On this page: Learn how administrators connect a sandbox to an Adobe Experience Manager repository, setting author-only or publish access, custom domains, and authentication, so marketers can use AEM Content Fragments in their journeys and campaigns.
Adobe Journey Optimizer integrates with Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service and Adobe Experience Manager Managed Service so you can use Content Fragments in Journeys and Campaigns. Content Fragments are read from the Adobe Experience Manager publish repository by default, administrators can switch to author-only or adjust publish access in the AEM Integration menu.
➡️ When the repository is configured, continue with Work with Experience Manager Content Fragments for authoring and selection tasks in Journey Optimizer.
Configure repositories configure-ui
Journey Optimizer stores one integration per organization, sandbox, and Adobe Experience Manager repository. If you save a new integration for that same combination, it replaces the previous settings, only the latest configuration is kept.
➡️ Discover this feature for Adobe Experience Manager Managed Service in video
To configure your repository:
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Access Administration > Channels > AEM Integration.
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Click Create configuration.
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Choose a configuration method:
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For Adobe Experience Manager Managed Services repository, enter a repository hostname ending with
adobecqms.netin the AMS repository hostname field.
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If you use Adobe Experience as a Cloud Service, choose which repository to configure and click Next.
Additionally, you can click View to access this repository.
note important IMPORTANT Saving a new configuration for the same organization, sandbox, and repository replaces the default configuration, i.e publish repository. 
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Enter a Name and Description.
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Choose your setup in the drop-down below:
accordion Author only setup Select Author only setup when Journey Optimizer should read Content Fragments from the Adobe Experience Manager author environment only. Replication from author to publish and live publish updates are not supported.
accordion Publish instance setup By default, every Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service repository is configured to use the publish instance. You can continue to the Content Fragment test step without changing these settings.
If your publish instance is authenticated, or you must use a custom publish domain, follow the steps below.
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Select Publish instance setup to turn on publish instance settings.
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Enable Send token to publish instance so service credentials are included with requests to the publish instance.
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Paste a valid Service Credential JSON for authentication.
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Optionally provide a custom domain if your organization cannot reach the default AEM publish host (
publish-XX-XX.adobeaemcloud.com) to fetch content.
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After you finish the instance setup, pick a Content Fragment to confirm that the integration works.
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In the Content Advisor window, select the fragment you want to test, then click Select.
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Click Save.
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When you save with a test Content Fragment selected, validation runs automatically. If validation fails, an error list is displayed so you can fix the configuration.
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To edit or disable this repository integration, access your previously created configuration from the AEM Integration menu.
When you save this configuration, Journey Optimizer stores it for that repository in the current sandbox. You can then use that repository and its settings when browsing and selecting content in the Content Advisor selector.
How-to video video
Learn how administrators configure Adobe Experience Manager Managed Services repository settings in Journey Optimizer so marketers can use Content Fragments in journeys and campaigns.
This section contains structured knowledge intended to support interpretation, retrieval, and question answering related to this topic.
For complete understanding, this information should be combined with the documentation on this page. Neither source is intended to stand alone; the page describes the feature, while this section provides additional context that helps disambiguate terminology, intent, applicability, and constraints.
- TL;DR: This page explains how an administrator connects a sandbox to an Adobe Experience Manager repository in the AEM Integration menu, choosing author-only or publish access, custom domains, and authentication, so marketers can use AEM Content Fragments in journeys and campaigns.
Intents:
- Connect a sandbox to an Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service or Managed Service repository
- Create a repository configuration from Administration > Channels > AEM Integration
- Choose between Author only setup and Publish instance setup
- Enable authentication by sending service credentials to the publish instance
- Provide a custom domain when the default AEM publish host is blocked
- Confirm the integration by testing with a Content Fragment
Glossary:
- AEM Integration: The Administration menu where repository settings are created, edited, or disabled; saves settings per sandbox (product-specific)
- Author only setup: A configuration where Journey Optimizer reads Content Fragments from the Adobe Experience Manager author environment only (product-specific)
- Publish instance setup: The configuration that turns on publish instance settings, used when the publish instance is authenticated or requires a custom publish domain (product-specific)
- Send token to publish instance: An option that includes service credentials with requests to the publish instance (product-specific)
- Service Credential JSON: The Adobe Experience Manager service credential pasted for authentication of publish instance requests (product-specific)
- Content Advisor: The selector window used to pick the Content Fragment that confirms the integration works (product-specific)
Guardrails:
- AEM Integration saves repository settings per sandbox; each sandbox keeps its own integrations and they do not apply across sandboxes.
- Only one integration is stored per organization, sandbox, and Adobe Experience Manager repository; saving a new integration for the same combination replaces the previous settings and only the latest configuration is kept.
- With Author only setup, replication from author to publish and live publish updates are not supported.
- For an Adobe Experience Manager Managed Services repository, the AMS repository hostname must end with
adobecqms.net. - Authenticating the publish instance requires enabling Send token to publish instance and pasting a valid Service Credential JSON.
- When you save with a test Content Fragment selected, validation runs automatically; if validation fails, an error list is displayed so you can fix the configuration.
Terminology:
- Canonical name: AEM Integration — Acronym: n/a — variants: Adobe Experience Manager Configuration, repository configuration
- Synonyms: “author-only” = “Author only setup”
- Do not confuse: “Author only setup” (reads Content Fragments from the author environment only) ≠ “Publish instance setup” (uses the publish instance, the default for AEM as a Cloud Service)
FAQ:
- Q: Where are repository settings configured? — In Administration > Channels > AEM Integration, using Create configuration.
- Q: Do repository settings apply across sandboxes? — No; AEM Integration saves settings per sandbox and they do not apply across sandboxes.
- Q: What happens if I save a new configuration for the same repository? — It replaces the previous settings for that organization, sandbox, and repository, and only the latest configuration is kept.
- Q: When do I need Publish instance setup? — When your publish instance is authenticated or you must use a custom publish domain; otherwise the default publish configuration can be used without changes.
- Q: How do I confirm the integration works? — Pick a Content Fragment in the Content Advisor window and save; validation runs automatically and shows an error list if it fails.