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Configuring Sync Settings

Once your e-commerce platform is connected, you can customize how and when your products sync to Alana. Whether you prefer hands-off automatic syncing or manual control, we’ve got you covered.

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Sync Modes

With automatic sync enabled, Alana continuously monitors your store for changes and updates products in real-time. What triggers an automatic sync:
  • A new product is added to your store
  • Product details change (name, price, images, attributes)
  • Product status changes (published, archived, out of stock)
  • Product images are updated
Best for: Most businesses. Automatic sync ensures your Alana catalog stays fresh without any effort.

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Manual Sync

Choose manual sync if you prefer to control exactly when products are synchronized. This is useful if you make bulk changes and want to sync them all at once. To trigger a manual sync:
  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. Find your connected platform
  3. Click the Sync Now button
  4. Wait for the sync to complete (time varies based on product count)
Best for: Businesses with infrequent changes or those who want complete control over the update timing.

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Configuring Sync Frequency

If using automatic sync, you can set how often Alana checks for changes:
  1. Open Settings > Integrations
  2. Find your platform and click Settings (gear icon)
  3. Select sync frequency:
    • Every 15 minutes — Real-time updates (best for high-traffic stores)
    • Every hour — Frequent updates, balanced resource use (recommended)
    • Every 4 hours — Less frequent, ideal for stable catalogs
    • Daily — Once per day, best for low-change products
Note: More frequent syncing means faster updates but may slightly increase API usage.

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What Gets Synced

Alana automatically synchronizes:
  • Product names — All variations and translations
  • Descriptions — Full product descriptions and specifications
  • Images — All product photos and image URLs
  • Prices — Current selling prices and discount information
  • Inventory — Stock levels and availability status
  • Attributes — Categories, tags, colors, sizes, materials, etc.
  • Variants — Product variants (e.g., size, color combinations)
  • Metadata — SKU, UPC, and other identifiers
Not synced (by design):
  • Customer reviews and ratings (synced separately if needed)
  • Sales history or analytics
  • Internal notes or admin comments

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Conflict Resolution: Which Version Wins?

If the same product is edited in both your store and Alana simultaneously, here’s the priority: Your store wins. Alana is designed as a tool to enhance your store, not replace it. If there’s a conflict:
  1. The store version takes priority and overwrites Alana’s changes
  2. You’ll be notified of the conflict in your activity log
  3. You can re-apply Alana’s changes if needed
Why this matters: Your source-of-truth data in your store is always protected. Alana changes are enhancements, not replacements.

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Manual Sync Step-by-Step

Need to sync specific products or force an immediate update?
  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. Click the platform card that’s already connected
  3. Under “Last Sync,” click Sync Now
  4. A progress bar appears showing sync status
  5. Check the sync summary when complete:
    • Products added
    • Products updated
    • Any errors encountered
Syncs typically complete within minutes, depending on your catalog size.

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Monitoring Sync Health

To ensure your sync is running smoothly:
  1. Open Settings > Integrations
  2. Look for the sync status indicator (green = healthy, yellow = pending, red = error)
  3. Click on your platform to view:
    • Last sync time — When the most recent sync completed
    • Next scheduled sync — When the next automatic sync is expected
    • Sync history — A log of recent sync operations
Green light? Great, everything’s working. Yellow or red? Check out troubleshooting sync issues.

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Next Steps

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Questions?

Reach out to support if you need help configuring sync for your specific use case.
Last modified on February 16, 2026