The core loop
Every change in DriftSync — whether you are promoting a setting from staging to production or keeping a fleet in step — follows the same five steps: select, dry-run diff, snapshot, apply, audit. Learn the loop once and it never changes, in the free plugin or in Pro.
Why a loop
Most sync and migration tools either overwrite the whole database or execute code you have to trust. DriftSync treats a set of configuration and content changes as a reviewable release: everything you are about to change is shown to you first, applied only when you approve it, and captured in a restore point so it can always be undone. The loop is what makes that safe and repeatable.
The five steps
- Select — pick exactly what to sync: options and settings groups, global styles, block patterns and reusable blocks, nav menus, and post-type or taxonomy definitions. See what DriftSync syncs for the full list.
- Dry-run diff — DriftSync compares the bundle against the target and shows every add, overwrite, merge, held value, and skip. Nothing is written. See the dry-run diff.
- Snapshot — before writing anything, DriftSync captures the current state of every value the release touches, as a restore point.
- Apply — the approved changes are written, and only those changes. Conflicts you left unresolved fall back to their default action.
- Audit — the release is recorded in the History panel: what changed, when, and by whom, with the snapshot attached for a one-click rollback.
Important
The loop is the guarantee: nothing is ever written during selection or the dry-run diff. The target site is untouched until you reach the apply step and confirm.Where the bundle fits
Selection produces a config bundle — a single portable JSON file describing desired state. In the free plugin you export that bundle to a file and apply it on the target. With DriftSync Pro the same bundle can travel over a direct connection between two sites, or fan out to many at once, but the loop each site runs is identical.
The loop never gets skipped
Direct connections, scheduling, and DriftSync Cloud all automate getting a bundle to a site — they never remove a step. A scheduled sync still takes a snapshot before it applies; a fan-out still produces a dry-run diff per site. That is deliberate: automation should make the safe path faster, not bypass it.
Next steps
Start with exporting a bundle, then learn to read the dry-run diff and how snapshots and rollback protect every apply.