Real-time synchronization

Use ButterCMS webhooks to keep content synchronized across search engines, databases, mobile apps, and third-party services in real time.

Overview

Why real-time sync matters

Without webhooks, you would need to:

• Poll the ButterCMS API repeatedly for changes
• Risk stale content in external systems
• Waste resources checking for updates that don’t exist
• Accept delays between content changes and system updates

With webhooks:

• Changes trigger immediate updates
• External systems stay current
• Resources are used efficiently
• Users see fresh content faster

Synchronization architecture

Search index synchronization

Keep your search engine updated whenever content changes in ButterCMS.

Algolia integration

Algolia is a popular search-as-a-service platform. Here’s how to keep your Algolia index synced:

const algoliasearch = require('algoliasearch');
const Butter = require('buttercms');

const algolia = algoliasearch('YOUR_APP_ID', 'YOUR_ADMIN_KEY');
const butter = Butter('YOUR_API_TOKEN');

// Index names for different content types
const indices = {
  pages: algolia.initIndex('pages'),
  posts: algolia.initIndex('posts'),
  products: algolia.initIndex('products')
};

app.post('/webhooks/buttercms', async (req, res) => {
  const { data, webhook } = req.body;
  const [contentType, action] = webhook.event.split('.');

  try {
    switch (action) {
      case 'published':
        await syncToAlgolia(contentType, data);
        break;
      case 'unpublished':
      case 'delete':
        await removeFromAlgolia(contentType, data);
        break;
    }

    res.status(200).json({ synced: true });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Algolia sync failed:', error);
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Sync failed' });
  }
});

async function syncToAlgolia(contentType, data) {
  let record;

  switch (contentType) {
    case 'page':
      // Fetch full page data
      const pageResponse = await butter.page.retrieve(data.page_type, data.id);
      const page = pageResponse.data.data;

      record = {
        objectID: `page-${data.id}`,
        type: 'page',
        title: page.fields.title || data.name,
        slug: data.id,
        content: extractSearchableText(page.fields),
        pageType: data.page_type,
        updatedAt: data.updated
      };
      await indices.pages.saveObject(record);
      break;

    case 'post':
      // Fetch full post data
      const postResponse = await butter.post.retrieve(data.id);
      const post = postResponse.data.data;

      record = {
        objectID: `post-${data.id}`,
        type: 'post',
        title: post.title,
        slug: post.slug,
        summary: post.summary,
        content: stripHtml(post.body),
        author: post.author?.first_name + ' ' + post.author?.last_name,
        categories: post.categories?.map(c => c.name) || [],
        tags: post.tags?.map(t => t.name) || [],
        publishedAt: post.published,
        updatedAt: data.timestamp
      };
      await indices.posts.saveObject(record);
      break;

    case 'collectionitem':
      // Fetch collection item data
      const collectionResponse = await butter.content.retrieve([data.id]);
      const items = collectionResponse.data.data[data.id];
      const item = items.find(i => i.meta.id.toString() === extractItemId(data.itemid));

      if (item) {
        record = {
          objectID: `${data.id}-${item.meta.id}`,
          type: 'collection',
          collection: data.id,
          ...item // Include all collection fields
        };
        await indices.products.saveObject(record);
      }
      break;
  }

  console.log(`Synced ${contentType} to Algolia:`, data.id);
}

async function removeFromAlgolia(contentType, data) {
  switch (contentType) {
    case 'page':
      await indices.pages.deleteObject(`page-${data.id}`);
      break;
    case 'post':
      await indices.posts.deleteObject(`post-${data.id}`);
      break;
    case 'collectionitem':
      await indices.products.deleteObject(
        `${data.id}-${extractItemId(data.itemid)}`
      );
      break;
  }

  console.log(`Removed ${contentType} from Algolia:`, data.id);
}

// Helper functions
function extractSearchableText(fields) {
  // Recursively extract text from all field values
  return Object.values(fields)
    .map(value => {
      if (typeof value === 'string') return stripHtml(value);
      if (typeof value === 'object') return extractSearchableText(value);
      return '';
    })
    .join(' ');
}

function stripHtml(html) {
  return html.replace(/<[^>]*>/g, ' ').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
}

function extractItemId(itemid) {
  const match = itemid.match(/\[_id=(\d+)\]/);
  return match ? match[1] : null;
}

Elasticsearch integration

const { Client } = require('@elastic/elasticsearch');
const elastic = new Client({ node: 'http://localhost:9200' });

async function syncToElasticsearch(contentType, data, fullContent) {
  const indexName = `buttercms-${contentType}s`;

  await elastic.index({
    index: indexName,
    id: data.id,
    document: {
      title: fullContent.title || data.name,
      content: fullContent.body || JSON.stringify(fullContent.fields),
      slug: data.id,
      type: contentType,
      locale: data.locale,
      updatedAt: new Date(data.updated)
    }
  });
}

async function removeFromElasticsearch(contentType, data) {
  const indexName = `buttercms-${contentType}s`;

  await elastic.delete({
    index: indexName,
    id: data.id
  });
}

Database synchronization

Keep a local database in sync for analytics, reporting, or backup purposes:

PostgreSQL sync

const { Pool } = require('pg');
const pool = new Pool();

app.post('/webhooks/buttercms', async (req, res) => {
  const { data, webhook } = req.body;

  const client = await pool.connect();
  try {
    await client.query('BEGIN');

    switch (webhook.event) {
      case 'page.published':
        await syncPage(client, data);
        break;
      case 'page.delete':
        await deletePage(client, data);
        break;
      case 'post.published':
        await syncPost(client, data);
        break;
      case 'post.delete':
        await deletePost(client, data);
        break;
    }

    await client.query('COMMIT');
    res.status(200).json({ synced: true });
  } catch (error) {
    await client.query('ROLLBACK');
    console.error('Database sync failed:', error);
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Sync failed' });
  } finally {
    client.release();
  }
});

async function syncPage(client, data) {
  await client.query(`
    INSERT INTO pages (slug, page_type, name, status, locale, updated_at, published_at)
    VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7)
    ON CONFLICT (slug, COALESCE(locale, ''))
    DO UPDATE SET
      name = EXCLUDED.name,
      status = EXCLUDED.status,
      updated_at = EXCLUDED.updated_at,
      published_at = EXCLUDED.published_at
  `, [
    data.id,
    data.page_type,
    data.name,
    data.status,
    data.locale,
    data.updated,
    data.published
  ]);
}

async function deletePage(client, data) {
  await client.query(`
    DELETE FROM pages WHERE slug = $1 AND locale IS NOT DISTINCT FROM $2
  `, [data.id, data.locale]);
}

Mobile app push notifications

Notify mobile app users when new content is published:

Firebase Cloud Messaging

const admin = require('firebase-admin');
admin.initializeApp();

app.post('/webhooks/buttercms', async (req, res) => {
  const { data, webhook } = req.body;

  if (webhook.event === 'post.published') {
    // Fetch full post for notification content
    const postResponse = await butter.post.retrieve(data.id);
    const post = postResponse.data.data;

    // Send push notification to all subscribed users
    await admin.messaging().sendToTopic('blog-updates', {
      notification: {
        title: 'New Blog Post!',
        body: post.title,
        imageUrl: post.featured_image
      },
      data: {
        type: 'blog_post',
        slug: post.slug,
        url: `https://yoursite.com/blog/${post.slug}`
      }
    });

    console.log('Push notification sent for:', post.title);
  }

  res.status(200).json({ notified: true });
});

Apple Push Notification Service (APNs)

const apn = require('apn');

const apnProvider = new apn.Provider({
  token: {
    key: 'path/to/APNsAuthKey.p8',
    keyId: 'KEY_ID',
    teamId: 'TEAM_ID'
  },
  production: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
});

async function sendApnNotification(deviceTokens, post) {
  const notification = new apn.Notification();
  notification.expiry = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600;
  notification.badge = 1;
  notification.sound = 'ping.aiff';
  notification.alert = {
    title: 'New Content',
    body: post.title
  };
  notification.payload = {
    type: 'post',
    slug: post.slug
  };
  notification.topic = 'com.yourapp.bundle';

  await apnProvider.send(notification, deviceTokens);
}

Email marketing integration

Mailchimp integration

Automatically create email campaigns when content is published:

const client = require("@mailchimp/mailchimp_marketing");

client.setConfig({
  apiKey: process.env.MAILCHIMP_API_KEY,
  server: process.env.MAILCHIMP_SERVER_PREFIX,
});

app.post('/webhooks/buttercms', async (req, res) => {
  const { data, webhook } = req.body;

  if (webhook.event === 'post.published') {
    // Fetch full post data
    const postResponse = await butter.post.retrieve(data.id);
    const post = postResponse.data.data;

    // Replicate a template campaign
    const replicateCampaign = await client.campaigns.replicate(
      process.env.MAILCHIMP_TEMPLATE_CAMPAIGN_ID
    );

    // Update campaign with new post data
    await client.campaigns.update(replicateCampaign.id, {
      settings: {
        subject_line: 'New Blog Published - ' + post.title,
        title: 'New Blog Published - ' + post.title
      }
    });

    // Send the campaign
    await client.campaigns.send(replicateCampaign.id);

    console.log('Mailchimp campaign sent for:', post.title);
  }

  res.status(200).json({ emailed: true });
});

Social media synchronization

Automatically share new content on social platforms:

Twitter/X integration

const { TwitterApi } = require('twitter-api-v2');

const twitter = new TwitterApi({
  appKey: process.env.TWITTER_APP_KEY,
  appSecret: process.env.TWITTER_APP_SECRET,
  accessToken: process.env.TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN,
  accessSecret: process.env.TWITTER_ACCESS_SECRET,
});

app.post('/webhooks/buttercms', async (req, res) => {
  const { data, webhook } = req.body;

  if (webhook.event === 'post.published') {
    const postResponse = await butter.post.retrieve(data.id);
    const post = postResponse.data.data;

    const tweetText = `📝 New blog post: ${post.title}\n\n` +
      `${post.summary.substring(0, 200)}...\n\n` +
      `Read more: https://yoursite.com/blog/${post.slug}`;

    await twitter.v2.tweet(tweetText);
    console.log('Tweeted:', post.title);
  }

  res.status(200).json({ shared: true });
});

LinkedIn integration

const axios = require('axios');

async function shareOnLinkedIn(post) {
  const accessToken = process.env.LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN;
  const personUrn = process.env.LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN;

  await axios.post(
    'https://api.linkedin.com/v2/ugcPosts',
    {
      author: personUrn,
      lifecycleState: 'PUBLISHED',
      specificContent: {
        'com.linkedin.ugc.ShareContent': {
          shareCommentary: {
            text: `New blog post: ${post.title}\n\n${post.summary}`
          },
          shareMediaCategory: 'ARTICLE',
          media: [{
            status: 'READY',
            originalUrl: `https://yoursite.com/blog/${post.slug}`,
            title: { text: post.title },
            description: { text: post.summary }
          }]
        }
      },
      visibility: {
        'com.linkedin.ugc.MemberNetworkVisibility': 'PUBLIC'
      }
    },
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  );
}

Best practices

Synchronization patterns

Pattern	Use Case	Implementation
Immediate sync	Search indexes, caches	Process directly in webhook handler
Queued sync	Email, social, analytics	Add to job queue, process async
Batch sync	Database mirrors	Accumulate changes, sync periodically
Event sourcing	Audit logs, replay	Store all events, rebuild state as needed

Error recovery

Always plan for sync failures:

async function syncWithRetry(operation, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await operation();
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Sync attempt ${attempt} failed:`, error);

      if (attempt === maxRetries) {
        // Queue for manual review
        await deadLetterQueue.add({
          operation: operation.name,
          error: error.message,
          timestamp: new Date()
        });
        throw error;
      }

      // Wait before retry (exponential backoff)
      await sleep(Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000);
    }
  }
}