workflow rules
- Apex triggers, classes, and test classes
- Lightning pages and components
- Permission sets and profiles
No data records are read -- only metadata definitions.
Phase 2: Dependency graph construction
aprity builds a deterministic dependency graph from the extracted metadata. This graph maps how every component relates to others:
- Which triggers fire on which objects
- Which flows read or write which fields
- Which validation rules reference which fields
- Which Apex classes call which methods
This phase is fully deterministic -- no AI is involved.
Phase 3: AI-powered analysis
Using the dependency graph as context, aprity sends structured prompts to its AI engine to generate:
- Business-friendly descriptions of each object and its purpose
- Functional explanations of automation rules and flows
- Process narratives connecting related components into coherent business processes
- Technical analysis of code complexity and dependencies
The AI explains what your metadata already defines. It does not make assumptions or invent information beyond what is present in your org.
Phase 4: Documentation generation
aprity assembles the analysis results into the output formats you selected. Each format receives the same content, rendered appropriately:
- Markdown: plain text files organized by object
- HTML: a single navigable page with expandable sections
- DOCX: a branded Word document with table of contents
- PDF: a formatted print-ready document
- Salesforce Knowledge: structured articles for import
- Confluence: pages with Confluence-compatible markup
Scan duration
Scan duration depends on the size and complexity of your org:
| Org complexity | Approximate duration |
|---|---|
| Small (under 50 custom objects) | 5 to 15 minutes |
| Medium (50 to 200 custom objects) | 15 to 45 minutes |
| Large (over 200 custom objects) | 45 minutes to 2 hours |
You do not need to keep the aprity app open during the scan. The process runs in the cloud, and you will find the results on the Analyses tab when it completes.
:::warning Do not close the scan prematurely If you navigate away during the initial seconds after clicking Generate, the scan request may not be submitted. Wait until you see the progress indicator before leaving the page. :::
Scan limits
The number of scans you can run depends on your plan:
| Plan | Scan limit |
|---|---|
| Trial | 4 scans total (14-day period) |
| Starter | Unlimited |
| Professional | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Unlimited |
Next step
Once your scan completes, proceed to Downloading Generated Documentation to retrieve your output files.