Note: 

1. This feature is currently available as an early access feature for all paid plans of Creator 6
2. Hotfix can be applied only to:
   
1. applications that were published from Development to Stage and then to Production after June 27, 2026.
2. independent apps with no dependencies across all environments.

1. Setting up a hotfix in Zoho Creator

A hotfix lifecycle involves five sequential phases, each of which must be completed before the next begins.

1. Hotfix Details - Provide a unique link name and add the target production app to the hotfix environment.
2. Apply Fix to Production - Edit the required Deluge scripts of form workflows and functions in the hotfix environment, and publish the fix to Production.
3. Merge Fix to Stage - Merge the hotfix changes into all Stage versions of the app, resolving any conflicts before proceeding.
4. Merge Fix to Development - Merge the hotfix changes into the Development app by resolving any detected conflicts.
5. Hotfix Complete - The current hotfix lifecycle is marked as complete and all standard publish operations can be resumed for the involved app as before.

2. Steps to configure and complete the hotfix lifecycle

2.1. Hotfix Details

1. Navigate to Environments in the left pane in the admin dashboard of your Zoho Creator account.
2. Click the horizontal ellipsis icon next to the target production app and select Create Hotfix. The Hotfix Details screen is displayed.
   
3. Enter a unique value for the hotfix link name. This name cannot be changed once the hotfix is created.

Note: The hotfix link name can:

1. only contain letters, numbers, and the special characters _ and -
2. contain a maximum of 50 characters

The Application field displays the name of the selected production app and is shown in disabled state.

4. Click Proceed to add the target application in the hotfix environment.

Note: Once the chosen app has been added to the hotfix environment, this selection is final and cannot be modified.

The selected app is added to the hotfix environment after which you can proceed to apply the required emergency fix.

2.2. Applying the fix to Production

Once the selected app from the previous section is created in the hotfix environment, the Apply Fix to Production step becomes active.

Note: If an error occurs while the hotfix app is being created, the status is reflected in the Apply Fix to Production screen. Reach out to the Zoho Creator support team at support@zohocreator.com to resolve the issue and proceed to the next step.

1. Click the ellipsis icon next to the target hotfix app and select Edit to open its app builder in a new tab.
2. Navigate to the relevant workflow or function and make the necessary changes to the Deluge script to fix the target issue and click Save.
3. Click Manage Hotfix in the header strip to redirect back to the Apply Fix to Production step of the hotfix lifecycle where Hotfix Status is displayed as Changes available.
4. Click Apply Fix to Production to initiate the publish setup for the hotfix changes once they are finalized.

Note: Publishing changes to Production is a one-time action for the current hotfix lifecycle. Once published, the fix cannot be modified or republished as part of the same hotfix.

5. Select the required components with the fix, to be applied to Production. Any unselected changes cannot be pushed as a part of this hotfix later. Click Publish.

A Publish initiated screen appears and the Production app enters maintenance while the publish is in progress. The Production app becomes accessible again once the publish is complete.

6. Click Manage Hotfix to navigate to the Merge to Stage step again. A status mentioning that the publish is in progress is displayed. You’ll be redirected to the next step once the fix is applied to the Production app.

2.3. Merging the fix to Stage

Once the fix has been applied to Production, the Merge Fix to Stage step becomes active.

The Merge Fix to Stage screen displays the involved app’s Stage versions and conflict status. Conflicts arise when the same component is modified in a Stage version and as part of the hotfix. The Status column indicates one of the following:

1. No conflicts - Since there are no conflicts between the Stage version and the hotfix changes, the changes can be merged directly into Stage.
2. Conflicts detected - Conflicts exist between the Stage version and the hotfix changes. These must be resolved before the merge can proceed.
3. Conflicts resolved - All conflicts have been resolved and the merge can proceed.

2.3.1. No conflicts between Stage version and hotfix changes

1. Click Merge to Stage to apply the hotfix changes to the application in the Stage environment.

Once the hotfix changes are merged to Stage, proceed to merge it to Development environment as well to complete the hotfix lifecycle.

2.3.2. Conflicts detected between Stage version and hotfix changes

The lowest displayed conflicted version will be auto-selected along with any previous version without conflicts.

1. Click Publish to Hotfix to publish the selected Stage versions. The selected Stage versions will be duplicated in the hotfix environment.

Note: If multiple versions have conflicts, they must be published and resolved one at a time, until all versions resolved. Versions with conflicts cannot be published together.

2. Verify the Stage version that is to be published to the hotfix and its details and click Publish.
3. Click Resolve Conflict to open the Merge Editor screen that displays the hotfix changes and Stage versions of the conflicting components side by side.
4. Compare and make changes to each component one after the other to resolve all conflicts by following the below process:
   1. Click Edit to unlock the Stage version on the right and make the required changes to resolve the conflict, and click Save.
   2. Click Mark as Resolved if the saved changes can be finalized for the component. The next component of the Stage version opens where you can repeat the previous step. Follow this process for all required components in the conflicted Stage version.
5. Click Commit to Hotfix once all components have been marked as resolved and the changes are final since they cannot be reverted once the commit is initiated. The Merge to Stage step of the hotfix lifecycle is displayed again.

Note:

1. Ensure all conflicts are rectified before clicking Commit to Hotfix. Otherwise, when the corresponding Stage version is later published to Production as part of the planned release cycle, the hotfix changes will not be included in it.
2. Follow the steps 1 - 5 for all conflicting Stage versions displayed in the Merge to Stage screen.

6. Click Merge Fix to Stage to complete the merge once all conflicts are resolved.

Note: If the merge process to Stage fails, reach out to the Zoho Creator support team at support@zohocreator.com to resolve the issue and proceed to the next step.

Once the hotfix changes are merged to Stage, proceed to merge it to Development environment as well to complete the hotfix lifecycle.

2.4. Merging the fix to Development

Once the fix has been merged to Stage, the Merge Fix to Development step becomes active.

The Merge Fix to Development screen displays the Development version of the app along with its version title and conflict status. Conflicts arise when the same component is modified in a Development app and as a part of the hotfix. The Status column indicates one of the following:

1. Conflict auto-resolved - The conflicts are auto-resolved between the Development app and the hotfix changes since the component edited as part of the hotfix has been deleted in the development app. The merge to Development can proceed without further actions.
2. Conflicts detected- Conflicts exist between the Development app and the hotfix changes. These must be resolved before the merge can proceed.
3. Conflicts resolved - All conflicts have been resolved and the merge can proceed.

2.4.1. Conflicts auto-resolved between Development app and hotfix changes

Note: There are no conflicts if the components modified as part of the hotfix have been deleted in the Development app. Hence, the merge to Development can proceed without requiring any conflict resolution. If the involved component is required, it can be manually created in the Development environment once the hotfix is complete.

1. Click Mark as Complete to finalize the hotfix lifecycle. The Hotfix Complete step is displayed to denote that the fix has been applied to all environments and all standard publish operations can be resumed for the app involved in the hotfix.

2.4.2. Conflicts detected between Development app and hotfix changes

The Merge Fix to Development screen displays the involved app along with the Conflicts detected status against the Development version.

1. Click Resolve Conflict to open the Merge Editor screen that displays the hotfix changes and development app of the conflicting components side by side.
2. Compare and make changes to each component one after the other to resolve all conflicts by following the below process:
   1. Click Edit to unlock the development app on the right and make the required changes to resolve the conflict, and click Save.
   2. Click Mark as Resolved if the saved changes can be finalized for the component. The next component of the development app opens where you can repeat the previous again. Follow this process for all required components in the conflicted development app.
3. Click Merge to Development to complete the merge once all conflicts are resolved. You will be redirected to the Merge to Development step with the status for the development app displayed as Conflicts Resolved.

Note: Ensure all conflicts are rectified before clicking Merge to Development. Otherwise, when the Development app is later published to Stage as part of the planned testing cycle, the hotfix changes will not be included in it.

4. Click Mark as Complete to end and finalize the hotfix lifecycle. The Hotfix Complete step is displayed to denote that the fix has been applied to all environments and all standard publish operations can be resumed for the app involved in the hotfix.

3. Managing a hotfix

3.1. Accessing and exiting an active hotfix

To access an ongoing hotfix lifecycle for an application:

1. Navigate to Environments in the left pane in the admin dashboard of your Zoho Creator account.
2. Click the horizontal ellipsis icon next to the target production app and select Manage Hotfix. The active step of the hotfix lifecycle opens up.

To exit an ongoing hotfix lifecycle for an application temporarily:

1. Click the X icon on the top-right corner of the active or completed step in the hotfix lifecycle to exit the hotfix temporarily. You can access the active step of the hotfix lifecycle again by using the Manage Hotfix option for the specific app in Environments at anytime.

3.2. Deleting a hotfix

Note: A hotfix can be deleted only before the fix has been applied to Production.

In the Apply Fix to Production step:

1. Click the Delete icon on the top right corner of the page to delete the hotfix permanently. This discards all progress made until that point in the specific hotfix lifecycle.

4. Points to note

1. Standard publish operations from Development to Stage and from Stage to Production remain suspended for the involved app until the hotfix is complete. That is, the fix should be fully merged back into Stage and Development and marked as complete.
2. If a component involved in the hotfix has been deleted in Stage, the fix cannot be applied to that Stage version and the hotfix lifecycle proceeds accordingly.

5. Related topics

1. Understanding hotfix in environments