---
title: "A Private Sync Protocol for Workshop"
description: "A new, private sync protocol has been introduced for Workshop customers that allows for faster feature delivery and iteration."
doc_version: "1"
last_updated: "2026-06-05"
canonical: "https://northpole.security/blog/private-sync-protocol-for-workshop"
---
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Announcements • October 30, 2025 • By Pete Markowsky

![A Private Sync Protocol for Workshop](https://northpole.security/images/blog/private-sync-protocol-for-workshop-hero.jpg)

![](https://northpole.security/images/home/divider-band-top.svg)

We’re excited to share an important evolution in how [Santa](https://northpole.dev) connects with Workshop. Today, we’re introducing a new private sync protocol that will enable North Pole Security to deliver an exceptional experience for [Workshop](https://northpole.security) customers while maintaining Santa as the world-class open source project our community relies on.

## What’s Changing

The [Santa 2025.10 release](https://github.com/northpolesec/santa/releases) introduces a new, private sync protocol alongside the existing public protocol. This private protocol includes a limited set of features available exclusively to [Workshop](https://northpole.security) customers. The public sync protocol remains fully functional and will continue to be actively maintained and improved.

If you’re currently using Santa with your own sync server or third-party solutions, nothing changes for you. Everything continues to work exactly as it does today.

## Why We’re Making This Change

We’ve been committed to two parallel goals: keeping Santa robust and openly available while building Workshop as an enterprise-grade platform. This dual approach requires sustainable investment in both the open source project and our commercial offering.

The private protocol gives us several key advantages:

-   **Faster innovation for Workshop customers**: By decoupling certain enterprise-specific features from the public protocol, we can iterate more rapidly without the constraint of maintaining backward compatibility across all existing clients. This means Workshop customers get new capabilities more quickly.
    
-   **Sustained investment in Santa**: A stronger commercial foundation ensures we can continue investing significant engineering resources in open source.
    
-   **Clear product differentiation**: Enterprise customers choosing Workshop get advanced features, dedicated support, and rapid iteration on their specific needs. Open source users get a battle-tested, industry-proven security tool from its core maintainers.
    

## Our Commitment Going Forward

We’re excited for what this change lets us do. As the maintainers of Santa and creators of Workshop, we feel a deep responsibility to both the open source community and our enterprise customers. This approach allows us to serve both constituencies well.

Santa Workshop

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