---
name: neon-postgres-branches
description: >-
  Choose and create the right Neon branch type for testing and development.
  Use when users ask about Neon branching, migration testing with real data,
  isolated test environments, schema-only branch workflows for sensitive data,
  resetting a branch from its parent, branch expiration and CI/CD branch
  lifecycles, or branch creation via Neon CLI or Neon MCP. Triggers include
  "Neon branch", "test migrations safely", "branch production data",
  "schema-only branch", "reset branch", "branch per PR" and
  "sensitive data testing".
metadata:
  parent: neon
  source: https://github.com/neondatabase/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/neon-postgres-branches
---

**FIRST**: Use the parent `neon` skill for a Neon overview, getting started with Neon, Neon development best practices, and more.

If the `neon` skill is not installed, fetch it from https://neon.com/docs/ai/skills/neon/SKILL.md or install it with:

```bash
neon skills -s neon -y
```

# Lakebase Postgres Branching

**Outcome:** a created Neon branch — or a clear, actionable next step if creation cannot proceed. Choose the correct branch type, then execute branch creation with the CLI (or MCP where the CLI isn't usable).

- **Normal branch** for realistic migration and query testing with real data.
- **Schema-only branch (Beta)** for sensitive data workflows where structure is needed without copying rows.

## Branch Type Decision

Use this decision rule first:

1. If the user wants to test complex migrations, performance, or behavior against production-like data, choose a **normal branch**.
2. If the user needs to avoid copying sensitive data, choose a **schema-only branch**.

If the request is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question:
"Do you need realistic data for testing, or only schema structure because the data is sensitive?"

## Tool Selection: CLI or MCP

Support both the Neon CLI and the Neon MCP server, but **default to the CLI**. Use MCP only when the CLI is unavailable or blocked in your environment, cannot be authenticated, or the user explicitly asks for MCP.

- CLI link: https://neon.com/docs/cli/quickstart.md
- MCP link: https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server.md

### Selection order

1. Check the CLI first:
   - Run `neon --version` to confirm the CLI is installed.
   - Run `neon projects list` to confirm auth/context.
2. If the CLI is missing, direct installation via quickstart.
3. If the CLI is installed but not authenticated, guide the user through `neon auth` (or API key auth), then continue.
4. Switch to MCP when the CLI cannot be used — no CLI access in the environment, execution blocked, or authentication not possible — or when the user explicitly asks for MCP. Confirm Neon MCP tools are available and authenticated (for example, listing projects works), then follow the MCP branch flow below.
5. If neither path is successful, use the Neon REST API:
   - https://neon.com/docs/guides/branching-neon-api.md

### MCP branch flow

1. Choose normal vs schema-only based on data sensitivity and migration-testing goals.
2. Use branch tools (for example, `create_branch`) to create the branch.
3. Validate with read tools (for example, `describe_branch`).
4. For migration workflows, prefer branch-based migration flows before applying to main.

## Create a Normal Branch (Preferred for Real-Data Migration Testing)

Use this when the user needs realistic testing conditions.
Real production-like data can expose edge cases your seed or data migration scripts miss, which helps catch migration issues before going live.

Link: https://neon.com/docs/introduction/branching.md

### Steps

1. Settle the tool path first (see [Selection order](#selection-order)): verify the CLI with `neon --version`, and fall back to MCP only if the CLI isn't usable.
2. Ensure project context is set (`neon set-context --project-id <your-project-id>`) or include `--project-id` on commands.
3. Create the branch:

   ```bash
   neon branches create \
     --name <branch-name> \
     --parent <parent-branch-id-or-name> \
     --expires-at 2026-12-15T18:02:16Z
   ```

4. Optionally fetch a connection string for the new branch:

   ```bash
   neon connection-string <branch-name>
   ```

## Create a Schema-Only Branch (Beta, Sensitive Data)

Use this when users must not copy production rows into the test branch.

Link: https://neon.com/docs/guides/branching-schema-only.md

### Steps

1. Settle the tool path first (see [Selection order](#selection-order)): verify the CLI with `neon --version`, and fall back to MCP only if the CLI isn't usable.
2. Create the schema-only branch:

   ```bash
   neon branches create \
     --name <schema-only-branch-name> \
     --parent <parent-branch-id-or-name> \
     --schema-only \
     --expires-at 2026-12-15T18:02:16Z
   ```

   If multiple projects exist, include `--project-id`:

   ```bash
   neon branches create \
     --name <schema-only-branch-name> \
     --parent <parent-branch-id-or-name> \
     --schema-only \
     --project-id <your-project-id> \
     --expires-at 2026-12-15T18:02:16Z
   ```

### Beta Support Guidance (Mandatory)

Schema-only branching is in Beta. If users report unexpected behavior, errors, or missing capabilities:

1. Ask them to share feedback in the Neon Console:
   - https://console.neon.tech/app/projects?modal=feedback
2. Recommend opening a support conversation in the Neon Discord:
   - https://neon.com/discord

## Reset from Parent

Use this when a child branch has drifted and the user wants a clean refresh from the parent branch's latest schema and data.

Link: https://neon.com/docs/guides/reset-from-parent.md

### What it does

- Fully replaces the child branch schema and data with the parent's latest state.
- Does not merge; local changes on the child branch are lost.
- Keeps the same connection details, but active connections are briefly interrupted during reset.

### When to recommend it

- Development or staging branch is too far behind production.
- User wants to start a new feature from a clean parent-aligned state.
- Team wants to refresh staging from production for consistent testing baselines.

### Hard constraints and blockers

- Only child branches can be reset (root branches and schema-only root branches cannot be reset from parent).
- If the target branch has children, reset is blocked until those child branches are removed.
- After a parent branch is restored from snapshot, reset-from-parent may be unavailable for up to 24 hours.
- Reset-from-parent always uses the current parent state; use Instant restore for point-in-time recovery needs.

### CLI usage

```bash
neon branches reset <id|name> --parent --preserve-under-name <backup-branch-name>
```

If project context is not already set, include the project ID:

```bash
neon branches reset <id|name> --parent --preserve-under-name <backup-branch-name> --project-id <project-id>
```

`--preserve-under-name` keeps the pre-reset state as a backup branch for rollback, but adds one extra branch to clean up later.

Optional context setup to avoid repeating `--project-id`:

```bash
neon set-context --project-id <project-id>
```

### Console and API usage

- **Console:** Open the target child branch, then select **Reset from parent** from **Actions**.
- **API:** Use the restore endpoint for the branch and set `source_branch_id` to the parent branch ID.

## Notes and Caveats

- Schema-only branches are for structure-only cloning and sensitive/compliant data controls.
- Schema-only branches are independent root branches (no parent branch and no shared history), so reset-from-parent does not apply.
- For migration testing that depends on real-world row shapes, volumes, and edge cases, prefer normal branches.
- Root branch allowances and per-branch storage limits can cap how many schema-only branches users can create.
- If a user is unsure, default recommendation is:
  - **Normal branch** for migration validation.
  - **Schema-only branch** for compliance and privacy constraints.

## Useful Workflow Patterns

If the user asks for process recommendations (not just a single command), suggest these:

- **One branch per PR:** Create branch when PR opens, delete when merged/closed, keep migration tests isolated.
- **One branch per test run:** Create branch at pipeline start, run migrations/tests, delete at end for deterministic CI.
- **One branch per developer:** Isolated dev environments with production-like shape; avoid team collisions on shared test data.
- **PII-aware branching:** If production has sensitive data, derive dev/PR branches from an anonymized branch or use schema-only branches.
- **Ephemeral lifecycle hygiene:** Set branch expiration and automate cleanup so old branches do not accumulate avoidable storage/history cost.

### Post-creation environment update prompt

After branch creation, ask whether the user wants to update local environment credentials to point at the new branch.

- Ask: "Do you want me to update your `.env` `DATABASE_URL` to this new branch connection string?"
- If yes, write the new branch connection string to the requested env file/key.
- If no, leave credentials unchanged and share the connection string for manual use.
- Never overwrite an existing env key without explicit confirmation.

## Neon Infrastructure as Code (`neon.ts`)

Beyond creating branches imperatively (CLI / MCP / API above), you can **program what configuration new branches receive** declaratively in `neon.ts` — Neon's infrastructure-as-code file (see the `neon` skill for the full reference). The `branch` property is a function of the branch being evaluated that returns its settings, so every branch born from your project gets a consistent lifecycle and compute profile without per-branch flags.

```bash
npm i @neon/config
```

```typescript
// neon.ts
import { defineConfig } from "@neon/config/v1";

export default defineConfig({
  branch: (branch) => {
    if (branch.exists) return {}; // never reconcile existing branches
    if (branch.isDefault) return { protected: true };
    if (branch.name.startsWith("preview/") || branch.name.startsWith("dev")) {
      return {
        parent: "main",
        ttl: "7d", // ephemeral: auto-expire 7 days after creation (max 30d)
        postgres: {
          computeSettings: {
            autoscalingLimitMinCu: 0.25, // scale to zero
            autoscalingLimitMaxCu: 1, // keep throwaway branches cheap
            suspendTimeout: "5m",
          },
        },
      };
    }
    return {};
  },
});
```

The closure receives a read-only descriptor of the target branch — `name`, `exists`, `isDefault`, `parentId`, and more — and returns the tuning to apply: `parent`, `ttl` (auto-expiry), `protected`, and `postgres.computeSettings`. This is the declarative complement to the **Ephemeral lifecycle hygiene** and per-PR / per-test patterns above: instead of remembering `--expires-at` on every `neon branches create`, the TTL and compute profile live in version control and apply to every matching branch.

Because `neon checkout` applies this policy when it **creates** a branch, a fresh `preview/*` or `dev-*` branch comes up already expiring and scaled-to-zero. Checking out an _existing_ branch doesn't reconcile it — run `neon deploy` (alias for `neon config apply`) to apply changes to a branch that already exists.

## Branching in CI/CD

Common CI/CD use cases for Neon branches:

- **Per-PR preview deployments:** Branch on PR open, deploy the preview against it, delete on close. Each PR gets an isolated database branch. Injecting the branch's `DATABASE_URL` into the deployed app is hosting-provider-specific — see [preview-branches-with-cloudflare](https://github.com/neondatabase/preview-branches-with-cloudflare), [preview-branches-with-vercel](https://github.com/neondatabase/preview-branches-with-vercel), or [preview-branches-with-fly](https://github.com/neondatabase/preview-branches-with-fly) for tested patterns.
- **Migration testing in CI:** Run risky schema changes against a branch with production-like data before merge.
- **Schema diff visibility:** Use the [schema-diff GitHub Action](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/neon-schema-diff-github-action) to auto-comment a DB-layer diff on the PR.

## Examples

### Example 1: Migration testing with realistic data

**User input:** "I need to test a risky migration against production-like data."

**Agent output shape:**

1. Recommend a normal branch and explain why.
2. Share docs link: https://neon.com/docs/introduction/branching
3. Check the tool path first (CLI with `neon --version`; MCP only if the CLI isn't usable).
4. Provide commands:
   - `neon branches create --name migration-test --parent main --expires-at 2026-12-15T18:02:16Z`
   - `neon connection-string migration-test`

### Example 2: Sensitive data development workflow

**User input:** "We cannot copy production data because of compliance."

**Agent output shape:**

1. Recommend schema-only branch and explain why.
2. Share docs link: https://neon.com/docs/guides/branching-schema-only
3. Check the tool path first (CLI with `neon --version`; MCP only if the CLI isn't usable).
4. Provide command:
   - `neon branches create --name compliance-dev --parent main --schema-only --project-id <your-project-id> --expires-at 2026-12-15T18:02:16Z`
5. Mention Beta support path:
   - https://console.neon.tech/app/projects?modal=feedback
   - https://neon.com/discord

## Further Reading

- https://neon.com/docs/guides/branch-expiration.md
- https://neon.com/docs/guides/neon-github-integration.md
- https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server.md
- https://neon.com/branching

<!--
Original skill: neondatabase/agent-skills/skills/neon-postgres-branches/SKILL.md
Source: https://github.com/neondatabase/agent-skills/blob/ae082b22275461fbb5e303a1bcdc9bb00b73a946/skills/neon-postgres-branches/SKILL.md
License: Apache-2.0


                                 Apache License
                           Version 2.0, January 2004
                        http://www.apache.org/licenses/

   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION

   1. Definitions.

      "License" shall mean the terms and conditions for use, reproduction,
      and distribution as defined by Sections 1 through 9 of this document.

      "Licensor" shall mean the copyright owner or entity authorized by
      the copyright owner that is granting the License.

      "Legal Entity" shall mean the union of the acting entity and all
      other entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common
      control with that entity. For the purposes of this definition,
      "control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the
      direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or
      otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the
      outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity.

      "You" (or "Your") shall mean an individual or Legal Entity
      exercising permissions granted by this License.

      "Source" form shall mean the preferred form for making modifications,
      including but not limited to software source code, documentation
      source, and configuration files.

      "Object" form shall mean any form resulting from mechanical
      transformation or translation of a Source form, including but
      not limited to compiled object code, generated documentation,
      and conversions to other media types.

      "Work" shall mean the work of authorship, whether in Source or
      Object form, made available under the License, as indicated by a
      copyright notice that is included in or attached to the work
      (an example is provided in the Appendix below).

      "Derivative Works" shall mean any work, whether in Source or Object
      form, that is based on (or derived from) the Work and for which the
      editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications
      represent, as a whole, an original work of authorship. For the purposes
      of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain
      separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to the interfaces of,
      the Work and Derivative Works thereof.

      "Contribution" shall mean any work of authorship, including
      the original version of the Work and any modifications or additions
      to that Work or Derivative Works thereof, that is intentionally
      submitted to Licensor for inclusion in the Work by the copyright owner
      or by an individual or Legal Entity authorized to submit on behalf of
      the copyright owner. For the purposes of this definition, "submitted"
      means any form of electronic, verbal, or written communication sent
      to the Licensor or its representatives, including but not limited to
      communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control systems,
      and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the
      Licensor for the purpose of discussing and improving the Work, but
      excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise
      designated in writing by the copyright owner as "Not a Contribution."

      "Contributor" shall mean Licensor and any individual or Legal Entity
      on behalf of whom a Contribution has been received by Licensor and
      subsequently incorporated within the Work.

   2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
      this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
      worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
      copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of,
      publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the
      Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form.

   3. Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
      this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
      worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
      (except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made,
      use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work,
      where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable
      by such Contributor that are necessarily infringed by their
      Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their Contribution(s)
      with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If You
      institute patent litigation against any entity (including a
      cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work
      or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct
      or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses
      granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate
      as of the date such litigation is filed.

   4. Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of the
      Work or Derivative Works thereof in any medium, with or without
      modifications, and in Source or Object form, provided that You
      meet the following conditions:

      (a) You must give any other recipients of the Work or
          Derivative Works a copy of this License; and

      (b) You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices
          stating that You changed the files; and

      (c) You must retain, in the Source form of any Derivative Works
          that You distribute, all copyright, patent, trademark, and
          attribution notices from the Source form of the Work,
          excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of
          the Derivative Works; and

      (d) If the Work includes a "NOTICE" text file as part of its
          distribution, then any Derivative Works that You distribute must
          include a readable copy of the attribution notices contained
          within such NOTICE file, excluding those notices that do not
          pertain to any part of the Derivative Works, in at least one
          of the following places: within a NOTICE text file distributed
          as part of the Derivative Works; within the Source form or
          documentation, if provided along with the Derivative Works; or,
          within a display generated by the Derivative Works, if and
          wherever such third-party notices normally appear. The contents
          of the NOTICE file are for informational purposes only and
          do not modify the License. You may add Your own attribution
          notices within Derivative Works that You distribute, alongside
          or as an addendum to the NOTICE text from the Work, provided
          that such additional attribution notices cannot be construed
          as modifying the License.

      You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and
      may provide additional or different license terms and conditions
      for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or
      for any such Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use,
      reproduction, and distribution of the Work otherwise complies with
      the conditions stated in this License.

   5. Submission of Contributions. Unless You explicitly state otherwise,
      any Contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the Work
      by You to the Licensor shall be under the terms and conditions of
      this License, without any additional terms or conditions.
      Notwithstanding the above, nothing herein shall supersede or modify
      the terms of any separate license agreement you may have executed
      with Licensor regarding such Contributions.

   6. Trademarks. This License does not grant permission to use the trade
      names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the Licensor,
      except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the
      origin of the Work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file.

   7. Disclaimer of Warranty. Unless required by applicable law or
      agreed to in writing, Licensor provides the Work (and each
      Contributor provides its Contributions) on an "AS IS" BASIS,
      WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
      implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions
      of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A
      PARTICULAR PURPOSE. You are solely responsible for determining the
      appropriateness of using or redistributing the Work and assume any
      risks associated with Your exercise of permissions under this License.

   8. Limitation of Liability. In no event and under no legal theory,
      whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise,
      unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly
      negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be
      liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special,
      incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a
      result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the
      Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill,
      work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all
      other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor
      has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

   9. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability. While redistributing
      the Work or Derivative Works thereof, You may choose to offer,
      and charge a fee for, acceptance of support, warranty, indemnity,
      or other liability obligations and/or rights consistent with this
      License. However, in accepting such obligations, You may act only
      on Your own behalf and on Your sole responsibility, not on behalf
      of any other Contributor, and only if You agree to indemnify,
      defend, and hold each Contributor harmless for any liability
      incurred by, or claims asserted against, such Contributor by reason
      of your accepting any such warranty or additional liability.

   END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

   APPENDIX: How to apply the Apache License to your work.

      To apply the Apache License to your work, attach the following
      boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]"
      replaced with your own identifying information. (Don't include
      the brackets!)  The text should be enclosed in the appropriate
      comment syntax for the file format. We also recommend that a
      file or class name and description of purpose be included on the
      same "printed page" as the copyright notice for easier
      identification within third-party archives.

   Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]

   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.

-->