In Multi-Experience Operations, duplicate an existing site to create a new site with the same content and configuration. This method is the most efficient way to deploy new sites that share a common baseline in the same codebase. After you duplicate a site, Cloud Platform creates a new site entry and provisions it across the selected target environments using the data from a source environment.

You can duplicate a site either from the Sites list within a codebase or directly from a specific Environment Overview page.

Duplicating a site

To duplicate an existing site:

1. Sign in to the Cloud Platform user interface.

2. Go to Codebases and select the codebase containing the site you want to duplicate.
3. Access the Duplicate site page either from:
   • Sites Overview: Click Sites and locate the source site.
   • Environment Overview:
     1. Click the Environment column.
     2. Select a specific environment (such as Dev or Prod).
     3. Go to Associated sites section and locate the source site.
4. Click Actions > Duplicate site.
5. In Site name, specify a unique name to identify the site (1-50 alphanumeric characters).
6. In Technical identifier, enter a unique ID for the site.
   This is used for Secure Shell (SSH) keys and domain names and you cannot change it after creation.
   • Must be unique within the codebase.
   • Must be 1-14 alphanumeric characters (a-z, 0-9).
   • The first character must be alphabetic (a-z).

7. In Source environment, select the environment version of the site to duplicate.

   If you used the Environment Overview in Step 3, this field is pre-selected.

8. In Target environments, select an environment to create the new site. The environment receive the data from the source environment.
9. In Duplicate parameter, enter a parameter for a hook to use to delete unwanted data during the duplication process.
10. Click Duplicate site.

Important considerations

• Data replication By default, the system copies all content, configurations, and records from the source environment to all selected target environments.

• Technical identifiers The technical identifier is permanent and helps with Secure Shell (SSH) keys and domain names. This identifier must be unique in the codebase. You cannot change the identifier after you create the site.

• Entitlements Each duplicated site counts toward the total Multi-Experience Operations site entitlement. The Duplicate site button remains inactive if you reach the entitlement limit or if required fields are invalid.

• Hook parameters Use the Duplicate parameter field to pass specific values to a cloud hook. You can use these values to delete sensitive data during the duplication process.

Post-site duplication hook

Duplication without cache rebuild execution can break the interface theme. To ensure that a duplicated site reflects the most recent data and configurations, you must clear or rebuild caches and then clear Varnish cache through the UI to complete the duplication process. To rebuild the cache, add a post-site-instance-duplicate script to the codebase.

The hook script triggers after the site instance is active and the corresponding file system and database are provisioned. For additional file system and database provisioning details, check the task logs on the customer codebase overview page.

Adding a duplicate site hook

To add the duplicate site hook:

1. Follow the general Cloud Hook pattern: This process follows the standard Acquia Cloud platform hook workflow. Ensure that the repository structure supports the /hooks directory at the root level.

2. Create the hook script: In the local codebase, create a new script file at the following path, hooks/common/post-site-instance-duplicate.

   To execute post-site-instance-duplicate on specific MEO environments, use the following path, hooks/<environment name>/post-site-instance-duplicate.

3. Add the Drush command Add the cache-rebuild Drush command to ensure the new site is current. 

   • Drush cc (Cache Clear): Use for Drupal 7 and earlier.

   • Drush cr (Cache Rebuild): Use for Drupal 8, 9, 10, and 11. 

     The following is an example of hook script:

   copy

   #!/bin/bash
   set -ev
   # Factory Hook: post-site-instance-duplicate (simplified)
   # Usage: post-site-instance-duplicate.sh [optional parameters]
   echo $*
   # Resolve runtime env from execution user; this is the environment where hook runs.
   runtime_account="$(whoami)"
   runtime_site=""
   runtime_env=""
   internal_subdomain="$3"
   echo "Internal subdomain: $internal_subdomain"
   if [[ "$runtime_account" == *.* ]]; then
      runtime_site="${runtime_account%%.*}"
      runtime_env="${runtime_account#*.}"
   fi
   if [[ -z "$runtime_site" || -z "$runtime_env" ]]; then
      echo "Unable to resolve runtime site/environment from account: $runtime_account"
      exit 1
   fi
   echo "Runtime sitegroup: $runtime_site"
   echo "Runtime environment: $runtime_env"
   destination_domain="${internal_subdomain-$runtime_site$runtime_env.gardens.acquia-sites.com}"
   echo "Destination domain: $destination_domain"
   # Drush executable:
   drush="/mnt/www/html/$runtime_site.$runtime_env/vendor/bin/drush"
   # Rebuild all caches (Drupal 8+ recommended)
   $drush -r "/mnt/www/html/$runtime_site.$runtime_env/docroot" -l "$destination_domain" cache:rebuild
   exit 0
   

4. Make the script executable: Run the following command to ensure Cloud Platform can execute the hook: .

Duplicating sites