Multi-Site Manager

Manage base and satellite site relationships so satellite sites can inherit content from a base site and optionally override individual pages.

Introduction

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

MSM works with two roles:

Base site authors — manage shared content and push updates to satellite sites. They can preview, publish, sync, or cancel inheritance for any satellite.
Satellite site authors — work on their local site and can pull updates from the base or resume inheritance when a local override is no longer needed.

Inheritance is determined by file existence: if a page exists on the satellite, it is a custom override. If it does not exist, the satellite inherits the page from the base at delivery time.

Setup

There are three steps to enable MSM for your project:

Setup the Edge Delivery Content Provider for your project.
Configuring the org-level DA config sheet.
Turn on the Prepare menu MSM plugin.

Step 1: Edge Delivery Content Provider for your project

/sites/my-site.json (json)

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

Step 2: Configure the MSM Sheet

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

base	satellite	title
my-base		Base Site
my-base	satellite-1	Satellite Site 1
my-base	satellite-2	Satellite Site 2

The base column identifies the base site repository name.
A row with an empty satellite column defines the base site entry and its display title.
Rows with a satellite value define satellite sites that inherit from that base.

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

MSM appears as an optional action in the DA Prepare menu. To enable it, ensure your org or site prepare config tab includes the Multi-site Manager entry. Once enabled, authors will see it in the Prepare dropdown when editing any page.

Features

The MSM panel adapts its view depending on whether you are editing a page on a base site or a satellite site.

Base Site View

When editing a page on the base site, the MSM panel shows all configured satellites organized into two groups:

Inherited sites — satellites that do not have a local override for the current page
Custom sites — satellites that have a local override

Available actions for inherited satellites:

Action	Description
Preview	Push the base page to the satellite's preview environment via AEM.
Publish	Push the base page to the satellite's live environment via AEM.
Cancel Inheritance	Copy the base page to the satellite, creating a local override. The satellite will no longer inherit this page from the base.

Available actions for custom satellites:

Action	Description
Sync to Satellite	Push base content to the satellite. Choose between Merge (structural content merge preserving satellite changes where possible) or Override (full replacement with base content).
Resume Inheritance	Delete the satellite's local override so it falls back to the base. Automatically re-triggers preview and publish based on the satellite's prior AEM status.

Custom satellites also show an Open in editor link so base authors can inspect the override directly.

Satellite Site View

When editing a page on a satellite site, the MSM panel shows the base site name and offers two actions:

Action	Description
Sync from Base	Pull the latest base content into the satellite. Choose between Merge or Override.
Resume Inheritance	Delete the local override so the satellite inherits from the base again. Automatically re-triggers preview and publish based on prior AEM status.

Merge vs Override

When syncing content between base and satellite, MSM offers two modes:

Merge — performs a structural content merge that attempts to incorporate base changes while preserving satellite-specific customizations where possible.
Override — fully replaces the satellite page with the base content, discarding any local changes.

Tips & Tricks

Use the Inherited and Custom grouping in the base view to quickly see which satellites have local overrides for the current page.
When syncing, prefer Merge if the satellite has intentional local changes you want to keep. Use Override when you want the satellite to exactly match the base.
Resume Inheritance is a convenient way to clean up overrides that are no longer needed — it deletes the local file and automatically handles preview and publish so the satellite stays in sync.
You can configure multiple base-satellite groups in the same org by using different base values in the MSM config sheet.
Use the Open in editor link on custom satellites to review overrides before deciding whether to sync or resume inheritance.

Known Issues

The merge operation relies on structural content matching. Significant structural changes between base and satellite may produce unexpected merge results — review the satellite page after a merge.

Troubleshooting

"No satellite sites configured"

The MSM panel shows this message when no MSM configuration is found for your current org and site. Verify that the msm tab exists in your org-level DA config at https://da.live/config#/<org>/ and that the current site appears as either a base or satellite.

MSM is an optional Prepare 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 determines inheritance by checking whether the HTML file exists on the satellite (HEAD request to the DA source). If a file was manually created or deleted outside of MSM, the panel will reflect that state. Use MSM actions to manage overrides consistently.

Preview or publish fails after Resume Inheritance

When resuming inheritance, MSM attempts to re-trigger preview and publish based on the satellite's prior AEM status. If the AEM admin service is temporarily unavailable, try previewing or publishing the page manually from the base site.

Early Access

Multi-Site Manager is an early access feature. Functionality and configuration may change as the feature evolves. If you encounter issues or have feedback, reach out to the AEM Engineering team via your shared Slack, Teams, or Discord channel.