dx-org-devhub-configure

Enable Dev Hub & View Scratch Org Allocation

Enable Dev Hub on a Salesforce org, verify whether it is already on, and see

the org's scratch org allocation (Active and Daily limits and how many

remain) — for the default org or a named org. The skill can also configure Dev

Hub sub-preferences (packaging, org shape export, scratch org snapshots) and

list the active scratch orgs created from a Dev Hub.

Dev Hub is the org feature that lets you create and manage scratch orgs and

second-generation (2GP) / unlocked packages.

When to use

Trigger on requests like:

• "Enable Dev Hub" / "Turn on Dev Hub" / "Set up this org for scratch orgs."
• "Is Dev Hub enabled on my org?" / "Check if Dev Hub is on."
• "How many scratch orgs can I create?" / "What's my scratch org allocation /

limit?" / "How many scratch orgs do I have left?"

• "Turn on packaging / 2GP / unlocked packages" / "Enable org shape export" /

"Enable scratch org snapshots" (Dev Hub sub-preferences).

• "List the scratch orgs on my Dev Hub."

When NOT to use

Do not trigger this skill for:

• Creating or deleting an individual scratch org — that is

sf org create scratch / sf org delete scratch, a different workflow. This

skill enables the Dev Hub feature and reports allocation; it does not

create scratch orgs.

• Switching the default/active org — use dx-org-switch.
• Trial or org expiration dates ("when does my org expire") — use

dx-org-trial-expiration-check.

How Dev Hub enablement is determined

The standard object ScratchOrgInfo is provisioned and becomes queryable

only when Dev Hub is enabled. So a successful `SELECT COUNT() FROM

ScratchOrgInfo means Dev Hub is ON; an INVALID_TYPE` error means it is

OFF. This is the reliable signal.

> Do not infer enablement from sf org list limits alone: it reports

> ActiveScratchOrgs / DailyScratchOrgs rows even on orgs where Dev Hub is

> off, so limits show allocation but not enablement.

How enabling works (important)

• The Dev Hub master switch is the deployable Metadata API field

DevHubSettings.enableScratchOrgManagementPref. There is no

enableDevHub field and no dedicated sf command to turn it on —

deploying this setting is exactly what the Setup toggle does.

• Enabling is irreversible — once on, Dev Hub cannot be turned off.
• Requires a user with ModifyAllData or ModifyMetadata (a **System

Administrator** has these). A user without them gets INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS.

• Cannot be enabled in a sandbox, or in an org that has a **registered

namespace**.

• Available in Developer, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and trial

editions.

Steps

1. CRITICAL: Run the bundled helper script, which handles Dev Hub detection,

the enablement deploy (with a safe dry-run default), allocation math, and

structured output, and works on macOS and Linux. Always invoke it by

absolute path from the skill directory — never ./scripts/, which

resolves against the user's current directory and will either run the wrong

script or fail. The script self-checks this: if $0 is not absolute it exits

with a usage error, so pass the full path to <skill_dir> (the directory

containing this SKILL.md).

   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <alias-or-username>            # status: on? + allocation
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh"                               # default org (target-org)
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <org> --allocation           # allocation only
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <org> --enable               # validate enabling (dry run)
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <org> --enable --apply       # actually enable (irreversible)
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <org> --list-scratch         # list active scratch orgs
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <alias> --instance-url <url> --enable --apply  # log in first, then enable
   bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" <url>                        # bare instance URL: log in to it

When the user supplies an instance URL (their My Domain, sandbox, or

pre-release/scratch login URL — e.g.

https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com), pass that exact URL with

--instance-url <url> — the script accepts Salesforce-owned hostnames and logs in with

sf org login web --instance-url <url> and then continues. A bare URL

positional is accepted as shorthand for the same thing.

<skill_dir> is the absolute path to the directory containing this SKILL.md.

1. For enablement, default to a dry run first. Run --enable (no --apply)

to validate the deploy, then relay the result. Because enabling is

irreversible, only run --enable --apply when the user has clearly asked

to actually enable Dev Hub. Applied operations require an explicit org alias

or username; the script refuses to mutate an implicit default org. If the

deploy is rejected for permissions, surface the Setup-UI fallback it prints.

1. Relay the script output. When an org can't be queried, surface the

sf org login web command the script prints so the user can authenticate.

Pick optional flags based on the request (see below): --allocation for

limits only, --list-scratch to enumerate scratch orgs, --packaging /

--snapshots / --shape to turn on sub-preferences, --json for automation.

Before you finish

Verify these before returning your answer:

• [ ] CRITICAL: Invoked the helper via its absolute path (bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" …), never ./scripts/ (the script rejects a non-absolute $0).
• [ ] Did not run --apply unless the user clearly asked to actually enable Dev Hub or deploy a preference — enabling is irreversible.
• [ ] Relayed the script's own output (status/allocation or the login/Setup-UI guidance it printed), rather than substituting a hand-written answer.

Options

| Flag | Purpose |

|------|---------|

| --allocation, -A | Show only the scratch org allocation (Active/Daily). |

| --list-scratch, -l | List active scratch orgs created from this Dev Hub. |

| --enable, -e | Enable Dev Hub (deploys enableScratchOrgManagementPref=true). Dry run unless --apply. |

| --configure, -c | Configure sub-preferences without (re)enabling the master switch. Pair with a pref flag. |

| --packaging | enablePackaging2=true (Unlocked + 2GP packages). |

| --snapshots | enableScratchOrgSnapshotPref=true. |

| --shape | enableShapeExportPref=true. |

| --scratch-management | enableScratchOrgManagementPref=true (the Dev Hub switch). |

| --pref KEY=VALUE | Any DevHubSettings sub-pref (KEY starts with enable, VALUE true/false). Repeatable. |

| --apply | Actually deploy to the explicit org argument. Default for --enable/--configure is a validate-only dry run. |

| --login | Authenticate an org first via sf org login web (opens a browser), then run the action. |

| --instance-url <url> | Log in to a specific instance (My Domain, sandbox, or pre-release/scratch instance) with sf org login web --instance-url <url>. Implies --login. |

| --json | Emit machine-readable JSON. |

| --fail-if-disabled | Exit 3 if Dev Hub is not enabled (CI/cron gate). |

| --help, -h | Show usage. |

--enable may be combined with sub-pref flags to enable and configure at once

(e.g. --enable --packaging --apply). If omitted, the org defaults to

target-org, then target-dev-hub.

Output examples

The script prints the authoritative output at runtime. If you need to calibrate

what an enabled-vs-disabled status transcript looks like (including the

allocation table and the enable/Setup-UI guidance), read

[examples/status-output.md](examples/status-output.md) — otherwise skip it to

keep this workflow lean.

Structured output for automation (--json)

Use --json in any mode for machine-readable output (no prose). Status returns

devHubEnabled, status, and an allocation object; enablement returns

success, applied, and devHubVerifiedState. Deterministic, no LLM needed.

bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" my-devhub --json
# {"org":"my-devhub","devHubEnabled":true,"status":"enabled", ... }

--fail-if-disabled exits 3 (and prints an ALERT: line to stderr) if Dev

Hub is not enabled, so a scheduled job can gate on it.

Exit codes

• 0 success
• 1 an org could not be queried, or a deploy failed (auth/connection/deploy)
• 2 bad usage or a missing dependency (sf or jq)
• 3 Dev Hub is not enabled (only when --fail-if-disabled is set)

Authentication

If the org isn't authenticated yet, the skill can log in for you with

--login (or --instance-url <url>), then continue with the requested action

in the same run — this is the preferred path when the user provides an instance

URL:

Substitute the user's actual instance URL for <url> (shown here as the generic

https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com placeholder):

# Log in to a specific instance (My Domain / pre-release / sandbox), then enable:
bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" my-alias \
  --instance-url https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com --enable --apply

# Bare instance URL as shorthand — logs in to it, then reports status:
bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com

# Just authenticate an org (no other action):
bash "<skill_dir>/scripts/devhub.sh" my-alias --login

sf org login web opens a browser for the OAuth flow; complete it promptly (the

session times out). A supplied positional (my-alias) becomes the CLI alias; a

positional that looks like a URL (contains ://) is taken as the

--instance-url to log in to. The script accepts only HTTPS Salesforce-owned

hostnames for this option. Omit --instance-url for standard

production/DE/trial logins (login.salesforce.com). If the browser flow keeps

timing out, the script prints the sf org login device fallback for a

code-based login.

If an org isn't authenticated and no login flag was passed, the script instead

prints the exact command to log in and re-run — using the instance URL you

supplied when there is one:

  my-org                         could not query org (...)

  To authenticate against https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com, run:
    sf org login web --instance-url "https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com" --alias "my-org"
  Or let this script log you in and continue in one step:
    devhub.sh "my-org" --instance-url "https://my-domain.my.salesforce.com" --login
  Then re-run. List existing logins with:  sf org list

Manual fallback (if the script is unavailable)

# Detect Dev Hub (INVALID_TYPE error means OFF; a count means ON):
sf data query --query "SELECT COUNT() FROM ScratchOrgInfo" --target-org <org> --json

# Enable Dev Hub via the Tooling API (what the Setup toggle does; irreversible):
sf api request rest "/services/data/v47.0/tooling/sobjects/DevHubSettings/DevHub" \
  --method PATCH \
  --body '{"FullName":"DevHub","Metadata":{"enableScratchOrgManagementPref":true}}' \
  --target-org <org>

# Or enable in the UI: Setup > Quick Find > "Dev Hub" > turn Enable Dev Hub On.

# View scratch org allocation:
sf org list limits --target-org <org> --json | jq '.result[] | select(.name|test("ScratchOrg"))'

Notes

• Requires the Salesforce CLI (sf) and jq on the PATH, plus at least one

authenticated org (sf org login web).

• After enabling, set the org as your default Dev Hub:

sf config set target-dev-hub <org>.

• Enabling packaging (enablePackaging2) requires Dev Hub to be on first —

--enable --packaging handles the ordering in a single deploy.

• Non-admin users still need object access (Read/Create on ScratchOrgInfo and

ActiveScratchOrg) to create/view scratch orgs, and the "Create and Update

Second-Generation Packages" permission to build 2GP/unlocked packages.

• To switch the default org use dx-org-switch; to check expiration use

dx-org-trial-expiration-check.