Overview
Sync is the step that takes an AutoTag project from configuration into a live GTM container. The configuration you built in the project editor is translated into tags, triggers, and variables and placed into a dedicated GTM workspace called TagPipes AutoTag. You then review and publish that workspace in GTM when you're ready.
Sync is idempotent and safe to re-run. Every sync overwrites only the tags TagPipes previously managed, leaving your manual tags untouched. That means you can iterate on configuration and sync as often as you like without fear of clobbering work your team did directly in GTM.
Review your configuration
Before syncing, verify every pixel ID is correct and that you picked the right privacy vendor. Open the project and walk through Step 1 (GTM connection) and Step 2 (pixels) one more time. Wrong IDs create tags that send data to the wrong account or to nowhere at all, and it's much cheaper to catch mistakes before sync than after.
If you're working with a net-new container, consider running sync on a test container first so you can see the generated tags without disturbing production. Once the output looks right, switch the project's Container ID back to production and re-sync.
Click Sync
From the Projects list, click the Sync button on your project card. A sync job is queued and typically starts within a few seconds. You can also trigger sync from inside the project view, both paths queue the same background job.
Only one sync can run at a time per GTM account because Google's API rate limits make concurrent syncs unreliable. If you queue multiple syncs simultaneously, they serialize cleanly, so there's no data corruption risk, just some waiting.
Monitor sync progress
The project card updates in real time during sync. You'll see progress stages as AutoTag connects to GTM, creates or reuses the TagPipes AutoTag workspace, and pushes tags, triggers, and variables one by one. Typical runs finish in under a minute for a fresh project.
If you want to watch more closely, open the project view while the sync is running. It shows a live list of each item being written, which is useful when debugging why a particular tag didn't show up the way you expected.
Check sync result
When the job finishes, the project shows Synced with a green badge. If something went wrong, the badge reads Failed with an error message that explains what happened, typically a permissions issue, an expired token, or a validation error on a specific tag.
Failure messages link to the detailed log in most cases. Click through, read the error verbatim, and fix whichever root cause it points at. After the fix, re-run Sync and the job will complete cleanly.
Publish in GTM
AutoTag writes to a workspace but does not auto-publish. That's intentional: you get a chance to review every tag change before it hits production. Open Google Tag Manager, switch to the TagPipes AutoTag workspace, review the change list, and click Publish when you're ready.
On first deploy, we strongly recommend using GTM's Preview mode to confirm each tag fires correctly on a staging or production URL before publishing. Preview catches configuration issues the AutoTag UI can't see, like data-layer values missing from the site.
Only one sync can run at a time per GTM account to prevent API rate limiting, and each sync overwrites previous TagPipes-managed tags without touching your manual GTM tags. If sync fails, confirm that the GTM service account has Editor access to the container. Re-syncing is always safe and idempotent, so you can run it as many times as you like during iteration.
Troubleshooting
Sync fails with a permissions error
The GTM service account connected to your AutoTag installation probably doesn't have Editor access to the target container. Open GTM Admin, go to User Management on the container, and grant the service account Editor (or higher). Re-run Sync.
Sync completes but tags are missing in GTM
Confirm you're viewing the TagPipes AutoTag workspace, not Default or another workspace. AutoTag always writes to its own named workspace so your primary workspace stays unaffected. Switch workspaces in GTM's top-left switcher and the tags will appear.
Published container still isn't firing tags live
Publishing creates a new container version but users need to reload the page to pick up the new gtm.js. If you've just published, give CDN caches a minute to settle, hard-refresh, and check GTM Preview against a live page. If the preview shows firing tags but live shows nothing, your site might be caching an old gtm.js snippet.