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Scheduled syncs

A scheduled sync runs a pull-and-apply on a recurring schedule, so a fleet stays in step with a source of truth without anyone lifting a finger. It runs on WP-Cron, and you can force an out-of-band run at any time with Check now. Every scheduled apply still snapshots first.

Pro

Scheduled syncs are a DriftSync Pro feature and run over a direct connection — the target pulls from a connected source.

How it runs

A schedule lives on the target site. On its cadence, WP-Cron wakes DriftSync, which pulls the latest release from the configured source connection, computes a dry-run diff against the target's current state, and applies it — taking a snapshot first, exactly as a manual apply would.

  1. Open DriftSync → Schedules on the target site.
  2. Pick the source connection to pull from and choose a cadence (for example hourly, daily, or weekly).
  3. Choose how conflicts resolve by default, since no one is present to decide interactively.
  4. Save. The schedule now runs on WP-Cron and each run is recorded in History.

Note

WP-Cron fires on site traffic, so a low-traffic site may run its schedule a little late. For precise timing, point a real system cron at wp-cron.php as you would for any scheduled WordPress task.

Check now

You do not have to wait for the next scheduled run. Check now triggers the pull-and-apply immediately — useful right after you publish a new release upstream, or to confirm a schedule is wired up correctly. A manual Check now behaves identically to a scheduled run: pull, diff, snapshot, apply, audit.

Unattended conflict handling

Because a schedule runs with no one watching, it uses the default conflict resolution you set instead of prompting. Choose it deliberately:

  • Overwrite — keep the target faithfully matching the source. Best when the source is the single source of truth.
  • Skip — never touch a value the target has already customised, only add what is new.
  • Merge — combine list-like settings where possible; falls back to your chosen default for scalar values.

See conflict resolution for what each choice does.

Important

A scheduled overwrite will keep re-applying the source's values. If a target genuinely needs a different, permanent value, exclude that field from the bundle or set its default to skip — otherwise the next run will revert it.

Auditing scheduled runs

Every scheduled run appears in the History panel with its snapshot attached, tagged as a scheduled source. If a run applies something you did not want, roll it back in one click just like any other release.