Sync and Data Freshness
User Manager maintains a synchronized view of your Atlassian Cloud user data through a sophisticated synchronization architecture built on Atlassian Forge SQL. This ensures accurate, consistent data across all your connected sites while enabling powerful bulk operations and automation.
How Atlassian Cloud Syncs with Identity Providers
Atlassian Cloud supports automatic user provisioning through the SCIM 2.0 protocol, allowing integration with external identity providers (IdPs) like Okta, Azure Active Directory, or Google Workspace. When configured, your IdP automatically:
Creates new user accounts in your Atlassian Organization
Updates user attributes (name, email) when changed in the IdP
Manages group memberships for product access control
Deactivates users when disabled in your IdP
A large number of groups and users can take a while to sync to an Atlassian organization. The sync frequency depends on your IdP's configuration - some providers sync changes immediately, while others batch updates periodically.
User Manager's Mirrored Database Architecture
User Manager takes a unique approach by maintaining a mirrored user management picture in Atlassian Forge SQL Database. Forge SQL provisions a single database instance per installation, with each instance storing only data specific to its corresponding installation.
Why We Use Forge SQL
Consistency for Bulk Operations: For large bulk changes affecting hundreds or thousands of users, we can't rely solely on API calls which may timeout or fail partially
Reliability: Having a local copy ensures automated tasks and bulk operations can execute consistently without repeated API calls
Data Isolation: Each app installation has its own dedicated database instance in Atlassian, ensuring complete data isolation.
Synchronization Schedule
User Manager employs multiple sync strategies to ensure data freshness:
Initial Full Sync
When you first install User Manager, it performs a complete synchronization of all users, groups, and product access across your connected sites.
Daily Scheduled Sync
In the settings, administrators can configure a specific hour for a daily full synchronization outside of business hours. This ensures your mirrored database stays current with any changes made directly in Atlassian or through your IdP.
Pre-Operation Sync
Before executing bulk operations or automated tasks, User Manager syncs specific elements to ensure it's working with the latest data. This targeted sync minimizes the risk of conflicts or outdated information.
Manual Sync
The Sync Users button allows administrators to trigger an immediate synchronization. This is particularly useful for:
Ensuring group memberships are current before a major operation
Verifying recent IdP changes have propagated
Troubleshooting data discrepancies
Post-Operation Sync
After completing automated tasks or bulk operations, User Manager syncs the changes back to update its database, maintaining consistency between the app's view and the actual Atlassian state.
Key Benefits of Our Architecture
Reliability at Scale
Forge SQL is based on a MySQL-compliant, distributed SQL database that can handle enterprise-scale operations. Unlike approaches that rely solely on real-time API calls, our mirrored database ensures:
Bulk operations complete successfully even for thousands of users
Automated tasks run consistently without API timeout issues
Complex queries and reports execute quickly
Data Consistency
By maintaining a synchronized copy of your user data, User Manager can:
Validate changes before applying them (future Feature)
Roll back operations if needed (future Feature)
Troubleshooting Sync Issues
If you encounter synchronization problems:
Manual Sync: Use the Sync Users button to force an immediate update