Salesforce Certified Heroku Developer Accredited Professional – Complete Winter '26 Guide

Buildpacks, Runtime & Procfile

Heroku detects the language/framework of an app using Buildpacks — Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Go, and more are officially supported. Custom Buildpacks extend the detection and build process. The build process: push code → detect buildpack → compile → create slug → deploy to dynos. The Procfile defines process types: `web: node server.js` (HTTP), `worker: node worker.js` (background). Multiple process types can run simultaneously. Eco and Basic dynos sleep after inactivity. The `heroku local` command runs the Procfile locally using `.env` for config vars. The AP exam tests how to configure a Procfile for a multi-process app and how to debug a build failure using build logs.

Config Vars, Add-ons & Environment Management

Config Vars are environment variables set per Heroku app — accessible in code as `process.env.VAR_NAME`. Never hardcode secrets; always use Config Vars. Add-ons extend Heroku apps with third-party services (databases, email, monitoring, logging) — provisioned via `heroku addons:create`. Each add-on sets Config Vars automatically (e.g., DATABASE_URL for Postgres). Add-on plans scale independently from app dynos. The Heroku CLI (`heroku config:set`, `heroku addons`) manages Config Vars and Add-ons. The AP exam tests how to pass secrets to a Heroku app securely, how to provision and configure an add-on, and how to rotate credentials without downtime.

Heroku Connect & Salesforce Integration

Heroku Connect maps Salesforce object records to Heroku Postgres tables, syncing data bidirectionally on a configurable schedule. Setup: provision Heroku Connect add-on → authenticate with Salesforce → create mappings (object, fields, direction). Read mappings pull Salesforce data to Postgres. Write mappings push Postgres changes back to Salesforce. Conflict detection handles records modified in both systems simultaneously. The `_hc_lastop`, `_hc_err`, and `isdeleted` system columns track sync status. Connection limits on Salesforce API calls govern sync frequency. The AP exam tests how to configure a Heroku Connect mapping, troubleshoot sync errors, and design for high-volume bidirectional sync within Salesforce API limits.

Async Jobs, Workers & Message Queues

Background processing on Heroku uses Worker dynos. Job queues (Redis-backed: Bull, Bee-Queue for Node.js; Celery for Python; Sidekiq for Ruby) decouple work submission from processing. Pattern: web dyno enqueues a job → worker dyno processes it asynchronously. This prevents long-running tasks from blocking HTTP responses and allows independent scaling of web vs. worker processes. Scheduled tasks use Heroku Scheduler add-on (cron-like) or clock processes in the Procfile. Dead Letter Queues capture failed jobs for retry or investigation. The exam tests how to architect a job queue for a given throughput requirement and how to handle job failures gracefully.

Monitoring, Logging & Performance

Heroku Logplex aggregates logs from all Dynos, Router, and add-ons into a unified stream — `heroku logs --tail` for real-time viewing. Log Drains forward logs to external services (Papertrail, Datadog, Splunk). Application metrics (response time, throughput, error rate) are visible in the Heroku Dashboard. Dyno metrics show CPU and memory usage — memory leaks cause R14 (memory quota exceeded) errors. R10 (Boot timeout), H10 (App crashed), H12 (Request timeout at 30s) are common Heroku error codes. New Relic, Scout APM, and Datadog add-ons provide application performance monitoring. The exam tests how to diagnose a performance problem using logs and metrics, and how to configure alerting for dyno errors.

Heroku Deployment Workflow

Know the Heroku deployment flow: git push heroku main, Procfile configuration (web/worker dyno types), buildpack selection (auto-detected or explicit), and how release commands run post-deploy tasks.

Dyno Configuration & Scaling

Know dyno types (eco, basic, standard, performance), how to scale horizontally (heroku ps:scale web=3) and vertically (dyno size), and how the Heroku Router distributes requests across web dynos.

Heroku Postgres

Know Heroku Postgres tiers, how to provision a database (heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql), run psql console sessions, create and restore backups, and promote a follower database during failover.

Heroku Connect Setup

Know how to configure Heroku Connect: creating the connection, mapping Salesforce objects to Postgres tables, configuring sync direction (bidirectional, Salesforce to Heroku, Heroku to Salesforce), and troubleshooting sync errors.

Config Vars & Add-ons

Know how to manage Heroku config vars (environment variables) for storing credentials, how to provision common add-ons (Redis, SendGrid, Papertrail), and how to use the Heroku CLI to manage your application.