PrestaShop automated synchronization tool for live website with staging

In the development cycle of a website, it is common to need to synchronize the live environment with a second installation (dev, test, or staging) in order to test new features before deploying them to the live website. This means that regularly a “clone” of the live website needs to be created in the staging environment, so that testing is performed on an up-to-date copy of it.

For this purpose, we have developed an automation tool that handles the complete synchronization of your live PrestaShop installation with your dev/staging installation. The tool works regardless of whether the two environments are on the same server or on different servers.

Running the PrestaShop Synchronization Tool

1. To start updating (synchronizing) your staging environment from the live one, simply run the synchronization tool. On the server where your live PrestaShop is running, execute the following command:

   ts_synclive2stage

   It does not matter which directory you are in when you run the command. Please note that the tool will not make any changes to your live PrestaShop installation.

2. The tool starts, and if multiple test environments are available to you (e.g. dev, staging, test), it asks you to select which environment you want to synchronize to. Example:
   
3. You will then need to answer “Yes” or “No” (Y/N) to the questions that appear, where you choose in detail what you want to synchronize.
   Example screen you will see:What do the available options mean:
   • Transfer Database (Y/N): Do you want to synchronize the database from your live website to staging?
   • Transfer Catalog Media (Y/N): Do you want to synchronize the PrestaShop product images — files in the img/p subfolder? Since these images often take up a large amount of space and are not all needed in a staging installation, you can answer “No” to this question so that the img/p subfolder is not synchronized.
   • Transfer Files (Y/N): Do you want to transfer all the files from the live website to staging?
   • Final confirmation (Y/N): Final confirmation to start the synchronization, along with a reminder from the tool that the existing data in the staging installation (Database and/or files) will be deleted as new files come in from the live installation.
4. The tool will begin the synchronization, providing you with detailed information about the steps it is performing and their progress. Example: