Sync

Synchronize data between multiple Cockpit instances for staging, production, and distributed environments.

• Overview
• Features
• Use Cases
• Staging to Production
• Content Team Distribution
• Development Workflow
• Multi-Region Deployment
• Configuration
• Sync Key
• Generating a Secure Key
• Using Environment Variables
• Best Practices
• Security
• Data Integrity
• Performance

Overview

The Sync addon enables seamless data synchronization between multiple Cockpit instances. Keep staging and production environments in sync, distribute content across teams, or maintain consistent data across distributed installations.

Features

• Bi-directional sync - Push or pull data between instances
• Selective sync - Choose exactly what to synchronize
• Multiple targets - Configure multiple sync destinations
• All resource types - Sync content, assets, pages, translations, and layouts
• Individual item sync - Sync single items without full sync
• Mirror mode - Option to mirror (replace) or merge data
• Secure transfer - JWT-signed payloads for secure communication
• Async execution - Non-blocking sync operations
• Progress logging - Real-time sync progress tracking

Use Cases

Staging to Production

Push content from a staging environment to production after review:

[Staging Server] --push--> [Production Server]

Content Team Distribution

Keep multiple content editors synchronized:

[Central Hub] <--pull/push--> [Editor A]
              <--pull/push--> [Editor B]

Development Workflow

Pull production data to local development for testing:

[Development] <--pull-- [Production]

Multi-Region Deployment

Distribute content across regional servers:

[Master] --push--> [US Region]
         --push--> [EU Region]
         --push--> [Asia Region]

Configuration

Sync Key

Each Cockpit instance needs a unique sync key. Define it in /config/config.php:

<?php

return [
    'sync' => [
        'syncKey' => 'your-secure-sync-key-here'
    ]
];

Generating a Secure Key

Generate a secure key with PHP:

php -r "echo bin2hex(random_bytes(20));"

Or use OpenSSL:

openssl rand -hex 20

Using Environment Variables

For better security in production:

<?php

return [
    'sync' => [
        'syncKey' => $_ENV['COCKPIT_SYNC_KEY']
    ]
];

Best Practices

Security

• Use strong, unique sync keys per environment
• Restrict sync permissions to administrators only
• Use HTTPS for all sync transfers
• Consider IP whitelisting for sync endpoints

Data Integrity

• Always test sync on staging first
• Use "Missing Keys Only" for translations to avoid overwrites
• Avoid mirror mode unless you intend to fully replace data
• Back up before major sync operations

Performance

• Schedule large syncs during low-traffic periods
• Use selective sync instead of "Sync All" when possible
• Consider sync batching for very large datasets