Both Work Items and Releases support the same core actions:
- Pull
- Deploy
- Execute Apex
- Execute Automation Flow
The difference is not in the actions —
it’s in the scope.
Work Item = Feature-Level Scope
A Work Item represents a single feature, fix, or task.
When you:
- Pull → You retrieve changes for that specific feature.
- Deploy → You deploy only that feature’s components.
- Execute Apex → You run scripts related to that feature.
- Execute Automation Flow → You run automation for that specific item.
It’s focused, isolated, and feature-based.
Release = Aggregated Scope
A Release groups multiple Work Items together.
When you:
- Pull → You retrieve changes across all included Work Items.
- Deploy → You deploy the full release package.
- Execute Apex → You run scripts affecting the full release.
- Execute Automation Flow → You execute automation at release level.
It’s coordinated, structured, and promotion-focused.
Pull & Deploy: Simple vs Advanced View
Both Pull and Deploy offer two viewing modes to support different personas.
Simple View
Designed for non-technical users.
- Components are grouped logically.
- You select by category (e.g., Apex Classes, Flows, Objects).
- Clean and easy to understand.
- Ideal for product owners or release managers.
Advanced View
Designed for technical users.
- Full metadata tree.
- Granular selection.
- Dependency-aware.
- Allows precise control.
Enhanced Component Grouping
To bridge technical and non-technical users:
- Components are grouped logically instead of raw file listings.
- You can partially select inside a group (not just the whole group).
- Keeps deployments safe while maintaining flexibility.
- Reduces noise but preserves control.