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Setting Up the Aline Salesforce Managed Package

A complete setup guide for Salesforce admins and Aline admins — install the managed package, configure the API key, publish templates from Aline, and launch workflows directly from a Salesforce Opportunity.

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Written by Anastashia Kamberidis

The Aline Salesforce Managed Package puts Aline's contract workflows directly inside Salesforce. Once installed, your sales team can launch pre-built Aline templates from an Opportunity page, and Salesforce field values (Opportunity, Account, Owner) flow automatically into the resulting document.

This guide is written for the Salesforce Admin installing the package and the Aline Admin configuring the integration. Setup takes about 15–20 minutes end to end.

Overview

In this article you'll:

  • Install the Aline Managed Package in your Salesforce org

  • Assign the Aline Admin permission set to the right users

  • Create an Aline API key with the permissions the package requires

  • Configure Aline inside Salesforce (Base URL + API Token)

  • Publish templates from Aline so they show up in the Salesforce launcher

  • Launch a workflow from an Opportunity to verify everything works

  • Know how to upgrade the package and troubleshoot common issues

Who Needs to Do What

  • Salesforce Admin — installs the package, assigns the Aline Admin permission set, verifies Remote Site Settings, and manages upgrades

  • Aline Admin — creates the API key with the right permissions and marks which templates show up in Salesforce

  • End users (sales reps) — launch Aline workflows from an Opportunity page; no Aline account required

💡 Because the Salesforce integration connects via an API key, every published template is visible to every Salesforce user who can launch workflows. Use the Aline-side template-publishing controls (Step 6) to limit which templates appear.

Step 1: Install the Managed Package

  1. Log in to the Salesforce org where you want to install the package (Production or Sandbox)

  2. Open the install link your Aline account team shared with you. As of the latest release the link is:
    ​https://login.salesforce.com/packaging/installPackage.apexp?p0=04tam000006aLFNAA2

  3. Choose an install scope:

  • Install for Admins Only (recommended for the initial rollout)

  • Install for All Users once you're ready to expose it broadly

  • Install for Specific Profiles if you want a phased rollout

  1. Approve any third-party access prompts Salesforce shows during install

  2. Wait for Salesforce to confirm the install has completed

📌 Sandbox vs. Production: Beta versions of the package can only be installed in a Sandbox. Released (non-beta) versions install in either. If you're testing before rolling out, install in Sandbox first — once Released, API names and field types are locked, so testing there saves rework.

💡 Coming soon: Aline is going through Salesforce AppExchange security review. Once approved, upgrades will happen automatically. Until then, upgrades happen via new install links (see Upgrading the Package below).

Step 2: Assign the Aline Admin Permission Set

The package includes an Aline Admin permission set. Users with this permission set can:

  • Open the Aline Configuration tab and manage the API key / Base URL

  • See the Aline Error Logs tab for troubleshooting integration failures

To assign it:

  1. Go to Setup → Users → Permission Sets

  2. Open Aline Admin

  3. Click Manage Assignments → Add Assignment

  4. Add yourself and any teammates who should be able to manage Aline config

Regular sales users do not need this permission set — they only need access to launch workflows from Opportunities.

Step 3: Create an Aline API Key

The managed package authenticates to Aline using a bearer API token. The token needs the right permissions or the integration will fail with workflow:create errors when your team tries to launch a workflow.

  1. In Aline, click the menu icon in the bottom left (the circle with your initial)

  2. Go to Settings → API Keys (or open https://app.aline.co/admin/api-keys directly)

  3. Click New API Key +

  4. Name it something descriptive (e.g., Salesforce Managed Package — Production)

  5. Grant the key Full Access, or at minimum give it Read + Create on Workflows, Read on Templates, Read on Documents, and Read on Account

  6. Click Create and copy the key immediately — Aline only shows it once

💡 See Creating and Managing API Keys in Aline for the full API-key walkthrough — including how resource-level permissions work and how to authenticate with the bearer token.

⚠️ Use a separate key for Sandbox and Production, and rotate the key immediately if it ever leaks.

Step 4: Configure Aline Inside Salesforce

  1. In Salesforce, open the App Launcher and search for Aline Configuration

  2. In the configuration screen, enter:

  • Aline Base URL — typically https://app.aline.co (or https://staging.aline.co if you're testing against a staging environment)

  • API Token — the key you just created

  1. Click Save Configuration

If the Aline Base URL field is read-only

For safety, the Base URL is gated behind a Custom Metadata feature flag. To make it editable:

  1. Open Setup and search Custom Metadata Types

  2. Next to Aline Feature Flag, click Manage Records

  3. Open the existing record whose Feature Name is Allow_Base_URL_Edit, or click New to create one:

  • Label — Allow Base URL Edit

  • Aline Feature Flag Name (Developer Name) — Allow_Base_URL_Edit

  • Feature Name — must be exactly Allow_Base_URL_Edit

  • Is Enabled — checked

  1. Save, then reopen Aline Configuration — the Base URL field will now be editable

If callouts fail with "unauthorized endpoint" errors

Add the Aline host to Remote Site Settings:

  1. Setup → Security → Remote Site Settings

  2. Add a new site for the Base URL host (e.g., https://app.aline.co or https://staging.aline.co)

Step 5: Publish Templates from Aline to Salesforce

By default, only templates you explicitly mark are exposed to the Salesforce launcher. This lets you keep internal-only templates (like sales comp docs) out of Salesforce.

  1. In Aline, open Templates

  2. For each template you want available in Salesforce, toggle the Publish to Salesforce setting on

💡 If you drag a Salesforce field into an Aline template, the template is automatically flagged as Salesforce-connected. Templates that don't reference Salesforce fields can still be published — this is useful for standard docs (NDAs, order forms) you want reps to launch from an Opportunity.

Step 6: Launch a Workflow from an Opportunity

Time to smoke-test the integration:

  1. Open any Opportunity in Salesforce

  2. Find the Aline section on the Opportunity page and click Launch Workflow

  3. Pick a published template from the list

  4. In the Review Fields form, verify the values Aline is pulling from Salesforce:

  • Editable Salesforce fields — you can override values inline before launch

  • Read-only Salesforce fields (e.g., Created By, Last Modified By, Expected Revenue, Owner First/Last Name) — displayed with their current value; not editable

  • Lookup fields — show the Relationship Name (e.g., the Account name) rather than the raw record ID

  • Aline-only template fields — fill in anything the template requires that isn't sourced from Salesforce

  • Signer roles — assign an email address to each Placeholder / Role. All roles must be assigned before the workflow can go to signature.

  1. Click Launch — a new Aline workflow and document are created

  2. From the success screen you can Open in Aline or Download the latest document version

📎 The document's Download button always returns the latest synced version. If no version has been synced from Aline yet, the button is hidden and users see a "No synced version is available yet" toast.

💡 One document or workflow can be linked to multiple Opportunities. Useful for master agreements that cover more than one deal.

Upgrading the Package

Until Aline is live on the AppExchange, upgrades ship as new install links:

  1. Your Aline account team shares a new install link (usually in your shared Slack channel)

  2. Open the link while logged into the Salesforce org — Salesforce automatically detects it's an upgrade and walks you through it

  3. After the upgrade completes, no configuration is lost — your API key, Base URL, and existing Aline records all remain

⚠️ Sandbox with a Beta version: Beta and Released versions cannot upgrade to each other directly. If you're on a Beta and want the Released version, you'll need to uninstall the Beta and reinstall the Released package. Uninstalling removes existing Aline_Workflow__c and Aline_Document__c records, so re-populate the API key and re-test afterwards.

💡 You can see which package version each of your orgs is running from Salesforce's Package Visualizer (once we're on AppExchange, this will be visible to Aline as well).

Troubleshooting

Check the Aline Error Logs tab

Users with the Aline Admin permission set can open the Aline Error Logs tab to inspect integration failures. Error rows include:

  • HTTP-level errors (timeouts, unauthorized endpoints)

  • Business-level failures returned by Aline (HTTP 200 responses that came back with a GraphQL errors[] envelope)

Common Issues

  • "Workflow could not be created" / permission errors — the API key is missing workflow:create. Rotate the key with the correct permissions (see Creating and Managing API Keys in Aline) and update it in Aline Configuration.

  • Template doesn't appear in the Salesforce launcher — the template is not marked Publish to Salesforce in Aline (Step 5).

  • "Launch" button blocked — one or more signer Roles aren't assigned. Aline can't send for signature until all roles have an email.

  • Salesforce fields aren't populating — confirm the field API names in the template match the Salesforce object's actual API names (check Object Manager). Fields on unrelated objects (like Lead) won't be populated from an Opportunity because there's no direct relationship.

  • Download button is greyed out — no synced document version yet. Launch the workflow and let it sync, or refresh.

  • "Unauthorized endpoint" errors on save — add the Aline Base URL host to Remote Site Settings (Step 4).

💡 Best Practices

  • Install in Sandbox first, test end-to-end, then install in Production.

  • Separate API keys per environment (Sandbox key ≠ Production key), and rotate on team changes.

  • Publish templates deliberately — every published template is visible to every Salesforce user who can launch workflows.

  • Match Salesforce API field names exactly when building templates so fields render correctly.

  • Give the Aline Admin permission set to at least two teammates so there's always someone who can debug or rotate credentials.

📚 Related Articles

❓ Need Help?

Rolling out to a large team, migrating from a legacy CLM, or hitting an error not covered here? Click the Support button in Aline to chat with our team, or reach your dedicated Slack channel. We can walk your Salesforce admin through the install on a screen-share.

Related Articles
How to Add Another Template to a Workflow in Aline
Connecting your CRM to Templates in Aline
Managing Legal Review, Redlining & Multi-Phase Approvals in Aline Workflows
Welcome to Aline: A Platform Overview for New Users
Creating and Managing API Keys in Aline
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