> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tavus.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# PAL Editing Lifecycle

> Once a PAL has a deployment, PAL Maker edits become drafts you push. API edits keep going straight to the live PAL.

A PAL is live from the moment you create it. Edits from [PAL Maker](https://maker.tavus.io/dev) and the API both apply to that live PAL directly, until the PAL has a deployment.

## Deployments

A PAL has a **deployment** as soon as it is being used somewhere. Any of these count:

* A [landing page](/sections/deployments/landing-page), [embed](/sections/deployments/embed), or [widget](/sections/deployments/widget) created in PAL Maker.
* A [Google Meet or Zoom meeting identity](/sections/conversational-video-interface/pal/meetings) (`layers.conferencing`).
* A conversation created through the API with [Create Conversation](/api-reference/conversations/create-conversation).

Once a PAL has a deployment, further edits in PAL Maker create a **draft**. The draft is private to Maker and does not affect the live PAL until you press **Update** to push it. Updating publishes the draft to every deployment at once.

Drafts only exist in PAL Maker. The API does not have a draft concept.

## Editing via the API

The API always writes to the live PAL:

* If PAL Maker has no draft, [Patch PAL](/api-reference/pals/patch-pal) updates the live PAL and returns `200`.
* If PAL Maker has a draft, the write is rejected with `409` and `"conflict": "maker_changes"` so an API update does not silently overwrite someone's in-progress Maker work.

Retry the same PATCH with `?force=true` to update the live PAL anyway and discard the Maker draft. The response then includes `"discarded_maker_changes": true`.

Use `force=true` when the API is the source of truth for the field. Leave it off when a person might be mid-edit in Maker — the `409` is telling you their changes would be lost.

`layers.conferencing` is the exception: meeting settings apply immediately in both surfaces and a conferencing-only patch is never rejected with `409`. It must be sent separately from other field edits.

## Reads

[Get PAL](/api-reference/pals/get-pal) always returns the live PAL. Maker drafts are private and are never returned.