Syncing & Deployments
Syncing is how configuration changes are pushed from the portal to your devices. When you click Sync, the portal calculates what needs to change on each device and sends the updated deployment manifest via Azure IoT Edge.
A sync is needed whenever you:
- Add or remove devices from a workflow
- Add, edit, or remove a skill
- Add, edit, or remove an action
- Change skill inputs, outputs, or version
Unsynchronized items are indicated by a sync icon (⟳) or a trash icon (🗑) next to their name in the workflow card.
Syncing a workflow
Click the Sync button on the workflow card to start a deployment. If the workflow has any skill that requires credits (a paid skill license), you will be asked to confirm the credit cost before proceeding.
The Sync button changes state based on the current status:
| Button label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sync | No active deployment; changes are ready to push |
| Cancel | A deployment is in progress; click to cancel it |
| Resync | Last deployment completed; click to deploy again |
Deployment lifecycle
Each sync creates a new deployment record. Deployments move through the following states:
Calculating → Queued → In Progress → Complete → Error → Canceled (manually)
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Calculating | The portal is computing the deployment tasks for each device |
| Queued | Tasks are ready and waiting to be executed |
| In Progress | Tasks are actively being applied to devices |
| Complete | All devices have been successfully updated |
| Error | The deployment finished but one or more devices failed |
| Canceled | The deployment was manually canceled |
Error vs. Complete
A deployment status of Error means the sync finished but at least one device encountered a failure. Successfully updated devices are not affected — only the failed ones need attention. You can view which devices failed in the sync progress panel.
A deployment status of Complete means that the configuration for the deployment has been applied to all devices, however it may still take time for skills to download and start running.
Viewing sync progress
Click View Details (or click the Sync button when a deployment is active or complete) to open the Sync Progress panel.
The panel has two tabs:
Devices tab
Shows the per-device status for the current deployment, with a filter to narrow by status:
| Filter | Shows |
|---|---|
| All | Every device in the workflow |
| Waiting | Devices whose tasks are queued |
| Syncing | Devices actively being updated |
| Complete | Devices that finished successfully |
| Failed | Devices that encountered an error |
Click on any device row to view its deployment logs, which include detailed information about what was applied and any error messages.
Logs tab
Shows a streaming log of deployment activity for the entire workflow deployment. Useful for diagnosing issues that aren't specific to a single device.
Canceling a deployment
While a deployment is in Calculating, Queued, or In Progress state, you can cancel it by clicking Cancel (either on the workflow card or in the Sync Progress panel).
Canceling stops any tasks that have not yet started. Devices that already received their update are not rolled back — canceling only prevents the remaining pending tasks from running.
After canceling, you can start a new sync at any time.
Resyncing after completion or errors
After a deployment reaches Complete or Error status, the button label changes to Resync. Clicking Resync starts a new deployment from scratch, re-sending the full configuration to all devices.
This is useful to:
- Retry after a failed deployment
- Push configuration changes that were made after the last sync
Per-device sync status
Each device in the deployment is processed independently. The individual task status values are:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting | Task is queued and waiting to run |
| Syncing | Task is actively deploying to the device |
| Complete | Device was successfully updated |
| Failed | Device encountered an error; no more retries remain |
Deployment history
Deployment history is available in the Sync Progress panel. Note that only recent deployments are retained — records older than approximately 30 days are automatically removed.
Skill runtime status
After a successful sync, the workflow card shows live skill runtime status counters for each device:
| Counter | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | The skill container is up and running normally |
| Starting | The skill is starting up (new version applied, waiting to stabilize) |
| Failed | The skill container has crashed or failed to start |
| Unknown | The device is offline or not reporting status |
These counters update in real time and reflect the current state of your skill deployment across the fleet.