# What is Salesforce metadata?

> Salesforce metadata is everything that defines how an org behaves rather than the business records it stores: objects, fields, page layouts, Flows, Apex, Lightning components, permission sets, validation rules and more. Metadata is what admins and developers change, deploy between orgs and keep in source control.

Source: https://synconai360.com/glossary/salesforce-metadata

## Why it matters

Every change to how Salesforce works is a metadata change, so understanding an org means understanding its metadata. Records tell you what the business did; metadata tells you how the system will respond to the next record.

Metadata is also where risk lives: a renamed field or a new Flow can affect automation, reports and integrations far from where the change was made.

## In SyncOnAI 360

SyncOnAI 360 keeps a searchable repository of each connected org's metadata, with the full source of Apex, Flows and Lightning Web Components, refreshed every six hours and after every deploy. It does not store CRM records.

## Related terms

- [Metadata API](https://synconai360.com/glossary/metadata-api)
- [Salesforce dependency](https://synconai360.com/glossary/salesforce-dependency)
- [Salesforce sandbox](https://synconai360.com/glossary/sandbox)