Multi-Site Manager

Multi-Site Manager (MSM) enables organizations, which operate multiple sites sharing common content, to manage them from a single base site. Sites based on the base site are called satellite sites and automatically inherit content from the base, and authors can override specific pages on any dependent site when local customization is needed.

When using MSM, every site at least one role:

• A base site supplies shared content to satellite sites. Authors of base sites can preview, publish, detach, sync, or reconnect a satellite's copy of a page.
• A satellite site resolves content from a base site. Authors of satellite sites can get or sync content from the base and reconnect a detached page when its local copy is no longer needed.

A site can be a satellite of one site and the base of other sites, creating a multi-level relationship.

Inheritance is determined by page existence:

• If a page exists on the satellite, the page is detached and the satellite-specific copy is used.
• If the page does not exist on the satellite, the satellite resolves it from the base at preview and publish time.

MSM is available through two tools built on the same inheritance model:

• The MSM Prepare menu plugin manages the page currently open in Experience Workspace.
• The MSM app browses a site's content tree and runs actions (including bulk actions) across multiple pages and satellite sites.

Setup

There are three steps to enable MSM for your project:

1. Set up the Edge Delivery Content Provider for your project.
2. Create an msm tab in the org-level Experience Workspace config sheet.
3. Enable the Prepare menu MSM plugin and, optionally, add the MSM app.

Step 1: Configure the Edge Delivery Content Provider

Add the following content source to /sites/my-site.json:

"content": {
  "source": {
    "url": "https://da-msm.adobeaem.workers.dev/{ORG}/{SITE}/",
    "type": "markup"
  }
}

This lets a satellite fall back to its base site's content when no detached local copy exists.

Step 2: Create an MSM tab in the org config sheet

Open your org-level config at https://da.live/config#/<org>/ and add an msm tab. Each row defines a base-satellite relationship:

• base identifies the base site's repository name.
• A row with an empty satellite column defines the base entry and its display title.
• Rows with a satellite value define satellite sites that resolve from that base.
• A satellite can also appear as a base in another row to create deeper, multi-level site relationships.

You can define multiple base-satellite groups in the same sheet by using different values in the base column.

Step 3: Enable MSM tools

Prepare menu plugin

Add this row to the site prepare tab in your configuration sheet to enable the Prepare menu MSM plugin:

MSM app

Open the MSM app directly, or add this row to the site apps tab:

Using the Prepare menu plugin

Open a page in Experience Workspace, select Prepare, and then select Multi-site Manager. The panel adapts to the current site's role.

Base site view

The base view groups configured satellites as:

• Linked sites - sites with no local copy of the page, which inherit from the base
• Detached sites - sites with an independent local copy of the page

Available actions for linked sites:

Available actions for detached sites:

Satellite site view

The satellite view shows the base chain up to the root base and lets authors pull content from the immediate base:

A site that is both a satellite and a base shows both views.

For recursive Preview and Publish actions on sites with nested descendants, the confirmation dialog shows the full subtree so the action can cascade beyond the direct child.

Using the MSM app

The MSM app provides a multi-column browser for managing many pages or sites. To use the app:

1. Enter an org or an org and site in the toolbar and select Load.
2. Browse the merged content tree.
3. Select one or more pages or folders. Folder selection can include descendants.
4. Choose Preview, Publish, Detach, Merge, Replace, or Reconnect.
5. Configure the sync mode and satellite-site filter, then run the action.
6. Monitor pending, successful, and failed operations for each page and site.

The app runs up to five requests concurrently and confirmations name the destination sites before an operation begins.

Sync modes

• Merge performs a three-way structural merge that preserves satellite-specific edits where possible.
• Replace fully replaces the satellite page with base content. Local edits are lost.

Known issues

Merge relies on structural content matching. Significant structural differences between base and satellite pages can produce unexpected results. Review the satellite page after a merge.

Troubleshooting

"No satellite sites configured"

Verify that the msm tab exists in the org-level config at https://da.live/config#/<org>/ and that the current site appears as a base or satellite.

MSM does not appear in the Prepare menu

MSM is an optional Prepare menu action. Ensure your org or site prepare config tab includes the Multi-site Manager entry. Check both the org-level and site-level config sheets.

Override detection seems incorrect

MSM checks inheritance with a HEAD request for the satellite's HTML file. Files created or deleted outside MSM affect the state shown in the panel.

Preview or publish fails after reconnecting

Reconnect re-triggers preview and publish based on the satellite's prior AEM status. If the AEM admin service is temporarily unavailable, preview or publish the page manually from the base site when the service is available.