Syncing Environments

Quant Cloud allows you to synchronize data between environments, making it easy to refresh staging with production data or copy content between environments. The Sync tab in your environment management interface provides both database and filesystem sync operations.

Accessing Sync

Navigate to your environment’s management page and click the Sync tab. You’ll see two sub-tabs:

• Database Sync: Copy database content between environments
• Filesystem Sync: Copy persistent storage files between environments

Database Sync

Database sync copies the complete database content from one environment to another. This is commonly used to:

• Refresh staging environments with current production data
• Populate development environments with realistic test data
• Replicate data across environments for testing

To initiate a database sync, click Sync Database from the Database Sync sub-tab. You’ll select the source environment to copy data from.

Note

Database sync operations involving the production environment require the trigger_prod_sync permission. This additional safeguard prevents accidental overwrites of production data. Standard sync operations between non-production environments only require the trigger_sync permission.

Filesystem Sync

Filesystem sync copies persistent storage files between environments. Switch to the Filesystem Sync sub-tab to access this feature. This is useful for:

• Syncing user-uploaded media and assets between environments
• Copying configuration files stored on the filesystem
• Replicating cached data across environments

Viewing Sync History

The Recent Sync Operations section shows a history of all sync operations for the current environment, including:

• Operation type (database or filesystem)
• Source and target environments
• Status (completed, in progress, failed)
• Timestamp

This history helps you track when data was last refreshed and by whom.

Automating Sync with GitHub Actions

For recurring sync operations, use the Quant Sync GitHub Action to automate the process. Common automation patterns include:

• Nightly staging refresh: Automatically sync production data to staging every night
• PR preview environments: Populate preview environments with staging data when PRs are created
• Scheduled data refresh: Keep development environments up to date on a weekly schedule

Best Practices

• Back up before syncing: Create a backup of the target environment before syncing, especially if it contains data you might need to restore
• Sync during off-peak hours: Large sync operations can temporarily impact performance, so schedule them during low-traffic periods
• Be cautious with production: The production sync protection exists for a reason. Always verify the sync direction before confirming operations that involve production data
• Review permissions: Ensure team members have appropriate sync permissions based on their role. Restrict trigger_prod_sync to senior team members or administrators