> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.azalt.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Organization Sync Overview

> Keep organization configuration aligned across environments without moving collected data

Organization sync lets a platform administrator copy an organization's configuration to another environment and keep the two configurations aligned over time. It is designed for a source organization and a target organization that may both change after the initial copy.

## What Sync Includes

Sync works with organization configuration:

* sites, site groups, units, unit groups, and unit conversions
* activity definitions
* datasets and dataset items
* forms, form elements, form-site assignments, and disabled-element settings
* indicators, benchmark entities, and benchmarks
* dashboards, widgets, and targets
* source adapter definitions and export definitions
* report templates, sections, choices, and examples
* record table views and their contribution mappings
* cron jobs and non-encrypted variables
* transferable organization settings, which are handled as manual-review items

Users and their assignments can be included during an initial import, but they are not updated by sync preview and apply.

## What Sync Never Changes

Organization sync is not a backup or data migration. It does not copy, update, or delete collected data, including:

* form submissions and submitted field values
* activities created from collected data
* imported data and import run history
* cron job execution history

Configuration changes can affect how future data is collected or calculated, so the preview marks especially sensitive changes as **Data-affecting**. It still does not rewrite the collected records themselves.

## The Sync Lifecycle

1. **Export the source organization.** The export file contains the source configuration.
2. **Import into an empty target organization.** This creates the initial copy and records a link for each imported entity.
3. **Continue working in either environment.** Source and target configuration may now diverge.
4. **Preview sync.** The preview compares the current source export, the current target, and the state recorded at the last import or sync.
5. **Apply selected changes.** New and source-only changes can be applied while target-only changes remain untouched. Conflicts stay unresolved until an administrator chooses an outcome.
6. **Repeat.** Each successful apply becomes the comparison point for the next preview.

If an organization was imported before sync tracking existed, or matching entities were created manually on both sides, use [Adopt Existing Entities](/en/organization-sync/adoption) before applying changes.

## How Matching Works

After an import, adoption, or sync, Azalt remembers two things for each matched entity:

* which source entity corresponds to which target entity
* what that entity looked like on both sides at the last comparison point

This history enables a three-way comparison. Azalt can distinguish a source change from a target-only change, instead of relying only on names or treating every difference as an overwrite.

Names and other identity fields help propose matches during adoption. Once a match is adopted, the stored entity link is used for later previews.

## Recommended Starting Point

For a new target, follow [Export and Import](/en/organization-sync/export-import). For an existing target without sync links, start with [Adopt Existing Entities](/en/organization-sync/adoption). Use [Preview and Apply Changes](/en/organization-sync/preview-apply) for ongoing synchronization.