Replicate Content in AEM 6.5 LTS

Use this skill when the user asks to publish, unpublish, replicate, activate, deactivate, or bulk-replicate content on AEM 6.5 LTS publish instances.

Prerequisites

• AEM 6.5 LTS Author with configured replication agents — see configure-replication-agent
• Author permissions to activate/deactivate content

Replication Method Selector

Method	When to Use	Scope
Quick Publish	Fast single-page activation, no approval	Selected pages only (shallow)
Manage Publication	Scheduling, references, or workflow control	Single/multiple pages with options
Tree Activation	Entire site section or initial site launch	Page tree (see references/TREE_ACTIVATION.md)
Package Replication	Specific content sets or cross-env deploy	Custom JCR filter (see references/PACKAGE_REPLICATION.md)
Workflow Replication	Approval required before going live	Any content with assigned approver
Scheduled Activation	Time-based publish/unpublish	On Time / Off Time in page properties
Replication API	Programmatic from Java or scripts	Any JCR path (see references/REPLICATION_API.md)

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Quick Publish

Sites console → select page(s) → Quick Publish (toolbar or right-click menu)

• Shallow: publishes selected pages only, not children
• Uses all enabled default replication agents immediately
• ✓ Verify: page shows green "Published" checkmark in Sites console

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Manage Publication

Sites console → select page(s) → Manage Publication

1. Action: Publish / Unpublish / Publish Later / Unpublish Later
2. Date/time: set if using a "Later" option
3. Scope: Selected / Include Children / Modified Only
4. Options: Include References (assets, XFs), Create Version Before Publish
5. ✓ Verify: progress indicator completes with no error notifications; check replication agent queue is idle

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Tree Activation

http://localhost:4502/miscadmin → Replication → Activate Tree

• Start Path: /content/mysite/en
• Always run Dry Run first to preview scope
• Options: Only Modified, Only Activated, Ignore Deactivated
• ✓ Verify: results log shows success count with zero failures

For full steps and performance guidance, see references/TREE_ACTIVATION.md.

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Package Replication

/crx/packmgr → Create Package → add filters → Build → More → Replicate

• ✓ Verify: package appears as Installed in Publish CRX Package Manager (http://publish:4503/crx/packmgr)

For full steps, see references/PACKAGE_REPLICATION.md.

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Workflow Replication

Select page → Timeline panel → Start Workflow → Request for Activation → assign approver

• Approver acts via http://localhost:4502/aem/inbox: Approve → content activates; Reject → returns to author
• ✓ Verify: page status updates to "Published" after approval completes

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Scheduled Activation

Page Properties → Advanced tab → set On Time (activate) and/or Off Time (deactivate)

• Requires replication agent trigger "On-/Offtime reached" enabled
• ✓ Verify: agent trigger at /etc/replication/agents.author/[agent] → Triggers tab → "On-/Offtime reached" is checked

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Replication API

@Reference private Replicator replicator;

replicator.replicate(session, ReplicationActionType.ACTIVATE, "/content/path");
replicator.replicate(session, ReplicationActionType.DEACTIVATE, "/content/path");

curl -u $AEM_USER:$AEM_PASSWORD -X POST http://localhost:4502/bin/replicate.json \
  -F "cmd=Activate" -F "path=/content/mysite/en/page"
# ✓ Verify: HTTP 200 with {"success":true,"path":"/content/mysite/en/page"}

For ReplicationOptions (synchronous, agent filtering) and full curl error handling, see references/REPLICATION_API.md.

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Deactivation (Unpublishing)

Sites console → select page(s) → Quick Unpublish (or Manage Publication → Unpublish)

• Content removed from Publish; URLs return 404; Author content preserved
• Dispatcher cache invalidated if flush agent is configured
• ✓ Verify: page URL on Publish returns 404

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Replication Status Indicators

Indicator	Meaning
Green checkmark	Published and up-to-date
Orange dot	Modified since last publish — re-publish needed
Gray circle	Never published

Check queue: Tools → Deployment → Replication → Agents on author → [agent] → queue should be idle/empty after processing.

Logs: crx-quickstart/logs/replication.log

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Troubleshooting

• Content not appearing on Publish: confirm replication timestamp is recent; agent queue should be empty
• Agent blocked: Agents on author → select agent → Force Retry or Clear failed item
• Dispatcher serving stale content: manually flush cache or verify flush agent configuration
• Permission denied errors: check Agent User Id has replication privileges on the content path

For deep diagnostics, use the troubleshoot-replication skill.

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Asset Replication (DAM)

Use the Assets console (/assets.html/content/dam) with the same Quick Publish / Manage Publication actions. All renditions and metadata replicate automatically. For shared datastores, enable binary-less replication (Serialization Type: Binary-less) on the agent to transfer only metadata nodes.

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Additional Resources

• AEM 6.5 LTS Replication
• Managing Publications

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Related Skills

• configure-replication-agent — set up and configure replication agents
• replication-api — full programmatic Replication API reference for custom OSGi services and servlets
• troubleshoot-replication — diagnose and resolve replication failures