Embed Messaging Widget on an Experience Cloud Site
Wires an existing Embedded Messaging (MIAW) deployment onto an Experience Cloud site by retrieving the site's bundle (LWR DigitalExperienceBundle or Aura ExperienceBundle), patching the home page JSON to place the experience_messaging:embeddedMessaging component, staging the bundle into the local project, deploying it, publishing the site, and verifying guest access.
The operation is idempotent: if the component is already present it is updated in place (its id is preserved), so re-running with different ESD coordinates cleanly updates.
Scope
- In scope: Detecting LWR vs Aura bundle type; scaffolding missing LWR template routes required by the site template (e.g.
too-many-requests); patching allsfdc_cms__themeLayout/*/content.jsonfiles to insert or update the Embedded Messaging component in the footer region (site-wide placement); staging the bundle intoforce-app; async deploy with polling; resolving theNetwork.Nameand publishing the site; guest-URL smoke test; manual Experience Builder fallback with a deep link. - Out of scope: Creating the
EmbeddedServiceConfig(Embedded Service Deployment) itself — useservice-digital-engagement-deployment-configure; creating theMessagingChannel— useservice-digital-engagement-channel-configure; creating the Experience Cloud site itself — useexperience-lwr-site-generate; generating a standalone JS snippet for a non-Experience website.
Clarifying Questions
Before executing, ask the user if not already clear:
- Site name? The
DeveloperNameof the Experience Cloud site (the metadata folder name underdigitalExperiences/site/<siteName>/orexperiences/<siteName>/). - Deployment coordinates? The
deploymentName(Embedded Service DeploymentDeveloperName), thescrtUrl, and thesiteEndpoint(Experience site base URL). All three come from the publishedEmbeddedServiceConfig— obtain fromservice-digital-engagement-deployment-configureoutput if not provided. - Target org alias? For the
sfcommands. - URL path prefix? The site's
UrlPathPrefix(needed to resolveNetwork.Namefor publish and to hit the guest URL for verification).
Required Inputs
Gather or infer before proceeding:
- Site name —
DeveloperNameof the site - Deployment name —
DeveloperNameof theEmbeddedServiceConfig - scrtUrl — SCRT2 endpoint URL from the deployment
- siteEndpoint — Base URL of the Experience site
- Target org alias
- URL path prefix — Site's public URL path segment (e.g.
esw-site)
Defaults applied to the component's attributes when writing:
isExpSiteAuthMode:falsehideChatButtonOnLoad:"Default"clientVersion:"WebV1"
Workflow
Steps are sequential. If any automated step fails, proceed to the manual fallback (Phase 6) and do not claim the widget is "live" until either the guest-URL smoke test returns 200 or the user confirms manual publish.
Phase 1 — Detect Bundle Type
-
Retrieve both candidate bundles into
<retrieve-dir>. The script only performs a deterministic path check, so the retrieve calls must run first:Either call may return "no metadata found" — that is expected; the missing bundle simply means the site is the other type.
-
Run
scripts/detect_bundle_type.sh <retrieve-dir> <siteName>. It emits exactly one token to stdout:LWR→ the LWR marker file exists (digitalExperiences/site/<siteName>/sfdc_cms__view/home/content.json). Go to Phase 2.AURA→ the Aura marker file exists (experiences/<siteName>/views/homeGuestLayout.json). Go to Phase 3.UNKNOWN(exit code 1) → neither marker exists. Skip to the manual fallback in Phase 6.
Read references/bundle_detection.md for retrieval command shapes and troubleshooting.
Phase 2 — Patch the LWR Bundle
-
Scaffold any missing LWR template routes (commonly
too-many-requests) before patching — missing routes fail the deploy. Route+view scaffolding is owned byexperience-lwr-site-generate(see itsconfigure-content-route.md,configure-content-view.md, andhandle-component-and-region-ids.md). Delegate to that skill for the actual scaffold; this skill only supplies the messaging-specific context (which route the deploy is complaining about, and confirmation that the scaffolded pair resolves that specific deploy error). Seereferences/lwr_route_scaffolding.mdfor the delegation pointer. -
Patch all themeLayout files by running:
The script iterates every
sfdc_cms__themeLayout/*/content.jsonfile. For each, it locates thefooterregion at.contentBody.component.children[], walks into the existingcommunity_layout:sectionwrapper's inner slot region, and either updates the existingexperience_messaging:embeddedMessagingcomponent in place (preserving itsid) or appends a fresh component node. Targeting the themeLayout footer makes the widget site-wide (floating overlay on every page), equivalent to the Aura themeFooter placement. Seereferences/lwr_patch.mdfor the JSON shapes and how to verify. -
Proceed to Phase 4.
Phase 3 — Patch the Aura Bundle
-
Patch the home guest layout by running:
The script iterates
.regions[], picks the first region whose.components[]is non-empty, recurses through anyforceCommunity:sectionwrappers, and either updates the existing.componentName == "experience_messaging:embeddedMessaging"component in place (preservingid) or appends a freshforceCommunity:sectionwrapper. Aura usescomponentName/componentAttributes(notdefinition/attributes) and has nodxpStyle. Seereferences/aura_patch.mdfor JSON shapes and verification steps. -
Proceed to Phase 4.
Phase 4 — Stage and Deploy
-
Copy the modified bundle into the project's default package. Use
cp -Rso unchanged files travel with the modified one:- LWR:
cp -R <retrieve-dir>/digitalExperiences force-app/main/default/ - Aura:
cp -R <retrieve-dir>/experiences force-app/main/default/and also copy the sibling<siteName>.site-meta.xmlfile — Aura deploys are rejected without it.
- LWR:
-
Async deploy and poll:
Poll every 15 seconds up to 10 minutes:
Stop when status is
Succeeded,Failed,SucceededPartial, orCanceled. On failure, surface the deploy report and do not proceed to publish. Seereferences/deploy_and_publish.mdfor the full polling loop and common failure modes.
Phase 5 — Publish and Verify
-
Resolve the
Network.Name.Network.Namefrequently differs from the siteDeveloperName, so query it by the URL path prefix rather than guessing: -
Publish the community with the resolved name:
-
Smoke-test guest access by hitting the public URL:
Report success only when the response is
200.
Phase 6 — Manual Fallback
-
If any automated step fails (bundle undetectable, patch write blocked, deploy fails, publish fails, or guest URL not
200), print the Experience Builder deep link and verbatim instructions fromreferences/manual_fallback.md. Do not claim the widget is live until the user confirms.The deep link is:
Resolve
<MyDomain>viasf org display --target-org <org-alias>and<Network.Id>via:Do not hardcode either value. Instruct the user to open Experience Builder, drag the Embedded Messaging component onto the target page, pick the deployment from the property panel, and click Publish.
Rules / Constraints
Gotchas
Verification Checklist
Bundle Detection
- Was exactly one of
sfdc_cms__view/home/content.json(LWR) orviews/homeGuestLayout.json(Aura) found? - If neither was found, did the workflow route to the manual fallback?
Patch Correctness
- For LWR, are the messaging component's keys
definitionandattributes? - For Aura, are the keys
componentNameandcomponentAttributes? - When updating in place, was the existing
idpreserved? - When appending, are all new
idvalues fresh UUIDs? - For LWR, did the script patch every
sfdc_cms__themeLayout/*/content.json(not justhome/content.json)? - For LWR, does the messaging node appear inside the
footerregion's subtree in each themeLayout? - For LWR, is
clientVersionset to"WebV2"in the messaging node attributes?
Deploy
- For Aura, was
<siteName>.site-meta.xmlcopied alongside the bundle? - Was the async deploy polled until a terminal status?
- Is the terminal status
SucceededorSucceededPartialbefore proceeding to publish?
Publish
- Was
Network.Nameresolved viaUrlPathPrefix, not reused from siteDeveloperName? - Did
sf community publishcomplete without error?
Verify
- Did the guest URL curl return
200? - Did the workflow refrain from claiming success until
200was observed or the user confirmed manual publish?
Output Expectations
Deliverables:
- Modified
sfdc_cms__themeLayout/*/content.jsonfiles (one per themeLayout) in the retrieval directory and inforce-app/main/default/...(LWR); or modifiedhomeGuestLayout.json(Aura) - (LWR only, if needed) new
sfdc_cms__route/<RouteApiName>/+sfdc_cms__view/<viewId>/pair for any scaffolded missing route - Deploy
job-idand the final deploy report - Publish confirmation
- Guest URL smoke-test HTTP status
- On failure: the Experience Builder deep link and manual instructions
Do not produce the EmbeddedServiceConfig or the MessagingChannel metadata — those are the responsibilities of the deployment and channel skills below.


