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Emergency deployment in Adobe Experience Manager to restore live site functionality

Last update: August 31, 2026

This article describes the steps for performing an emergency deployment in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) when critical functionality on a live production site is broken and requires immediate restoration.

Description description

Environment

  • Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)
  • Production environment

Issue/Symptoms

  • Critical functionality on an Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) production site becomes unavailable or broken.
  • The issue is not reproducible in non-production environments.
  • No specific error messages or stack traces are available.
  • An emergency deployment is required to restore service and normal site operation.

Cause

A defect or misconfiguration in the production application code, OSGi configuration, Dispatcher configuration, or deployed content causes critical site functionality to fail.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Identify and confirm the scope of the broken functionality and the required changes for restoration.
  2. Prepare all necessary deployment files, such as code packages, configuration files, or dispatcher files, ensuring they have been tested in a staging or preview environment if possible.
  3. Review your organization’s deployment documentation to ensure all steps and prerequisites are addressed.
  4. Plan the deployment window to minimize impact on end users and inform relevant internal stakeholders of the upcoming changes.
  5. Deploy the prepared files to the production AEM environment according to your standard deployment process (for example, using the AEM Package Manager, configuration deployment tools, or dispatcher file updates).
  6. After deployment, verify that the previously broken functionality has been restored by testing the affected site areas.
  7. Monitor the site for any unexpected issues and be prepared to roll back the deployment if necessary, using your organization’s rollback procedures.
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