decide how content goes live
Publish modes
Choose how approved content reaches your site: we manage it end to end with Clone, publish to your CMS, or copy it yourself.
How publish modes work#
PilotDeck writes and reviews your content in the same way in every mode. The publish mode decides what happens after you approve it: who puts it on your site, how much is automatic, and what access we need from you. Each site has one mode at a time. New sites start in Copy.
Compare the three modes#
Use this table to pick the mode that fits your site and the access you can grant. A chip shows whether something is included, limited, or not provided. Guided means PilotDeck tells you what to change and you make the change yourself.
| Clone | CMS | Copy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name in PilotDeck | Clone and fully manage (Recommended) | Connect your CMS | Copy it yourself |
| Article publishing | Included: Automatic We add it to your site's code and deploy it. | Included: Automatic Created in your CMS through its API. | Not provided: Manual You download it and paste it in yourself. |
| Scheduled auto-publish | Included: Available Anything that clears the quality gate goes live at your next slot. | Included: Available Same schedule, delivered to your CMS. | Not provided: Not available Scheduled publishing needs somewhere to publish to. |
| Technical SEO fixes | Included: Applied for you Approved fixes are applied in your code, then deployed. | Limited: Guided PilotDeck tells you what to change and you apply it. | Not provided: Not provided |
| New pages | Included: Created for you | Limited: Guided You create the pages yourself. | Not provided: Not provided |
| Review before live | Included: Every draft waits Approval is in PilotDeck. Nothing is pushed until you approve. | Included: Every draft waits Approval is in PilotDeck, then it goes to your CMS. | Included: Every draft waits Approving marks it ready to copy. |
| Setup | Limited: Assisted setup Request a connection and we onboard the site with you. | Included: Self-serve Connect one CMS in Settings > Integrations. | Included: None needed Active by default for every new site. |
| Access we need | Limited: Repo and hosting Maintainer-level repository access, plus access to your domain or hosting provider. | Limited: One credential An API key, an integration key or an OAuth sign-in for your CMS. | Included: No access needed |
| Where content lands | In your repository, then on your live domain after deployment. | In your CMS, as a draft or live. | On your site, where you paste it. |
| Draft or live | Not provided: Live on approval There is no draft state in the repository. Drafts are reviewed in PilotDeck. | Included: Your choice Draft only or Publish live per connection. | Included: Your choice You decide when to paste it. |
| Supported platforms | Limited: Git-based sites Sites we can register from a repository and deploy. See Clone mode. | Included: Seven connectors See every platform and its setup in the CMS connection guides. | Included: Any site You do the pasting. |
| Speed to live | Included: Minutes After approval, depending on your build. | Included: Seconds to minutes After approval. | Limited: As fast as you paste |
| Rollback | Limited: Repository history Changes are normal commits. Ask us to reverse one. | Limited: In your CMS PilotDeck cannot restore a live post to draft. | Limited: On your own site You remove it yourself. |
| Effort on your side | Lowest after setup. | Medium. Fixes and new pages stay manual. | Highest. Every step is manual. |
| Best for | Sites where you want articles, fixes and new pages handled end to end. | Sites already on a supported CMS that you want to keep. | Trying PilotDeck, or sites where you cannot grant access. |
| Main limits | Assisted setup. Changes go straight to your default branch, with no pull request step. | Fixes and new pages are guided. A retry after a failure can create a second post. | Everything is manual. No fixes or pages for you. |
| Switching later | Limited: A few working days Leaving a connected Clone site goes through your PilotDeck contact. | Included: Any time In Settings > Publishing. | Included: Any time In Settings > Publishing. |
Which mode should you choose?#
- Choose Clone if you want the least work on your side and are comfortable giving repository and hosting access so we can apply fixes, add pages and publish.
- Choose CMS if your site already runs on a supported CMS and you want articles published there without copy and paste.
- Choose Copy if you cannot or do not want to give access, or you are trying PilotDeck out.
- 1Pick the mode on Settings > Publishing and confirm itYou
- 2Complete the setup for that mode, if it has anyYou
- 3PilotDeck writes drafts and sends them to reviewPilotDeck
- 4You approve a draft, or let scheduled publishing release itYou
- 5The draft is deployed to your site, published to your CMS or copiedPilotDeck
- 6Check the result on your live siteVerify
Draft handling and schedule#
Under What happens to a draft once it is written you choose between two behaviours. They apply to the Clone and CMS modes. In Copy mode, approving a draft marks it ready to copy, and scheduled auto-publish is not available.
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Send to review first | Every draft waits for you. Approving it publishes straight away, or copies it if you are in Copy mode. |
| Auto-publish on a schedule | Anything that clears the quality gate goes live at your next slot, with no approval step. Not available in Copy mode. |
The Weekly draft limit caps how many drafts the automatic content pipeline writes each calendar week, from 1 to 5. It applies in every mode and does not apply to drafts you write yourself.
Switching modes#
Open Settings > Publishing, pick another card and confirm. You can move between Clone, CMS and Copy.
Frequently asked questions#
Which mode is active now?
The card marked Where you are now on Settings > Publishing. The line under the heading also says it, for example "You are in CMS mode right now".
Can I use CMS mode and Clone mode together?
No. A site has one publish mode at a time. Clone changes your site's code, so it replaces the CMS route for that site.
Do I need to change my content settings when I switch?
No. Your brand profile and topics are separate from the publish mode. Only what happens after approval changes.
Does a publish mode cost extra?
This documentation does not list prices. Ask your PilotDeck contact about your plan.