diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Context.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Context.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34bf3d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Context.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
+
+/**
+ * Allows to tag event as local to avoid consuming remote events.
+ *
+ * <p>TODO: Gerrit v3.1 doesn't have concept of the instanceId so ThreadLocal must be used. From
+ * Gerrit v3.2 replace ThreadLocal with instanceId.
+ */
+public class Context {
+  private static final ThreadLocal<Boolean> localEvent = ThreadLocal.withInitial(() -> false);
+
+  private Context() {}
+
+  public static Boolean isLocalEvent() {
+    return localEvent.get();
+  }
+
+  public static void setLocalEvent(Boolean b) {
+    localEvent.set(b);
+  }
+
+  public static void unsetLocalEvent() {
+    localEvent.remove();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchAll.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchAll.java
index baffff7..bcd86d7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchAll.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchAll.java
@@ -29,7 +29,11 @@
   private final ReplicationStateListener stateLog;
 
   public interface Factory {
-    FetchAll create(String urlMatch, ReplicationFilter filter, ReplicationState state, boolean now);
+    FetchAll create(
+        String urlMatch,
+        ReplicationFilter filter,
+        ReplicationState state,
+        ReplicationType replicationType);
   }
 
   private final WorkQueue workQueue;
@@ -37,7 +41,7 @@
   private final String urlMatch;
   private final ReplicationFilter filter;
   private final ReplicationState state;
-  private final boolean now;
+  private final ReplicationType replicationType;
   private final SourcesCollection sources;
 
   @Inject
@@ -49,7 +53,7 @@
       @Assisted @Nullable String urlMatch,
       @Assisted ReplicationFilter filter,
       @Assisted ReplicationState state,
-      @Assisted boolean now) {
+      @Assisted ReplicationType replicationType) {
     this.workQueue = wq;
     this.projectCache = projectCache;
     this.stateLog = stateLog;
@@ -57,7 +61,7 @@
     this.urlMatch = urlMatch;
     this.filter = filter;
     this.state = state;
-    this.now = now;
+    this.replicationType = replicationType;
   }
 
   Future<?> schedule(long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
@@ -69,7 +73,7 @@
     try {
       for (Project.NameKey nameKey : projectCache.all()) {
         if (filter.matches(nameKey)) {
-          scheduleFullSync(nameKey, urlMatch, state, now);
+          scheduleFullSync(nameKey, urlMatch, state, replicationType);
         }
       }
     } catch (Exception e) {
@@ -79,12 +83,15 @@
   }
 
   private void scheduleFullSync(
-      Project.NameKey project, String urlMatch, ReplicationState state, boolean now) {
+      Project.NameKey project,
+      String urlMatch,
+      ReplicationState state,
+      ReplicationType replicationType) {
 
     for (Source cfg : sources.getAll()) {
       if (cfg.wouldFetchProject(project)) {
         for (URIish uri : cfg.getURIs(project, urlMatch)) {
-          cfg.schedule(project, FetchOne.ALL_REFS, uri, state, now);
+          cfg.schedule(project, FetchOne.ALL_REFS, uri, state, replicationType);
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchResultProcessing.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchResultProcessing.java
index 2d51239..ab16318 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchResultProcessing.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchResultProcessing.java
@@ -118,12 +118,15 @@
       }
       writeStdOut(sb.toString());
       try {
+        Context.setLocalEvent(true);
         dispatcher.postEvent(
             new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
                 project, ref, resolveNodeName(uri), status, refUpdateResult));
       } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
         logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
             "Cannot post event for ref '%s', project %s", ref, project);
+      } finally {
+        Context.unsetLocalEvent();
       }
     }
 
@@ -200,9 +203,12 @@
 
     private void postEvent(RefEvent event) {
       try {
+        Context.setLocalEvent(true);
         dispatcher.postEvent(event);
       } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
         logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log("Cannot post event");
+      } finally {
+        Context.unsetLocalEvent();
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/OnStartStop.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/OnStartStop.java
index d8c4a8d..5cf8bb6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/OnStartStop.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/OnStartStop.java
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
 
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.ASYNC;
+
 import com.google.common.util.concurrent.Atomics;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.events.LifecycleListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicItem;
@@ -65,7 +67,7 @@
               new FetchResultProcessing.GitUpdateProcessing(eventDispatcher.get()));
       fetchAllFuture.set(
           fetchAll
-              .create(null, ReplicationFilter.all(), state, false)
+              .create(null, ReplicationFilter.all(), state, ASYNC)
               .schedule(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueue.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueue.java
index 6c8ada0..cdba012 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueue.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueue.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RefUpdateException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.client.FetchRestApiClient;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.client.HttpResult;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter.ExcludedRefsFilter;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.util.HashSet;
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@
   private final Queue<ReferenceUpdatedEvent> beforeStartupEventsQueue;
   private FetchRestApiClient.Factory fetchClientFactory;
   private Integer fetchCallsTimeout;
-  private RefsFilter refsFilter;
+  private ExcludedRefsFilter refsFilter;
   private RevisionReader revisionReader;
 
   @Inject
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@
       DynamicItem<EventDispatcher> dis,
       ReplicationStateListeners sl,
       FetchRestApiClient.Factory fetchClientFactory,
-      RefsFilter refsFilter,
+      ExcludedRefsFilter refsFilter,
       RevisionReader revReader) {
     workQueue = wq;
     dispatcher = dis;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationType.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationType.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..308a90b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationType.java
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
+
+public enum ReplicationType {
+  SYNC,
+  ASYNC
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReader.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReader.java
index d88c5f5..5718249 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReader.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReader.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionObjectData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RefUpdateException;
@@ -33,7 +34,6 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.LargeObjectException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.MissingObjectException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.RepositoryNotFoundException;
-import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectId;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectLoader;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Ref;
@@ -50,10 +50,11 @@
   private Long maxRefSize;
 
   @Inject
-  public RevisionReader(GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager, Config cfg) {
+  public RevisionReader(GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager, ReplicationConfig cfg) {
     this.gitRepositoryManager = gitRepositoryManager;
     this.maxRefSize =
-        cfg.getLong("replication", CONFIG_MAX_API_PAYLOAD_SIZE, DEFAULT_MAX_PAYLOAD_SIZE_IN_BYTES);
+        cfg.getConfig()
+            .getLong("replication", CONFIG_MAX_API_PAYLOAD_SIZE, DEFAULT_MAX_PAYLOAD_SIZE_IN_BYTES);
   }
 
   public Optional<RevisionData> read(Project.NameKey project, String refName)
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Source.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Source.java
index ec61a5d..2d8bce4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Source.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/Source.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationFileBasedConfig.replaceName;
 import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchResultProcessing.resolveNodeName;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.SYNC;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Throwables;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
@@ -380,13 +381,20 @@
   }
 
   public Future<?> schedule(
-      Project.NameKey project, String ref, ReplicationState state, boolean now) {
+      Project.NameKey project,
+      String ref,
+      ReplicationState state,
+      ReplicationType replicationType) {
     URIish uri = getURI(project);
-    return schedule(project, ref, uri, state, now);
+    return schedule(project, ref, uri, state, replicationType);
   }
 
   public Future<?> schedule(
-      Project.NameKey project, String ref, URIish uri, ReplicationState state, boolean now) {
+      Project.NameKey project,
+      String ref,
+      URIish uri,
+      ReplicationState state,
+      ReplicationType replicationType) {
 
     repLog.info("scheduling replication {}:{} => {}", uri, ref, project);
     if (!shouldReplicate(project, ref, state)) {
@@ -426,7 +434,7 @@
         addRef(e, ref);
         e.addState(ref, state);
         pending.put(uri, e);
-        f = pool.schedule(e, now ? 0 : config.getDelay(), TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        f = pool.schedule(e, isSyncCall(replicationType) ? 0 : config.getDelay(), TimeUnit.SECONDS);
       } else if (!e.getRefs().contains(ref)) {
         addRef(e, ref);
         e.addState(ref, state);
@@ -449,6 +457,10 @@
     postReplicationScheduledEvent(e, ref);
   }
 
+  private boolean isSyncCall(ReplicationType replicationType) {
+    return SYNC.equals(replicationType);
+  }
+
   /**
    * It schedules again a FetchOp instance.
    *
@@ -750,15 +762,20 @@
   private void postReplicationFailedEvent(FetchOne fetchOp, RefUpdate.Result result) {
     Project.NameKey project = fetchOp.getProjectNameKey();
     String sourceNode = resolveNodeName(fetchOp.getURI());
-    for (String ref : fetchOp.getRefs()) {
-      FetchRefReplicatedEvent event =
-          new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-              project.get(), ref, sourceNode, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED, result);
-      try {
-        eventDispatcher.get().postEvent(BranchNameKey.create(project, ref), event);
-      } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
-        repLog.error("error posting event", e);
+    try {
+      Context.setLocalEvent(true);
+      for (String ref : fetchOp.getRefs()) {
+        FetchRefReplicatedEvent event =
+            new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
+                project.get(), ref, sourceNode, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED, result);
+        try {
+          eventDispatcher.get().postEvent(BranchNameKey.create(project, ref), event);
+        } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
+          repLog.error("error posting event", e);
+        }
       }
+    } finally {
+      Context.unsetLocalEvent();
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/SourceConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/SourceConfiguration.java
index e50461d..8046d49 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/SourceConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/SourceConfiguration.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.RemoteConfig;
 
 public class SourceConfiguration implements RemoteConfiguration {
-  static final int DEFAULT_REPLICATION_DELAY = 0;
+  static final int DEFAULT_REPLICATION_DELAY = 4;
   static final int DEFAULT_RESCHEDULE_DELAY = 3;
   static final int DEFAULT_SLOW_LATENCY_THRESHOLD_SECS = 900;
   static final int DEFAULT_MAX_CONNECTION_INACTIVITY_MS = 10000;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/StartFetchCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/StartFetchCommand.java
index 6ababe9..97f8e9e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/StartFetchCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/StartFetchCommand.java
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@
 
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
 
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.ASYNC;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.SYNC;
+
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.annotations.RequiresCapability;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicItem;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.EventDispatcher;
@@ -77,7 +80,10 @@
       projectFilter = new ReplicationFilter(projectPatterns);
     }
 
-    future = fetchFactory.create(urlMatch, projectFilter, state, now).schedule(0, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+    future =
+        fetchFactory
+            .create(urlMatch, projectFilter, state, replicationType(now))
+            .schedule(0, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
     if (wait) {
       if (future != null) {
@@ -105,6 +111,10 @@
     }
   }
 
+  private ReplicationType replicationType(Boolean now) {
+    return now ? SYNC : ASYNC;
+  }
+
   @Override
   public void writeStdOutSync(String message) {
     if (wait) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectAction.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectAction.java
index db4edf5..f029834 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectAction.java
@@ -14,12 +14,7 @@
 
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
 
-import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkState;
-
 import com.google.common.base.Strings;
-import com.google.common.flogger.FluentLogger;
-import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
-import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicItem;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.AuthException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.BadRequestException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.ResourceConflictException;
@@ -27,9 +22,6 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.RestApiException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.RestModifyView;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.UnprocessableEntityException;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.config.UrlFormatter;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.git.WorkQueue;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.ioutil.HexFormat;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.project.ProjectResource;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionInput;
@@ -37,24 +29,15 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RefUpdateException;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Objects;
-import java.util.Optional;
 
 public class ApplyObjectAction implements RestModifyView<ProjectResource, RevisionInput> {
 
   private final ApplyObjectCommand command;
-  private final WorkQueue workQueue;
-  private final DynamicItem<UrlFormatter> urlFormatter;
   private final FetchPreconditions preConditions;
 
   @Inject
-  public ApplyObjectAction(
-      ApplyObjectCommand command,
-      WorkQueue workQueue,
-      DynamicItem<UrlFormatter> urlFormatter,
-      FetchPreconditions preConditions) {
+  public ApplyObjectAction(ApplyObjectCommand command, FetchPreconditions preConditions) {
     this.command = command;
-    this.workQueue = workQueue;
-    this.urlFormatter = urlFormatter;
     this.preConditions = preConditions;
   }
 
@@ -89,10 +72,9 @@
         throw new BadRequestException("Ref-update tree object cannot be null");
       }
 
-      if (input.isAsync()) {
-        return applyAsync(resource.getNameKey(), input);
-      }
-      return applySync(resource.getNameKey(), input);
+      command.applyObject(
+          resource.getNameKey(), input.getRefName(), input.getRevisionData(), input.getLabel());
+      return Response.created(input);
     } catch (MissingParentObjectException e) {
       throw new ResourceConflictException(e.getMessage(), e);
     } catch (NumberFormatException | IOException e) {
@@ -101,51 +83,4 @@
       throw new UnprocessableEntityException(e.getMessage());
     }
   }
-
-  private Response<?> applySync(Project.NameKey project, RevisionInput input)
-      throws NumberFormatException, IOException, RefUpdateException, MissingParentObjectException {
-    command.applyObject(project, input.getRefName(), input.getRevisionData(), input.getLabel());
-    return Response.created(input);
-  }
-
-  private Response.Accepted applyAsync(Project.NameKey project, RevisionInput input) {
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    WorkQueue.Task<Void> task =
-        (WorkQueue.Task<Void>)
-            workQueue.getDefaultQueue().submit(new ApplyObjectJob(command, project, input));
-    Optional<String> url =
-        urlFormatter
-            .get()
-            .getRestUrl("a/config/server/tasks/" + HexFormat.fromInt(task.getTaskId()));
-    // We're in a HTTP handler, so must be present.
-    checkState(url.isPresent());
-    return Response.accepted(url.get());
-  }
-
-  private static class ApplyObjectJob implements Runnable {
-    private static final FluentLogger log = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
-
-    private ApplyObjectCommand command;
-    private Project.NameKey project;
-    private RevisionInput input;
-
-    public ApplyObjectJob(
-        ApplyObjectCommand command, Project.NameKey project, RevisionInput input) {
-      this.command = command;
-      this.project = project;
-      this.input = input;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void run() {
-      try {
-        command.applyObject(project, input.getRefName(), input.getRevisionData(), input.getLabel());
-      } catch (IOException | RefUpdateException | MissingParentObjectException e) {
-        log.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
-            "Exception during the applyObject call for project {} and ref name {}",
-            project.get(),
-            input.getRefName());
-      }
-    }
-  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectCommand.java
index ac7e79b..276aa16 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectCommand.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.server.permissions.PermissionBackendException;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ApplyObjectMetrics;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.PullReplicationStateLogger;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@
     long elapsed = NANOSECONDS.toMillis(context.stop());
 
     try {
+      Context.setLocalEvent(true);
       eventDispatcher
           .get()
           .postEvent(
@@ -90,6 +92,8 @@
     } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
       logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
           "Cannot post event for ref '%s', project %s", refName, name);
+    } finally {
+      Context.unsetLocalEvent();
     }
 
     if (!isSuccessful(refUpdateState.getResult())) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchAction.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchAction.java
index c44bcbc..2767f1d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchAction.java
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
   private Response<?> applySync(Project.NameKey project, Input input)
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
           TimeoutException {
-    command.fetch(project, input.label, input.refName);
+    command.fetchSync(project, input.label, input.refName);
     return Response.created(input);
   }
 
@@ -127,16 +127,14 @@
     @Override
     public void run() {
       try {
-        command.fetch(project, input.label, input.refName);
+        command.fetchAsync(project, input.label, input.refName);
       } catch (InterruptedException
           | ExecutionException
           | RemoteConfigurationMissingException
           | TimeoutException e) {
         log.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
-            "Exception during the async fetch call for project {}, label {} and ref name {}",
-            project.get(),
-            input.label,
-            input.refName);
+            "Exception during the async fetch call for project %s, label %s and ref name %s",
+            project.get(), input.label, input.refName);
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommand.java
index 1088d9b..e1ac9ac 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommand.java
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@
 
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
 
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.ASYNC;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.SYNC;
+
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicItem;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.EventDispatcher;
@@ -22,6 +25,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchResultProcessing;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.PullReplicationStateLogger;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.SourcesCollection;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RemoteConfigurationMissingException;
@@ -50,7 +54,19 @@
     this.eventDispatcher = eventDispatcher;
   }
 
-  public void fetch(Project.NameKey name, String label, String refName)
+  public void fetchAsync(Project.NameKey name, String label, String refName)
+      throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
+          TimeoutException {
+    fetch(name, label, refName, ASYNC);
+  }
+
+  public void fetchSync(Project.NameKey name, String label, String refName)
+      throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
+          TimeoutException {
+    fetch(name, label, refName, SYNC);
+  }
+
+  private void fetch(Project.NameKey name, String label, String refName, ReplicationType fetchType)
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
           TimeoutException {
     ReplicationState state =
@@ -66,7 +82,7 @@
 
     try {
       state.markAllFetchTasksScheduled();
-      Future<?> future = source.get().schedule(name, refName, state, true);
+      Future<?> future = source.get().schedule(name, refName, state, fetchType);
       future.get(source.get().getTimeout(), TimeUnit.SECONDS);
     } catch (ExecutionException
         | IllegalStateException
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/data/RevisionInput.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/data/RevisionInput.java
index 160a720..bc3e218 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/data/RevisionInput.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/data/RevisionInput.java
@@ -21,17 +21,10 @@
 
   private RevisionData revisionData;
 
-  private boolean async;
-
   public RevisionInput(String label, String refName, RevisionData revisionData) {
-    this(label, refName, revisionData, false);
-  }
-
-  public RevisionInput(String label, String refName, RevisionData revisionData, boolean async) {
     this.label = label;
     this.refName = refName;
     this.revisionData = revisionData;
-    this.async = async;
   }
 
   public String getLabel() {
@@ -45,8 +38,4 @@
   public RevisionData getRevisionData() {
     return revisionData;
   }
-
-  public boolean isAsync() {
-    return async;
-  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClient.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClient.java
index eed1afb..7b876df 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClient.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionInput;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter.SyncRefsFilter;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -67,18 +68,21 @@
   private final Source source;
   private final String instanceLabel;
   private final String pluginName;
+  private final SyncRefsFilter syncRefsFilter;
 
   @Inject
   FetchRestApiClient(
       CredentialsFactory credentials,
       SourceHttpClient.Factory httpClientFactory,
       ReplicationConfig replicationConfig,
+      SyncRefsFilter syncRefsFilter,
       @PluginName String pluginName,
       @Assisted Source source) {
     this.credentials = credentials;
     this.httpClientFactory = httpClientFactory;
     this.source = source;
     this.pluginName = pluginName;
+    this.syncRefsFilter = syncRefsFilter;
     this.instanceLabel =
         Strings.nullToEmpty(
                 replicationConfig.getConfig().getString("replication", null, "instanceLabel"))
@@ -93,11 +97,13 @@
         String.format(
             "%s/a/projects/%s/pull-replication~fetch",
             targetUri.toString(), Url.encode(project.get()));
-
+    Boolean callAsync = !syncRefsFilter.match(refName);
     HttpPost post = new HttpPost(url);
     post.setEntity(
         new StringEntity(
-            String.format("{\"label\":\"%s\", \"ref_name\": \"%s\"}", instanceLabel, refName),
+            String.format(
+                "{\"label\":\"%s\", \"ref_name\": \"%s\", \"async\":%s}",
+                instanceLabel, refName, callAsync),
             StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
     post.addHeader(new BasicHeader("Content-Type", "application/json"));
     return httpClientFactory.create(source).execute(post, this, getContext(targetUri));
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
index fc96394..a618e16 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
@@ -17,10 +17,12 @@
 import com.google.common.flogger.FluentLogger;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Change;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.RefNames;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.EventListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.index.change.ChangeIndexer;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
 
@@ -35,18 +37,21 @@
 
   @Override
   public void onEvent(Event event) {
-    if (event instanceof FetchRefReplicatedEvent) {
+    if (event instanceof FetchRefReplicatedEvent && isLocalEvent()) {
       FetchRefReplicatedEvent fetchRefReplicatedEvent = (FetchRefReplicatedEvent) event;
+      if (!RefNames.isNoteDbMetaRef(fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName())
+          || !fetchRefReplicatedEvent
+              .getStatus()
+              .equals(ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED.toString())) {
+        return;
+      }
+
       Project.NameKey projectNameKey = fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getProjectNameKey();
       logger.atFine().log(
           "Indexing ref '%s' for project %s",
           fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName(), projectNameKey.get());
-
       Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName());
-      if (changeId != null
-          && fetchRefReplicatedEvent
-              .getStatus()
-              .equals(ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED.toString())) {
+      if (changeId != null) {
         changeIndexer.index(projectNameKey, changeId);
       } else {
         logger.atWarning().log(
@@ -55,4 +60,8 @@
       }
     }
   }
+
+  private boolean isLocalEvent() {
+    return Context.isLocalEvent();
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObject.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObject.java
index da63168..03362bf 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObject.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObject.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.fetch;
 
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.LocalDiskRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
@@ -31,8 +30,12 @@
 
 public class ApplyObject {
 
-  private final GitRepositoryManager gitManager;
+  private final LocalDiskRepositoryManager gitManager;
 
+  // NOTE: We do need specifically the LocalDiskRepositoryManager to make sure
+  // to be able to write onto the directly physical repository without any wrapper.
+  // Using for instance the multi-site wrapper injected by Guice would result
+  // in a split-brain because of the misalignment of local vs. global refs values.
   @Inject
   public ApplyObject(LocalDiskRepositoryManager gitManager) {
     this.gitManager = gitManager;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/ExcludedRefsFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/ExcludedRefsFilter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2e4ab3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/ExcludedRefsFilter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.RefNames;
+import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.google.inject.Singleton;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
+import java.util.List;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+
+@Singleton
+public class ExcludedRefsFilter extends RefsFilter {
+  @Inject
+  public ExcludedRefsFilter(ReplicationConfig replicationConfig) {
+    super(replicationConfig);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected List<String> getRefNamePatterns(Config cfg) {
+    return ImmutableList.<String>builder()
+        .addAll(getDefaultExcludeRefPatterns())
+        .addAll(ImmutableList.copyOf(cfg.getStringList("replication", null, "excludeRefs")))
+        .build();
+  }
+
+  private List<String> getDefaultExcludeRefPatterns() {
+    return ImmutableList.of(
+        RefNames.REFS_USERS + "*",
+        RefNames.REFS_CONFIG,
+        RefNames.REFS_SEQUENCES + "*",
+        RefNames.REFS_EXTERNAL_IDS,
+        RefNames.REFS_GROUPS + "*",
+        RefNames.REFS_GROUPNAMES,
+        RefNames.REFS_CACHE_AUTOMERGE + "*",
+        RefNames.REFS_STARRED_CHANGES + "*");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RefsFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/RefsFilter.java
similarity index 70%
rename from src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RefsFilter.java
rename to src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/RefsFilter.java
index 0b9a691..7ec19ea 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RefsFilter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/RefsFilter.java
@@ -12,20 +12,15 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Strings;
-import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.AccessSection;
-import com.google.gerrit.entities.RefNames;
-import com.google.inject.Inject;
-import com.google.inject.Singleton;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
 import java.util.List;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
 
-@Singleton
-public class RefsFilter {
+public abstract class RefsFilter {
   public enum PatternType {
     REGEX,
     WILDCARD,
@@ -44,7 +39,6 @@
 
   private final List<String> refsPatterns;
 
-  @Inject
   public RefsFilter(ReplicationConfig replicationConfig) {
     refsPatterns = getRefNamePatterns(replicationConfig.getConfig());
   }
@@ -66,12 +60,7 @@
     return false;
   }
 
-  private List<String> getRefNamePatterns(Config cfg) {
-    return ImmutableList.<String>builder()
-        .addAll(getDefaultExcludeRefPatterns())
-        .addAll(ImmutableList.copyOf(cfg.getStringList("replication", null, "excludeRefs")))
-        .build();
-  }
+  protected abstract List<String> getRefNamePatterns(Config cfg);
 
   private boolean matchesPattern(String refName, String pattern) {
     boolean match = false;
@@ -87,16 +76,4 @@
     }
     return match;
   }
-
-  private List<String> getDefaultExcludeRefPatterns() {
-    return ImmutableList.of(
-        RefNames.REFS_USERS + "*",
-        RefNames.REFS_CONFIG,
-        RefNames.REFS_SEQUENCES + "*",
-        RefNames.REFS_EXTERNAL_IDS,
-        RefNames.REFS_GROUPS + "*",
-        RefNames.REFS_GROUPNAMES,
-        RefNames.REFS_CACHE_AUTOMERGE + "*",
-        RefNames.REFS_STARRED_CHANGES + "*");
-  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/SyncRefsFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/SyncRefsFilter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a069935
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/filter/SyncRefsFilter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.google.inject.Singleton;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
+import java.util.List;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+
+@Singleton
+public class SyncRefsFilter extends RefsFilter {
+  @Inject
+  public SyncRefsFilter(ReplicationConfig replicationConfig) {
+    super(replicationConfig);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected List<String> getRefNamePatterns(Config cfg) {
+    return ImmutableList.copyOf(cfg.getStringList("replication", null, "syncRefs"));
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
index c3e5ad4..126cd1b 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
+++ b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
@@ -181,6 +181,30 @@
 
     By default, all other refs are included.
 
+replication.syncRefs
+:   Specify for which refs git fetch calls should be executed synchronously.
+    It can be provided more than once, and supports three formats: regular expressions,
+    wildcard matching, and single ref matching. All three formats match are case-sensitive.
+
+    Values starting with a caret `^` are treated as regular
+    expressions. For the regular expressions details please follow
+    official [java documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/regex/).
+
+    Please note that regular expressions could also be used
+    with inverse match.
+
+    Values that are not regular expressions and end in `*` are
+    treated as wildcard matches. Wildcards match refs whose
+    name agrees from the beginning until the trailing `*`. So
+    `foo/b*` would match the refs `foo/b`, `foo/bar`, and
+    `foo/baz`, but neither `foobar`, nor `bar/foo/baz`.
+
+    Values that are neither regular expressions nor wildcards are
+    treated as single ref matches. So `foo/bar` matches only
+    the ref `foo/bar`, but no other refs.
+
+    By default, set to '*' (all refs are replicated synchronously).
+
 replication.maxApiPayloadSize
 :	Maximum size in bytes of the ref to be sent as a REST Api call
 	payload. For refs larger than threshold git fetch operation
@@ -268,13 +292,14 @@
 	Defaults to 0 seconds, wait indefinitely.
 
 remote.NAME.replicationDelay
-:	Time to wait before scheduling a remote fetch operation. Setting
-	the delay to 0 effectively disables the delay, causing the fetch
-	to start as soon as possible.
+:	Time to wait before scheduling an asynchronous remote fetch
+	operation. Setting the delay to 0 effectively disables the delay,
+	causing the fetch to start as soon as possible.
 
 	This is a Gerrit specific extension to the Git remote block.
 
-	By default, 0 seconds.
+	By default for asynchronous fetch, 4 seconds. For a synchronous fetch
+	replicationDelay is zero.
 
 remote.NAME.rescheduleDelay
 :	Delay when rescheduling a fetch operation due to an in-flight fetch
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueueTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueueTest.java
index 44b69db..327c6ba 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueueTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/ReplicationQueueTest.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RefUpdateException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.client.FetchRestApiClient;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.client.HttpResult;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter.ExcludedRefsFilter;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@
   @Mock RevisionData revisionData;
   @Mock HttpResult httpResult;
 
-  private RefsFilter refsFilter;
+  private ExcludedRefsFilter refsFilter;
   private ReplicationQueue objectUnderTest;
   private SitePaths sitePaths;
   private Path pluginDataPath;
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@
     sitePaths = new SitePaths(sitePath);
     Path pluginDataPath = createTempPath("data");
     ReplicationConfig replicationConfig = new ReplicationFileBasedConfig(sitePaths, pluginDataPath);
-    refsFilter = new RefsFilter(replicationConfig);
+    refsFilter = new ExcludedRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
     when(source.getConnectionTimeout()).thenReturn(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT);
     when(source.wouldFetchProject(any())).thenReturn(true);
     when(source.wouldFetchRef(anyString())).thenReturn(true);
@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@
     fileConfig.setString("replication", null, "excludeRefs", "refs/multi-site/version");
     fileConfig.save();
     ReplicationConfig replicationConfig = new ReplicationFileBasedConfig(sitePaths, pluginDataPath);
-    refsFilter = new RefsFilter(replicationConfig);
+    refsFilter = new ExcludedRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
 
     objectUnderTest =
         new ReplicationQueue(wq, rd, dis, sl, fetchClientFactory, refsFilter, revReader);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReaderIT.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReaderIT.java
index ca410d5..d1a4c85 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReaderIT.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/RevisionReaderIT.java
@@ -29,13 +29,15 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.api.changes.ReviewInput.CommentInput;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.client.Comment;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.config.FactoryModule;
-import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Scopes;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationFileBasedConfig;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionObjectData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.fetch.ApplyObject;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Constants;
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 @UseLocalDisk
@@ -43,7 +45,12 @@
     name = "pull-replication",
     sysModule = "com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.RevisionReaderIT$TestModule")
 public class RevisionReaderIT extends LightweightPluginDaemonTest {
-  @Inject RevisionReader objectUnderTest;
+  RevisionReader objectUnderTest;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup() {
+    objectUnderTest = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(RevisionReader.class);
+  }
 
   @Test
   public void shouldReadRefMetaObject() throws Exception {
@@ -114,6 +121,7 @@
   private static class TestModule extends FactoryModule {
     @Override
     protected void configure() {
+      bind(ReplicationConfig.class).to(ReplicationFileBasedConfig.class);
       bind(RevisionReader.class).in(Scopes.SINGLETON);
       bind(ApplyObject.class);
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionIT.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionIT.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75c31de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionIT.java
@@ -0,0 +1,272 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static java.util.stream.Collectors.toList;
+
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.LightweightPluginDaemonTest;
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.PushOneCommit.Result;
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.SkipProjectClone;
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.TestPlugin;
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.UseLocalDisk;
+import com.google.gerrit.acceptance.testsuite.project.ProjectOperations;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.RefNames;
+import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.Url;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.SitePaths;
+import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.CredentialsFactory;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.RevisionReader;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.SourcesCollection;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.client.SourceHttpClient;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Base64;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
+import org.apache.http.auth.AuthScope;
+import org.apache.http.auth.UsernamePasswordCredentials;
+import org.apache.http.client.ClientProtocolException;
+import org.apache.http.client.CredentialsProvider;
+import org.apache.http.client.ResponseHandler;
+import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;
+import org.apache.http.client.protocol.HttpClientContext;
+import org.apache.http.entity.StringEntity;
+import org.apache.http.impl.client.BasicCredentialsProvider;
+import org.apache.http.message.BasicHeader;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.storage.file.FileBasedConfig;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.util.FS;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+@SkipProjectClone
+@UseLocalDisk
+@TestPlugin(
+    name = "pull-replication",
+    sysModule = "com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.PullReplicationModule")
+public class ApplyObjectActionIT extends LightweightPluginDaemonTest {
+  private static final Optional<String> ALL_PROJECTS = Optional.empty();
+  private static final int TEST_REPLICATION_DELAY = 60;
+  private static final String TEST_REPLICATION_SUFFIX = "suffix1";
+  private static final String TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE = "remote1";
+
+  private Path gitPath;
+  private FileBasedConfig config;
+  private FileBasedConfig secureConfig;
+  private RevisionReader revisionReader;
+
+  @Inject private SitePaths sitePaths;
+  @Inject private ProjectOperations projectOperations;
+  CredentialsFactory credentials;
+  Source source;
+  SourceHttpClient.Factory httpClientFactory;
+  String url;
+
+  @Override
+  public void setUpTestPlugin() throws Exception {
+    gitPath = sitePaths.site_path.resolve("git");
+
+    config =
+        new FileBasedConfig(sitePaths.etc_dir.resolve("replication.config").toFile(), FS.DETECTED);
+    setReplicationSource(
+        TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE,
+        TEST_REPLICATION_SUFFIX,
+        ALL_PROJECTS); // Simulates a full replication.config initialization
+    config.save();
+
+    secureConfig =
+        new FileBasedConfig(sitePaths.etc_dir.resolve("secure.config").toFile(), FS.DETECTED);
+    setReplicationCredentials(TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE, admin.username(), admin.httpPassword());
+    secureConfig.save();
+
+    super.setUpTestPlugin();
+
+    httpClientFactory = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(SourceHttpClient.Factory.class);
+    credentials = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(CredentialsFactory.class);
+    revisionReader = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(RevisionReader.class);
+    source = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(SourcesCollection.class).getAll().get(0);
+
+    url =
+        String.format(
+            "%s/a/projects/%s/pull-replication~apply-object",
+            adminRestSession.url(), Url.encode(project.get()));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldAcceptPayloadWithAsyncField() throws Exception {
+    String payloadWithAsyncFieldTemplate =
+        "{\"label\":\""
+            + TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE
+            + "\",\"ref_name\":\"%s\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"blobs\":[]}, \"async\":true}";
+
+    String refName = createRef();
+    Optional<RevisionData> revisionDataOption = createRevisionData(refName);
+    assertThat(revisionDataOption.isPresent()).isTrue();
+
+    RevisionData revisionData = revisionDataOption.get();
+    String sendObjectPayload = createPayload(payloadWithAsyncFieldTemplate, refName, revisionData);
+
+    HttpPost post = createRequest(sendObjectPayload);
+    httpClientFactory.create(source).execute(post, assertHttpResponseCode(201), getContext());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldAcceptPayloadWithoutAsyncField() throws Exception {
+    String payloadWithoutAsyncFieldTemplate =
+        "{\"label\":\""
+            + TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE
+            + "\",\"ref_name\":\"%s\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"blobs\":[]}}";
+
+    String refName = createRef();
+    Optional<RevisionData> revisionDataOption = createRevisionData(refName);
+    assertThat(revisionDataOption.isPresent()).isTrue();
+
+    RevisionData revisionData = revisionDataOption.get();
+    String sendObjectPayload =
+        createPayload(payloadWithoutAsyncFieldTemplate, refName, revisionData);
+
+    HttpPost post = createRequest(sendObjectPayload);
+    httpClientFactory.create(source).execute(post, assertHttpResponseCode(201), getContext());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldReturnBadRequestCodeWhenMandatoryFieldLabelIsMissing() throws Exception {
+    String payloadWithoutLabelFieldTemplate =
+        "{\"ref_name\":\"%s\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"blobs\":[]}, \"async\":true}";
+
+    String refName = createRef();
+    Optional<RevisionData> revisionDataOption = createRevisionData(refName);
+    assertThat(revisionDataOption.isPresent()).isTrue();
+
+    RevisionData revisionData = revisionDataOption.get();
+    String sendObjectPayload =
+        createPayload(payloadWithoutLabelFieldTemplate, refName, revisionData);
+
+    HttpPost post = createRequest(sendObjectPayload);
+    httpClientFactory.create(source).execute(post, assertHttpResponseCode(400), getContext());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldReturnBadRequestCodeWhenPayloadIsNotAProperJSON() throws Exception {
+    String wrongPayloadTemplate =
+        "{\"label\":\""
+            + TEST_REPLICATION_REMOTE
+            + "\",\"ref_name\":\"%s\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"%s\"},\"blobs\":[]}, \"async\":true,}";
+
+    String refName = createRef();
+    Optional<RevisionData> revisionDataOption = createRevisionData(refName);
+    assertThat(revisionDataOption.isPresent()).isTrue();
+
+    RevisionData revisionData = revisionDataOption.get();
+    String sendObjectPayload = createPayload(wrongPayloadTemplate, refName, revisionData);
+
+    HttpPost post = createRequest(sendObjectPayload);
+    httpClientFactory.create(source).execute(post, assertHttpResponseCode(400), getContext());
+  }
+
+  private String createPayload(
+      String wrongPayloadTemplate, String refName, RevisionData revisionData) {
+    String sendObjectPayload =
+        String.format(
+            wrongPayloadTemplate,
+            refName,
+            encode(revisionData.getCommitObject().getContent()),
+            encode(revisionData.getTreeObject().getContent()));
+    return sendObjectPayload;
+  }
+
+  private HttpPost createRequest(String sendObjectPayload) {
+    HttpPost post = new HttpPost(url);
+    post.setEntity(new StringEntity(sendObjectPayload, StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+    post.addHeader(new BasicHeader("Content-Type", "application/json"));
+    return post;
+  }
+
+  private String createRef() throws Exception {
+    testRepo = cloneProject(createTestProject(project + TEST_REPLICATION_SUFFIX));
+
+    Result pushResult = createChange("topic", "test.txt", "test_content");
+    return RefNames.changeMetaRef(pushResult.getChange().getId());
+  }
+
+  private Optional<RevisionData> createRevisionData(String refName) throws Exception {
+    return revisionReader.read(Project.nameKey(project + TEST_REPLICATION_SUFFIX), refName);
+  }
+
+  private Object encode(byte[] content) {
+    return Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(content);
+  }
+
+  public ResponseHandler<Object> assertHttpResponseCode(int responseCode) {
+    return new ResponseHandler<Object>() {
+
+      @Override
+      public Object handleResponse(HttpResponse response)
+          throws ClientProtocolException, IOException {
+        assertThat(response.getStatusLine().getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(responseCode);
+        return null;
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+  private HttpClientContext getContext() {
+    HttpClientContext ctx = HttpClientContext.create();
+    CredentialsProvider adapted = new BasicCredentialsProvider();
+    adapted.setCredentials(
+        AuthScope.ANY, new UsernamePasswordCredentials(admin.username(), admin.httpPassword()));
+    ctx.setCredentialsProvider(adapted);
+    return ctx;
+  }
+
+  private Project.NameKey createTestProject(String name) throws Exception {
+    return projectOperations.newProject().name(name).parent(project).create();
+  }
+
+  private void setReplicationSource(
+      String remoteName, String replicaSuffix, Optional<String> project) throws IOException {
+    setReplicationSource(remoteName, Arrays.asList(replicaSuffix), project);
+  }
+
+  private void setReplicationSource(
+      String remoteName, List<String> replicaSuffixes, Optional<String> project)
+      throws IOException {
+
+    List<String> replicaUrls =
+        replicaSuffixes.stream()
+            .map(suffix -> gitPath.resolve("${name}" + suffix + ".git").toString())
+            .collect(toList());
+    config.setString("replication", null, "instanceLabel", remoteName);
+    config.setStringList("remote", remoteName, "url", replicaUrls);
+    config.setString("remote", remoteName, "apiUrl", adminRestSession.url());
+    config.setString("remote", remoteName, "fetch", "+refs/tags/*:refs/tags/*");
+    config.setInt("remote", remoteName, "timeout", 600);
+    config.setInt("remote", remoteName, "replicationDelay", TEST_REPLICATION_DELAY);
+    project.ifPresent(prj -> config.setString("remote", remoteName, "projects", prj));
+    config.setBoolean("gerrit", null, "autoReload", true);
+    config.save();
+  }
+
+  private void setReplicationCredentials(String remoteName, String username, String password)
+      throws IOException {
+    secureConfig.setString("remote", remoteName, "username", username);
+    secureConfig.setString("remote", remoteName, "password", password);
+    secureConfig.save();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionTest.java
index 55fdee8..8738046 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/ApplyObjectActionTest.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
-import static org.apache.http.HttpStatus.SC_ACCEPTED;
 import static org.apache.http.HttpStatus.SC_CREATED;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyString;
@@ -24,15 +23,11 @@
 
 import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
-import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicItem;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.AuthException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.BadRequestException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.ResourceConflictException;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.Response;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.restapi.RestApiException;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.config.UrlFormatter;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.git.WorkQueue;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.git.WorkQueue.Task;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.project.ProjectResource;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionInput;
@@ -40,17 +35,13 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.MissingParentObjectException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.RefUpdateException;
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Optional;
-import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Constants;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectId;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 import org.mockito.Mock;
-import org.mockito.invocation.InvocationOnMock;
 import org.mockito.junit.MockitoJUnitRunner;
-import org.mockito.stubbing.Answer;
 
 @RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
 public class ApplyObjectActionTest {
@@ -82,32 +73,13 @@
 
   @Mock ApplyObjectCommand applyObjectCommand;
   @Mock ProjectResource projectResource;
-  @Mock WorkQueue workQueue;
-  @Mock ScheduledExecutorService exceutorService;
-  @Mock DynamicItem<UrlFormatter> urlFormatterDynamicItem;
-  @Mock UrlFormatter urlFormatter;
-  @Mock WorkQueue.Task<Void> task;
   @Mock FetchPreconditions preConditions;
 
   @Before
   public void setup() {
-    when(workQueue.getDefaultQueue()).thenReturn(exceutorService);
-    when(urlFormatter.getRestUrl(anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.of(location));
-    when(exceutorService.submit(any(Runnable.class)))
-        .thenAnswer(
-            new Answer<WorkQueue.Task<Void>>() {
-              @Override
-              public Task<Void> answer(InvocationOnMock invocation) throws Throwable {
-                return task;
-              }
-            });
-    when(urlFormatterDynamicItem.get()).thenReturn(urlFormatter);
-    when(task.getTaskId()).thenReturn(taskId);
     when(preConditions.canCallFetchApi()).thenReturn(true);
 
-    applyObjectAction =
-        new ApplyObjectAction(
-            applyObjectCommand, workQueue, urlFormatterDynamicItem, preConditions);
+    applyObjectAction = new ApplyObjectAction(applyObjectCommand, preConditions);
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -207,24 +179,6 @@
     applyObjectAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
 
-  @Test
-  public void shouldReturnScheduledTaskForAsyncCall() throws RestApiException {
-    RevisionInput inputParams = new RevisionInput(label, refName, createSampleRevisionData(), true);
-
-    Response<?> response = applyObjectAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
-    assertThat(response.statusCode()).isEqualTo(SC_ACCEPTED);
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  public void shouldLocationHeaderForAsyncCall() throws Exception {
-    RevisionInput inputParams = new RevisionInput(label, refName, createSampleRevisionData(), true);
-
-    Response<?> response = applyObjectAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
-    assertThat(response).isInstanceOf(Response.Accepted.class);
-    Response.Accepted acceptResponse = (Response.Accepted) response;
-    assertThat(acceptResponse.location()).isEqualTo(location);
-  }
-
   private RevisionData createSampleRevisionData() {
     RevisionObjectData commitData =
         new RevisionObjectData(Constants.OBJ_COMMIT, sampleCommitContent.getBytes());
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchActionTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchActionTest.java
index 2c888c8..fb7f3d1 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchActionTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchActionTest.java
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@
     inputParams.label = label;
     inputParams.refName = refName;
 
-    doThrow(new InterruptedException()).when(fetchCommand).fetch(any(), any(), any());
+    doThrow(new InterruptedException()).when(fetchCommand).fetchSync(any(), any(), any());
 
     fetchAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@
 
     doThrow(new RemoteConfigurationMissingException(""))
         .when(fetchCommand)
-        .fetch(any(), any(), any());
+        .fetchSync(any(), any(), any());
 
     fetchAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@
 
     doThrow(new ExecutionException(new RuntimeException()))
         .when(fetchCommand)
-        .fetch(any(), any(), any());
+        .fetchSync(any(), any(), any());
 
     fetchAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@
     inputParams.label = label;
     inputParams.refName = refName;
 
-    doThrow(new IllegalStateException()).when(fetchCommand).fetch(any(), any(), any());
+    doThrow(new IllegalStateException()).when(fetchCommand).fetchSync(any(), any(), any());
 
     fetchAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@
     inputParams.label = label;
     inputParams.refName = refName;
 
-    doThrow(new TimeoutException()).when(fetchCommand).fetch(any(), any(), any());
+    doThrow(new TimeoutException()).when(fetchCommand).fetchSync(any(), any(), any());
 
     fetchAction.apply(projectResource, inputParams);
   }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommandTest.java
index 4cdad48..e1ad565 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommandTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/FetchCommandTest.java
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
 
 import static com.google.gerrit.testing.GerritJUnit.assertThrows;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.ASYNC;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationType.SYNC;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.anyLong;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.anyString;
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@
     when(fetchReplicationStateFactory.create(any())).thenReturn(state);
     when(source.getRemoteConfigName()).thenReturn(label);
     when(sources.getAll()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList(source));
-    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true))
+    when(source.schedule(eq(projectName), eq(REF_NAME_TO_FETCH), eq(state), any()))
         .thenReturn(CompletableFuture.completedFuture(null));
     objectUnderTest =
         new FetchCommand(fetchReplicationStateFactory, fetchStateLog, sources, eventDispatcher);
@@ -84,18 +86,27 @@
   public void shouldScheduleRefFetch()
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
           TimeoutException {
-    objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH);
+    objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH);
 
-    verify(source, times(1)).schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true);
+    verify(source, times(1)).schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, SYNC);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldScheduleRefFetchWithDelay()
+      throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
+          TimeoutException {
+    objectUnderTest.fetchAsync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH);
+
+    verify(source, times(1)).schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, ASYNC);
   }
 
   @Test
   public void shouldMarkAllFetchTasksScheduled()
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, RemoteConfigurationMissingException,
           TimeoutException {
-    objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH);
+    objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH);
 
-    verify(source, times(1)).schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true);
+    verify(source, times(1)).schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, SYNC);
     verify(state, times(1)).markAllFetchTasksScheduled();
   }
 
@@ -103,7 +114,7 @@
   public void shouldUpdateStateWhenRemoteConfigNameIsMissing() {
     assertThrows(
         RemoteConfigurationMissingException.class,
-        () -> objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, "unknownLabel", REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
+        () -> objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, "unknownLabel", REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
     verify(fetchStateLog, times(1)).error(anyString(), eq(state));
   }
 
@@ -112,12 +123,12 @@
   public void shouldUpdateStateWhenInterruptedException()
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
     when(future.get(anyLong(), eq(TimeUnit.SECONDS))).thenThrow(new InterruptedException());
-    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true)).thenReturn(future);
+    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, SYNC)).thenReturn(future);
 
     InterruptedException e =
         assertThrows(
             InterruptedException.class,
-            () -> objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
+            () -> objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
     verify(fetchStateLog, times(1)).error(anyString(), eq(e), eq(state));
   }
 
@@ -127,12 +138,12 @@
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
     when(future.get(anyLong(), eq(TimeUnit.SECONDS)))
         .thenThrow(new ExecutionException(new Exception()));
-    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true)).thenReturn(future);
+    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, SYNC)).thenReturn(future);
 
     ExecutionException e =
         assertThrows(
             ExecutionException.class,
-            () -> objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
+            () -> objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
     verify(fetchStateLog, times(1)).error(anyString(), eq(e), eq(state));
   }
 
@@ -141,12 +152,12 @@
   public void shouldUpdateStateWhenTimeoutException()
       throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
     when(future.get(anyLong(), eq(TimeUnit.SECONDS))).thenThrow(new TimeoutException());
-    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, true)).thenReturn(future);
+    when(source.schedule(projectName, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH, state, SYNC)).thenReturn(future);
 
     TimeoutException e =
         assertThrows(
             TimeoutException.class,
-            () -> objectUnderTest.fetch(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
+            () -> objectUnderTest.fetchSync(projectName, label, REF_NAME_TO_FETCH));
     verify(fetchStateLog, times(1)).error(anyString(), eq(e), eq(state));
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClientTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClientTest.java
index 771acff..a3b0b02 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClientTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/client/FetchRestApiClientTest.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionObjectData;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.filter.SyncRefsFilter;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
@@ -72,11 +73,15 @@
   String label = "Replication";
   String refName = RefNames.REFS_HEADS + "master";
 
-  String expectedPayload = "{\"label\":\"Replication\", \"ref_name\": \"" + refName + "\"}";
+  String expectedPayload =
+      "{\"label\":\"Replication\", \"ref_name\": \"" + refName + "\", \"async\":false}";
+  String expectedAsyncPayload =
+      "{\"label\":\"Replication\", \"ref_name\": \"" + refName + "\", \"async\":true}";
   Header expectedHeader = new BasicHeader("Content-Type", "application/json");
+  SyncRefsFilter syncRefsFilter;
 
   String expectedSendObjectPayload =
-      "{\"label\":\"Replication\",\"ref_name\":\"refs/heads/master\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"dHJlZSA3NzgxNGQyMTZhNmNhYjJkZGI5ZjI4NzdmYmJkMGZlYmRjMGZhNjA4CnBhcmVudCA5ODNmZjFhM2NmNzQ3MjVhNTNhNWRlYzhkMGMwNjEyMjEyOGY1YThkCmF1dGhvciBHZXJyaXQgVXNlciAxMDAwMDAwIDwxMDAwMDAwQDY5ZWMzOGYwLTM1MGUtNGQ5Yy05NmQ0LWJjOTU2ZjJmYWFhYz4gMTYxMDU3ODY0OCArMDEwMApjb21taXR0ZXIgR2Vycml0IENvZGUgUmV2aWV3IDxyb290QG1hY3plY2gtWFBTLTE1PiAxNjEwNTc4NjQ4ICswMTAwCgpVcGRhdGUgcGF0Y2ggc2V0IDEKClBhdGNoIFNldCAxOgoKKDEgY29tbWVudCkKClBhdGNoLXNldDogMQo\\u003d\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"MTAwNjQ0IGJsb2IgYmIzODNmNTI0OWM2OGE0Y2M4YzgyYmRkMTIyOGI0YTg4ODNmZjZlOCAgICBmNzVhNjkwMDRhOTNiNGNjYzhjZTIxNWMxMjgwODYzNmMyYjc1Njc1\"},\"blobs\":[{\"type\":3,\"content\":\"ewogICJjb21tZW50cyI6IFsKICAgIHsKICAgICAgImtleSI6IHsKICAgICAgICAidXVpZCI6ICI5MGI1YWJmZl80ZjY3NTI2YSIsCiAgICAgICAgImZpbGVuYW1lIjogIi9DT01NSVRfTVNHIiwKICAgICAgICAicGF0Y2hTZXRJZCI6IDEKICAgICAgfSwKICAgICAgImxpbmVOYnIiOiA5LAogICAgICAiYXV0aG9yIjogewogICAgICAgICJpZCI6IDEwMDAwMDAKICAgICAgfSwKICAgICAgIndyaXR0ZW5PbiI6ICIyMDIxLTAxLTEzVDIyOjU3OjI4WiIsCiAgICAgICJzaWRlIjogMSwKICAgICAgIm1lc3NhZ2UiOiAidGVzdCBjb21tZW50IiwKICAgICAgInJhbmdlIjogewogICAgICAgICJzdGFydExpbmUiOiA5LAogICAgICAgICJzdGFydENoYXIiOiAyMSwKICAgICAgICAiZW5kTGluZSI6IDksCiAgICAgICAgImVuZENoYXIiOiAzNAogICAgICB9LAogICAgICAicmV2SWQiOiAiZjc1YTY5MDA0YTkzYjRjY2M4Y2UyMTVjMTI4MDg2MzZjMmI3NTY3NSIsCiAgICAgICJzZXJ2ZXJJZCI6ICI2OWVjMzhmMC0zNTBlLTRkOWMtOTZkNC1iYzk1NmYyZmFhYWMiLAogICAgICAidW5yZXNvbHZlZCI6IHRydWUKICAgIH0KICBdCn0\\u003d\"}]},\"async\":false}";
+      "{\"label\":\"Replication\",\"ref_name\":\"refs/heads/master\",\"revision_data\":{\"commit_object\":{\"type\":1,\"content\":\"dHJlZSA3NzgxNGQyMTZhNmNhYjJkZGI5ZjI4NzdmYmJkMGZlYmRjMGZhNjA4CnBhcmVudCA5ODNmZjFhM2NmNzQ3MjVhNTNhNWRlYzhkMGMwNjEyMjEyOGY1YThkCmF1dGhvciBHZXJyaXQgVXNlciAxMDAwMDAwIDwxMDAwMDAwQDY5ZWMzOGYwLTM1MGUtNGQ5Yy05NmQ0LWJjOTU2ZjJmYWFhYz4gMTYxMDU3ODY0OCArMDEwMApjb21taXR0ZXIgR2Vycml0IENvZGUgUmV2aWV3IDxyb290QG1hY3plY2gtWFBTLTE1PiAxNjEwNTc4NjQ4ICswMTAwCgpVcGRhdGUgcGF0Y2ggc2V0IDEKClBhdGNoIFNldCAxOgoKKDEgY29tbWVudCkKClBhdGNoLXNldDogMQo\\u003d\"},\"tree_object\":{\"type\":2,\"content\":\"MTAwNjQ0IGJsb2IgYmIzODNmNTI0OWM2OGE0Y2M4YzgyYmRkMTIyOGI0YTg4ODNmZjZlOCAgICBmNzVhNjkwMDRhOTNiNGNjYzhjZTIxNWMxMjgwODYzNmMyYjc1Njc1\"},\"blobs\":[{\"type\":3,\"content\":\"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\\u003d\"}]}}";
   String commitObject =
       "tree 77814d216a6cab2ddb9f2877fbbd0febdc0fa608\n"
           + "parent 983ff1a3cf74725a53a5dec8d0c06122128f5a8d\n"
@@ -143,15 +148,17 @@
     when(credentialProvider.get(any(), any(CredentialItem.class))).thenReturn(true);
     when(credentials.create(anyString())).thenReturn(credentialProvider);
     when(replicationConfig.getConfig()).thenReturn(config);
+    when(config.getStringList("replication", null, "syncRefs")).thenReturn(new String[0]);
     when(source.getRemoteConfigName()).thenReturn("Replication");
     when(config.getString("replication", null, "instanceLabel")).thenReturn(label);
 
     HttpResult httpResult = new HttpResult(SC_CREATED, Optional.of("result message"));
     when(httpClient.execute(any(HttpPost.class), any(), any())).thenReturn(httpResult);
     when(httpClientFactory.create(any())).thenReturn(httpClient);
+    syncRefsFilter = new SyncRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
     objectUnderTest =
         new FetchRestApiClient(
-            credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, pluginName, source);
+            credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, syncRefsFilter, pluginName, source);
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -169,6 +176,67 @@
   }
 
   @Test
+  public void shouldByDefaultCallSyncFetchForAllRefs()
+      throws ClientProtocolException, IOException, URISyntaxException {
+
+    syncRefsFilter = new SyncRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
+    objectUnderTest =
+        new FetchRestApiClient(
+            credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, syncRefsFilter, pluginName, source);
+
+    objectUnderTest.callFetch(Project.nameKey("test_repo"), refName, new URIish(api));
+
+    verify(httpClient, times(1)).execute(httpPostCaptor.capture(), any(), any());
+
+    HttpPost httpPost = httpPostCaptor.getValue();
+    assertThat(readPayload(httpPost)).isEqualTo(expectedPayload);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldCallAsyncFetchForAllRefs()
+      throws ClientProtocolException, IOException, URISyntaxException {
+
+    when(config.getStringList("replication", null, "syncRefs"))
+        .thenReturn(new String[] {"NO_SYNC_REFS"});
+    syncRefsFilter = new SyncRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
+    objectUnderTest =
+        new FetchRestApiClient(
+            credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, syncRefsFilter, pluginName, source);
+
+    objectUnderTest.callFetch(Project.nameKey("test_repo"), refName, new URIish(api));
+
+    verify(httpClient, times(1)).execute(httpPostCaptor.capture(), any(), any());
+
+    HttpPost httpPost = httpPostCaptor.getValue();
+    assertThat(readPayload(httpPost)).isEqualTo(expectedAsyncPayload);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldCallSyncFetchOnlyForMetaRef()
+      throws ClientProtocolException, IOException, URISyntaxException {
+    String metaRefName = "refs/changes/01/101/meta";
+    String expectedMetaRefPayload =
+        "{\"label\":\"Replication\", \"ref_name\": \"" + metaRefName + "\", \"async\":false}";
+
+    when(config.getStringList("replication", null, "syncRefs"))
+        .thenReturn(new String[] {"^refs\\/changes\\/.*\\/meta"});
+    syncRefsFilter = new SyncRefsFilter(replicationConfig);
+    objectUnderTest =
+        new FetchRestApiClient(
+            credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, syncRefsFilter, pluginName, source);
+
+    objectUnderTest.callFetch(Project.nameKey("test_repo"), refName, new URIish(api));
+    verify(httpClient, times(1)).execute(httpPostCaptor.capture(), any(), any());
+    HttpPost httpPost = httpPostCaptor.getValue();
+    assertThat(readPayload(httpPost)).isEqualTo(expectedAsyncPayload);
+
+    objectUnderTest.callFetch(Project.nameKey("test_repo"), metaRefName, new URIish(api));
+    verify(httpClient, times(2)).execute(httpPostCaptor.capture(), any(), any());
+    httpPost = httpPostCaptor.getValue();
+    assertThat(readPayload(httpPost)).isEqualTo(expectedMetaRefPayload);
+  }
+
+  @Test
   public void shouldCallFetchEndpointWithPayload()
       throws ClientProtocolException, IOException, URISyntaxException {
 
@@ -241,7 +309,12 @@
         NullPointerException.class,
         () ->
             new FetchRestApiClient(
-                credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, pluginName, source));
+                credentials,
+                httpClientFactory,
+                replicationConfig,
+                syncRefsFilter,
+                pluginName,
+                source));
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -251,7 +324,12 @@
         NullPointerException.class,
         () ->
             new FetchRestApiClient(
-                credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, pluginName, source));
+                credentials,
+                httpClientFactory,
+                replicationConfig,
+                syncRefsFilter,
+                pluginName,
+                source));
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -261,7 +339,12 @@
         NullPointerException.class,
         () ->
             new FetchRestApiClient(
-                credentials, httpClientFactory, replicationConfig, pluginName, source));
+                credentials,
+                httpClientFactory,
+                replicationConfig,
+                syncRefsFilter,
+                pluginName,
+                source));
   }
 
   public String readPayload(HttpPost entity) throws UnsupportedOperationException, IOException {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
index 1d87195..e528eca 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/event/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Change;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.index.change.ChangeIndexer;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
@@ -45,6 +46,26 @@
     Project.NameKey projectNameKey = Project.nameKey("testProject");
     String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
     Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
+    try {
+      Context.setLocalEvent(true);
+      fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
+          new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
+              projectNameKey.get(),
+              ref,
+              "aSourceNode",
+              ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+              RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
+      verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
+    } finally {
+      Context.unsetLocalEvent();
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void onEventShouldNotIndexIfNotLocalEvent() {
+    Project.NameKey projectNameKey = Project.nameKey("testProject");
+    String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
+    Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
         new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
             projectNameKey.get(),
@@ -52,7 +73,22 @@
             "aSourceNode",
             ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
             RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
-    verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
+    verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void onEventShouldIndexOnlyMetaRef() {
+    Project.NameKey projectNameKey = Project.nameKey("testProject");
+    String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/1";
+    Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
+    fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
+        new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
+            projectNameKey.get(),
+            ref,
+            "aSourceNode",
+            ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
+    verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObjectIT.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObjectIT.java
index 5d80d94..f6cd342 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObjectIT.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/fetch/ApplyObjectIT.java
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.config.FactoryModule;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Scopes;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationConfig;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.ReplicationFileBasedConfig;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.RevisionReader;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionData;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.data.RevisionObjectData;
@@ -46,6 +48,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.junit.TestRepository;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Repository;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.RefSpec;
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 @SkipProjectClone
@@ -57,8 +60,13 @@
   private static final String TEST_REPLICATION_SUFFIX = "suffix1";
 
   @Inject private ProjectOperations projectOperations;
-  @Inject RevisionReader reader;
   @Inject ApplyObject objectUnderTest;
+  RevisionReader reader;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup() {
+    reader = plugin.getSysInjector().getInstance(RevisionReader.class);
+  }
 
   @Test
   public void shouldApplyRefMetaObject() throws Exception {
@@ -184,6 +192,7 @@
   private static class TestModule extends FactoryModule {
     @Override
     protected void configure() {
+      bind(ReplicationConfig.class).to(ReplicationFileBasedConfig.class);
       bind(RevisionReader.class).in(Scopes.SINGLETON);
       bind(ApplyObject.class);
     }