Can't push after Deleting source file for an Apex class with Deleted status

[geoffswift]

Summary

Steps To Reproduce

1. Have an Apex class with a Deleted status

<ApexClass xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
	<apiVersion>63.0</apiVersion>
	<status>Deleted</status>
</ApexClass>

2. Push the code to your org
3. Delete the source file
4. Try to push to the org

Expected result

Push succeeds

Actual result

Component Failures [1]
┌───────────┬────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┐
│ Type │ Name │ Problem │ Line:Column │
├───────────┼────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┤
│ ApexClass │ destructiveChanges.xml │ No ApexClass named: Example found │ │
└───────────┴────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┘

Additional information

Presumably it thinks it has to remove the class from the org, despite the fact it was never actually deployed.

System Information

{
  "architecture": "darwin-arm64",
  "cliVersion": "@salesforce/cli/2.85.7",
  "nodeVersion": "node-v22.12.0",
  "osVersion": "Darwin 24.4.0",
  "rootPath": "/Users/gswift@financialforce.com/src/cpm/node_modules/@salesforce/cli",
  "shell": "bash",
  "pluginVersions": [
    "@oclif/plugin-autocomplete 3.2.27 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-commands 4.1.24 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-help 6.2.27 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-not-found 3.2.49 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-plugins 5.4.36 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-search 1.2.23 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-update 4.6.37 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-version 2.2.27 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-warn-if-update-available 3.1.38 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-which 3.2.34 (core)",
    "@salesforce/analytics 1.4.39 (link) /Users/gswift@financialforce.com/src/cpm/node_modules/@salesforce/analytics",
    "@salesforce/cli 2.85.7 (core)",
    "apex 3.6.12 (core)",
    "api 1.3.3 (core)",
    "auth 3.6.111 (core)",
    "community 3.3.20 (link) /Users/gswift@financialforce.com/src/cpm/node_modules/@salesforce/plugin-community",
    "data 4.0.26 (core)",
    "deploy-retrieve 3.22.4 (core)",
    "info 3.4.53 (core)",
    "lightning-dev 2.10.3 (link) /Users/gswift@financialforce.com/src/cpm/node_modules/@salesforce/plugin-lightning-dev",
    "limits 3.3.51 (core)",
    "marketplace 1.3.8 (core)",
    "org 5.6.1 (core)",
    "packaging 2.9.5 (link) /Users/gswift@financialforce.com/src/portfolio-limits-reporter/node_modules/@salesforce/plugin-packaging",
    "schema 3.3.59 (core)",
    "settings 2.4.23 (core)",
    "sobject 1.4.54 (core)",
    "telemetry 3.6.38 (core)",
    "templates 56.3.44 (core)",
    "trust 3.7.81 (core)",
    "user 3.6.17 (core)",
    "@salesforce/sfdx-scanner 4.10.0 (user) published 58 days ago (Tue Feb 25 2025) (latest is 4.11.0)"
  ]
}

[github-actions]

Thank you for filing this issue. We appreciate your feedback and will review the issue as soon as possible. Remember, however, that GitHub isn't a mechanism for receiving support under any agreement or SLA. If you require immediate assistance, contact Salesforce Customer Support.

[soridalac]

Hi @geoffswift, I wasn't able to reproduce it. I followed the steps, apex class with a deleted status and push to the org. The status was succeed and the apexclass that was deleted showed in the state as unchanged rather than created.

[geoffswift]

@soridalac Here's a minimal reproduction...

~/src/cpm$ echo '<ApexClass xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata"><apiVersion>63.0</apiVersion><status>Deleted</status></ApexClass>' > force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls-meta.xml
~/src/cpm$ echo 'public class Test {}' > force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls
~/src/cpm$ sf project deploy start -c

 ─────────────── Deploying Metadata ───────────────

 Deploying v63.0 metadata to test-vzbbc5ws0ibq@example.com using the v63.0 SOAP API.

 ✔ Preparing 307ms
 ◯ Waiting for the org to respond - Skipped
 ✔ Deploying Metadata 4.83s
   ▸ Components: 1/1 (100%)
 ◯ Running Tests - Skipped
 ◯ Updating Source Tracking - Skipped
 ✔ Done 0ms

 Status: Succeeded
 Deploy ID: 0AfDF00001Oa7a90AB
 Target Org: test-vzbbc5ws0ibq@example.com
 Elapsed Time: 5.15s


Deployed Source
┌───────────┬────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ State     │ Name                               │ Type      │ Path                                                                                     │
├───────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Unchanged │ Test                               │ ApexClass │ force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls                                                    │
│ Unchanged │ Test                               │ ApexClass │ force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls-meta.xml                                           │
└───────────┴────────────────────────────────────┴───────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


~/src/cpm$ rm force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls*
~/src/cpm$ sf project deploy start -c

 ─────────────── Deploying Metadata ───────────────

 Deploying v63.0 metadata to test-vzbbc5ws0ibq@example.com using the v63.0 SOAP API.

 ✘ Preparing 347ms
 ◼ Waiting for the org to respond
 ◼ Deploying Metadata
 ◼ Running Tests
 ◼ Updating Source Tracking
 ◼ Done

 Status: Failed
 Deploy ID: 0AfDF00001Oa7aE0AR
 Target Org: test-vzbbc5ws0ibq@example.com
 Elapsed Time: 364ms


Component Failures [1]
┌───────────┬────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┐
│ Type      │ Name                   │ Problem                        │ Line:Column │
├───────────┼────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┤
│ ApexClass │ destructiveChanges.xml │ No ApexClass named: Test found │             │
└───────────┴────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┘


Deleted Source
┌──────┬───────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ Type      │ Path                                           │
├──────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Test │ ApexClass │ force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls          │
│ Test │ ApexClass │ force-app/deprecated/classes/Test.cls-meta.xml │
└──────┴───────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[geoffswift]

From the log you should hopefully see it's trying to remove something from the org which was never actually there.

Once you get yourself into this state, you can't push any more, but you can work around the issue.

The workaround is to create a regular class with <status>Active</status> rather than ``Deleted` and push it. Then you can delete the class and metadata files and push successfully.

[EstebanRomero84]

Hi @geoffswift I was able to issue and created a bug for us.
FYI another workaround is to delete the .sf folder in your project.
Thanks.

[git2gus]

This issue has been linked to a new work item: W-18473425

[jfeingold35]

@geoffswift , after investigation, we've determined that the level of effort and risk involved in a potential fix to this issue is above what we're comfortable with for an issue with a known workaround.
Moving forward, we recommend deleting Apex classes from your project by simply deleting the file outright as you would with any other metadata type instead of setting the status property to deleted.
We appreciate your understanding.