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Manage branches

Data resides in a branch. Each Neon project is created with a primary branch called main. You can create child branches from main or from previously created branches. A branch can contain multiple databases and roles. Tier limits define the number of branches you can create in a project and the amount of data you can store in a branch.

A child branch is a copy-on-write clone the data in the parent branch. You can modify the data in a branch without affecting the data in the parent branch. For more information about branches and how you can use them in your development workflows, see Branching.

You can create and manage branches using the Neon Console or Neon API. This topic covers both methods.

Before you can create a branch, you must have a Neon project. If you do not have a Neon project, see Create a project.

important

When working with branches, it is important to remove old and unused branches. Branches hold a lock on the data they contain, preventing disk space from being reallocated, which can lead to excessive disk space consumption. The Neon Free Tier limits the point-in-time restore window for a project to 7 days. To keep disk space usage to a minimum, it is recommended that you avoid allowing branches to age beyond the 7-day point-in-time restore window.

Create a branch

To create a branch:

  1. In the Neon Console, select a project.
  2. Select Branches.
  3. Click New Branch to open the branch creation dialog. Create branch dialog
  4. Enter a name for the branch.
  5. Select a parent branch. You can branch from your Neon project's primary branch (main) or a previously created branch.
  6. Select one of the following branching options:
    • Head: Creates a branch with data up to the current point in time (the default).
    • Time: Creates a branch with data up to the specified date and time.
    • LSN: Creates a branch with data up to the specified Log Sequence Number (LSN).
  7. Select whether or not to create a compute endpoint, which is required to connect to the branch. If you are unsure, you can add a compute endpoint later.
  8. Click Create Branch to create your branch.

You are directed to the Branches page where you are shown the details for your new branch.

View branches

To view the branches in a Neon project:

  1. In the Neon Console, select a project.
  2. Select Branches to view the branches for the project.
  3. Select a branch from the table to view details about the branch. Branch details

tip

The Branches widget on the project Dashboard also shows the branches in a Neon project.

Connect to a branch

Connecting to a database in a branch requires connecting via a compute endpoint tht is associated with a branch. The following steps describe how to connect using psql and a connection string obtained from the Neon Console.

tip

You can also query the databases in a branch from the Neon SQL Editor. For instructions, see Query with Neon's SQL Editor.

  1. In the Neon Console, select a project.
  2. On the project Dashboard, under Connection Details, select the branch, the database, and the role you want to connect with. Connection details widget
  3. Copy the connection string. A connection string includes your role name, the compute endpoint hostname, and database name.
  4. Add your password to the connection string as shown below, and connect with psql. You can connect using the same role and password that you use to connect to the parent branch.
psql postgres://sally:<password>@ep-cold-poetry-404091.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb

tip

A compute endpoint hostname starts with an ep- prefix. You can also find a compute endpoint hostname on the Branches page in the Neon Console. See View branches.

If you want to connect from an application, the Connection Details widget on the project Dashboard and the Guides section in the documentation provide connection examples for various languages and frameworks. For more information about connecting, see Connect from any application.

Delete a branch

Deleting a branch is a permanent action. Deleting a branch also deletes the databases and roles that belong to the branch as well as the compute endpoint associated with the branch. You cannot delete a branch that has child branches. The child branches must be deleted first.

To delete a branch:

  1. In the Neon Console, select a project.
  2. Select Branches.
  3. Select a branch from the table.
  4. Click Delete.
  5. On the confirmation dialog, click Delete.

Check the data size

Tier limits define the amount of data you can store in a branch. Neon's free tier permits 3GB per branch. When creating a new branch, the child branch includes the data from the parent branch. For example, if you have a branch with 1GB of data, the child branch is created with the same 1GB of data.

You can check the data size for a branch by viewing the Database size value on the Branches page (see View branchings). Alternatively, you can run the following query from the Neon SQL Editor:

SELECT pg_size_pretty(sum(pg_database_size(datname)))
FROM pg_database;

info

Neon stores data in its own internal format.

Branching with the Neon API

Branch actions performed in the Neon Console can also be performed using the Neon API. The following examples demonstrate how to create, view, and delete branches using the Neon API. For other branch-related API methods, refer to the Neon API reference.

note

The API examples that follow may not show all of the user-configurable request body attributes that are available to you. To view all of the attributes for a particular method, refer to method's request body schema in the Neon API reference.

The jq option specified in each example is an optional third-party tool that formats the JSON response, making it easier to read. For information about this utility, see jq.

Prerequisites

A Neon API request requires an API key. For information about obtaining an API key, see Create an API key. In the examples shown below, $NEON_API_KEY is specified in place of an actual API key, which you must provide when making a Neon API request.

Create a branch with the API

The following Neon API method creates a branch. To view the API documentation for this method, refer to the Neon API reference.

POST /projects/{project_id}/branches

The API method appears as follows when specified in a cURL command. The endpoints attribute creates a compute endpoint, which is required to connect to the branch. A branch can be created with or without a compute endpoint. The branch attribute specifies the parent branch.

note

This method does not require a request body. Without a request body, the method creates a branch from the project's primary branch, and a compute endpoint is not created.

curl 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/autumn-disk-484331/branches' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "endpoints": [
    {
      "type": "read_write"
    }
  ],
  "branch": {
    "parent_id": "br-wispy-dew-591433"
  }
}' | jq
  • The project_id for a Neon project is found on the Settings page in the Neon Console, or you can find it by listing the projects for your Neon account using the Neon API.
  • The parent_id can be obtained by listing the branches for your project. See List branches. The <parent_id> is the id of the branch you are branching from. A branch id has a br- prefix. You can branch from your Neon project's primary branch or a previously created branch.

The response includes information about the branch, the branch's compute endpoint, and the create_branch and start_compute operations that were initiated.

{
  "branch": {
    "id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
    "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
    "parent_id": "br-wispy-dew-591433",
    "parent_lsn": "0/1AA6408",
    "name": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
    "current_state": "init",
    "pending_state": "ready",
    "created_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
    "updated_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z"
  },

  "endpoints": [
    {
      "host": "ep-small-bush-675287.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech",
      "id": "ep-small-bush-675287",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "branch_id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "autoscaling_limit_min_cu": 1,
      "autoscaling_limit_max_cu": 1,
      "region_id": "aws-us-east-2",
      "type": "read_write",
      "current_state": "init",
      "pending_state": "active",
      "settings": {
        "pg_settings": {}
      },
      "pooler_enabled": false,
      "pooler_mode": "transaction",
      "disabled": false,
      "passwordless_access": true,
      "created_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
      "proxy_host": "us-east-2.aws.neon.tech"
    }
  ],
  "operations": [
    {
      "id": "22acbb37-209b-4b90-a39c-8460090e1329",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "branch_id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "action": "create_branch",
      "status": "running",
      "failures_count": 0,
      "created_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "055b17e6-ffe3-47ab-b545-cfd7db6fd8b8",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "branch_id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "endpoint_id": "ep-small-bush-675287",
      "action": "start_compute",
      "status": "scheduling",
      "failures_count": 0,
      "created_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z"
    }
  ]
}

List branches with the API

The following Neon API method lists branches for the specified project. To view the API documentation for this method, refer to the Neon API reference.

GET /projects/{project_id}/branches

The API method appears as follows when specified in a cURL command:

curl 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/autumn-disk-484331/branches' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' | jq

The project_id for a Neon project is found on the Settings page in the Neon Console, or you can find it by listing the projects for your Neon account using the Neon API.

The response lists the project's primary branch and any child branches. The name of the primary branch in this example is main.

Response:

{
  "branches": [
    {
      "id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "parent_id": "br-wispy-dew-591433",
      "parent_lsn": "0/1AA6408",
      "name": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "current_state": "ready",
      "logical_size": 28,
      "created_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-08T19:55:43Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "br-wispy-dew-591433",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "name": "main",
      "current_state": "ready",
      "logical_size": 28,
      "physical_size": 31,
      "created_at": "2022-12-07T00:45:05Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-07T00:45:05Z"
    }
  ]
}

Delete a branch with the API

The following Neon API method deletes the specified branch. To view the API documentation for this method, refer to the Neon API reference.

DELETE /projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}

The API method appears as follows when specified in a cURL command:

curl -X 'DELETE' \
  'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/autumn-disk-484331/branches/br-dawn-scene-747675' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' | jq
  • The project_id for a Neon project is found on the Settings page in the Neon Console, or you can find it by listing the projects for your Neon account using the Neon API.
  • The branch_id can be found by listing the branches for your project. The <branch_id> is the id of a branch. A branch id has a br- prefix. See List branches.

The response shows information about the branch being deleted and the suspend_compute and delete_timeline operations that were initiated.

{
  "branch": {
    "id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
    "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
    "parent_id": "br-shy-meadow-151383",
    "parent_lsn": "0/1953508",
    "name": "br-flat-darkness-194551",
    "current_state": "ready",
    "created_at": "2022-12-08T20:01:31Z",
    "updated_at": "2022-12-08T20:01:31Z"
  },
  "operations": [
    {
      "id": "c7ee9bea-c984-41ac-8672-9848714104bc",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "branch_id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "endpoint_id": "ep-small-bush-675287",
      "action": "suspend_compute",
      "status": "running",
      "failures_count": 0,
      "created_at": "2022-12-08T20:01:31Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-08T20:01:31Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "41646f65-c692-4621-9538-32265f74ffe5",
      "project_id": "autumn-disk-484331",
      "branch_id": "br-dawn-scene-747675",
      "action": "delete_timeline",
      "status": "scheduling",
      "failures_count": 0,
      "created_at": "2022-12-06T01:12:10Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-12-06T01:12:10Z"
    }
  ]
}

You can verify that a branch is deleted by listing the branches for your project. See List branches. The deleted branch should no longer be listed.

Need help?

Send a request to support@neon.tech, or join the Neon community forum.

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