1. Clones and syncs only read your live store
When Cartsella Studio clones or syncs, the live store is the source, and the source is only ever read. That isn't a setting in the interface: the code that copies from your live store is given a connection that can't send changes at all. A bug in a clone can't turn into a write to your live store.
Some features do act on the store they're opened in, such as editing product fields or moving fields from staging to live. Those are separate, opt-in steps that you confirm, they can only change product fields and content entries (never prices, orders or anything else), and every change is recorded.
2. Customers and orders never move
Customers, orders and draft orders hold your shoppers' personal information, and a staging store doesn't need them to test anything. Cartsella Studio never copies them. There's no option to turn on.
3. Nothing is removed without a backup
When you clone, you choose what happens to records that only exist in the destination store: keep them, or remove them so it mirrors your live store. If you remove them:
- a backup is taken first, and records are only removed if the backup can bring them back;
- only types of content that copied without a single failure are cleaned up;
- you can restore everything in one click, or export it as a Matrixify .xlsx file.
A sync never removes anything: records that only exist in staging always stay.
4. Your work in staging isn't overwritten
A sync only updates records that changed in your live store and not in staging. If something was edited in both, it's shown as a conflict for you to decide, with a preview before anything runs.
5. Both stores have to agree
Stores connect through a pairing code confirmed on both sides. Nothing connects because one store said so, and the store that receives a copy decides whether it's a test store or an expansion store.
6. Themes are never published for you
Theme copies are coming soon, once Shopify approves theme access. When they arrive, your live theme lands in staging as an unpublished copy, and you decide when, and whether, to publish it.
7. Every write is recorded
Each change the app makes records what changed, who did it and when, so you can always see what happened.
If anything is unclear, or you'd like us to look at a clone or sync report with you, email [email protected].
Try it on your own stores, risk-free.
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