Custom Object Translations in source format omit help text, labels, etc. that mdapi format includes

[eburtness]

Summary

Custom Object Translations include help text, labels, picklist values, etc. as comments when retrieved via metadata API, but omit that info when retrieved in source format via sf project retrieve start. (Converting to source format via sf project convert mdapi also strips out that info.)

Is this behavior intentional or a bug? It's a problem because I want my source files to match what's retrieved by other tools using the metadata API such as Gearset.

Steps To Reproduce

• Clone my example repo (this is a fork of dreamhouse-lwc with minimal modifications to demonstrate the issue)
• Create scratch org and deploy project
• Retrieve Contact object and translations via sf project retrieve start --manifest package.xml --target-metadata-dir temp-mdapi --unzip
• Retrieve Contact object and translations via sf project retrieve start --manifest package.xml

Expected result

Content of Custom Object Translations matches, whether represented in mdapi format or source format.

Actual result

Unpackaged mdapi format file temp-mdapi/unpackaged/unpackaged/objectTranslations/Contact-en_US.objectTranslation includes help text, labels, picklist values, etc. as comments, like this:

        <help><!-- Please choose an option --></help>
        <label><!-- Example --></label>
        <name>Example__c</name>
        <picklistValues>
            <masterLabel>One</masterLabel>
            <translation><!-- One --></translation>
        </picklistValues>
        <picklistValues>
            <masterLabel>Two</masterLabel>
            <translation><!-- Two --></translation>
        </picklistValues>

(The above matches what is retrieved by other tools like Workbench, Gearset, etc.)

Decomposed source file force-app/main/default/objectTranslations/Contact-en_US/Example__c.fieldTranslation-meta.xml omits the labels, help text, etc., like this:

    <help></help>
    <label></label>
    <name>Example__c</name>
    <picklistValues>
        <masterLabel>One</masterLabel>
        <translation></translation>
    </picklistValues>
    <picklistValues>
        <masterLabel>Two</masterLabel>
        <translation></translation>
    </picklistValues>

System Information

Shell: zsh

{
  "architecture": "darwin-arm64",
  "cliVersion": "@salesforce/cli/2.37.4",
  "nodeVersion": "node-v20.11.1",
  "osVersion": "Darwin 23.4.0",
  "rootPath": "/Users/erickburtness/.local/share/sf/client/2.37.4-fb2a8ae",
  "shell": "zsh",
  "pluginVersions": [
    "@oclif/plugin-autocomplete 3.0.13 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-commands 3.2.2 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-help 6.0.20 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-not-found 3.1.2 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-plugins 5.0.7 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-search 1.0.20 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-update 4.2.4 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-version 2.0.16 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-warn-if-update-available 3.0.15 (core)",
    "@oclif/plugin-which 3.1.7 (core)",
    "@salesforce/cli 2.37.4 (core)",
    "apex 3.1.4 (core)",
    "auth 3.5.5 (core)",
    "data 3.2.5 (core)",
    "deploy-retrieve 3.5.6 (core)",
    "env 3.0.26 (user)",
    "info 3.1.3 (core)",
    "limits 3.2.1 (core)",
    "marketplace 1.1.1 (core)",
    "org 4.0.4 (core)",
    "packaging 2.3.0 (core)",
    "schema 3.2.1 (core)",
    "settings 2.1.2 (core)",
    "sobject 1.2.2 (core)",
    "source 3.2.3 (core)",
    "telemetry 3.1.18 (core)",
    "templates 56.1.1 (core)",
    "trust 3.5.4 (core)",
    "user 3.4.3 (core)",
    "sfdx-git-delta 5.38.4 (user)"
  ]
}

[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.

[mshanemc]

yeah, I think it's stripping xml comments somewhere when converting xml => json => xml

[git2gus]

This issue has been linked to a new work item: W-15544382

[jshackell-sfdc]

This issue is fixed in version 2.40.7 (May 8, 2024) of the CLI. Enjoy!