| title | Neon CLI command: branches |
|---|---|
| subtitle | List, create, rename, and delete branches; set default; run schema diff |
| summary | Covers the usage of the `branches` command in the Neon CLI for managing branches in a Neon project, including listing, creating, renaming, and deleting branches, as well as setting defaults and performing schema comparisons. |
| enableTableOfContents | true |
| updatedOn | 2026-02-26T16:28:03.958Z |
- Before running the
branchescommand, ensure that you have installed the Neon CLI. - If you have not authenticated with the neon auth command, running a Neon CLI command automatically launches the Neon CLI browser authentication process. Alternatively, you can specify a Neon API key using the
--api-keyoption when running a command. See Connect.
The branches command allows you to list, create, rename, delete, and retrieve information about branches in your Neon project. It also permits setting a branch as the default branch, adding a compute to a branch, adding a read replica, or perforning a schema diff between different branches.
neon branches <subcommand> [options]| Subcommand | Description |
|---|---|
| list | List branches |
| create | Create a branch |
| reset | Reset data to parent |
| restore | Restore a branch to a selected point in time |
| rename | Rename a branch |
| schema-diff | Compare schemas |
| set-default | Set a default branch |
| set-expiration | Set expiration date for a branch |
| add-compute | Add replica to a branch |
| delete | Delete a branch |
| get | Get a branch |
This subcommand allows you to list branches in a Neon project.
neon branches list [options]In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the list subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
-
List branches with the default
tableoutput format. The information provided with this output format is limited compared to other formats, such asjson.neon branches list --project-id solitary-leaf-288182 ┌────────────────────────┬─────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐ │ Id │ Name │ Created At │ Updated At │ ├────────────────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤ │ br-small-meadow-878874 │ production │ 2023-07-06T13:15:12Z │ 2023-07-06T14:26:32Z │ ├────────────────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤ │ br-round-queen-335380 │ development │ 2023-07-06T14:45:50Z │ 2023-07-06T14:45:50Z │ └────────────────────────┴─────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘
-
List branches with the
jsonoutput format. This format provides more information than the defaulttableoutput format.neon branches list --project-id solitary-leaf-288182 --output json [ { "id": "br-wild-boat-648259", "project_id": "solitary-leaf-288182", "name": "production", "current_state": "ready", "logical_size": 29515776, "creation_source": "console", "default": true, "cpu_used_sec": 78, "compute_time_seconds": 78, "active_time_seconds": 312, "written_data_bytes": 107816, "data_transfer_bytes": 0, "created_at": "2023-07-09T17:01:34Z", "updated_at": "2023-07-09T17:15:13Z" }, { "id": "br-shy-cake-201321", "project_id": "solitary-leaf-288182", "parent_id": "br-wild-boat-648259", "parent_lsn": "0/1E88838", "name": "development", "current_state": "ready", "creation_source": "console", "default": false, "cpu_used_sec": 0, "compute_time_seconds": 0, "active_time_seconds": 0, "written_data_bytes": 0, "data_transfer_bytes": 0, "created_at": "2023-07-09T17:37:10Z", "updated_at": "2023-07-09T17:37:10Z" } ]
This subcommand allows you to create a branch in a Neon project.
neon branches create [options]In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the create subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
--name |
The branch name. Optional: if not specified, defaults to the branch ID. If provided, must be unique within the project and can be up to 256 characters. Cannot be empty or only whitespace. See Branch naming requirements. | string | |
--parent |
Parent branch name, id, timestamp, or LSN. Defaults to the default branch | string | |
--compute |
Create a branch with or without a compute. By default, the branch is created with a read-write endpoint. The default value is true. To create a branch without a compute, use --no-compute |
boolean | |
--type |
Type of compute to add. Choices are read_write (the default) or read_only. A read-only compute is a read replica. |
string | |
--suspend-timeout |
Duration of inactivity in seconds after which the compute is automatically suspended. The value 0 means use the global default. The value -1 means never suspend. The default value is 300 seconds (5 minutes). The maximum value is 604800 seconds (1 week). |
number | |
--cu |
The number of Compute Units. Could be a fixed size (for example "2") or a range delimited by a dash (for example "0.5-3"). | string | |
--psql |
Connect to a new branch via psql. psql must be installed to use this option. |
boolean | |
--schema-only |
Create a schema-only branch. Requires exactly one read-write compute. | boolean | |
--expires-at |
Set an expiration timestamp (RFC 3339 format) for automatic branch deletion. The branch and its compute endpoints are permanently deleted at the specified time. | string |
-
Create a branch:
If the parent branch has more than one role or database, the `branches create` command does not output a connection URI. As an alternative, you can use the `connection-string` command to retrieve the connection URI for a branch. This command includes options for specifying the role and database. See [Neon CLI commands — connection-string](/docs/reference/cli-connection-string).neon branches create ┌─────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐ │ Id │ Name │ Default │ Created At │ Updated At │ ├─────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤ │ br-mute-sunset-67218628 │ br-mute-sunset-67218628 │ false │ 2023-08-03T20:07:27Z │ 2023-08-03T20:07:27Z │ └─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘ endpoints ┌───────────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐ │ Id │ Created At │ ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤ │ ep-floral-violet-94096438 │ 2023-08-03T20:07:27Z │ └───────────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘ connection_uris ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Connection Uri │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ postgresql://[user]:[password]@[neon_hostname]/[dbname] │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ -
Create a branch with the
--outputformat of the command set tojson. This output format returns all of the branch response data, whereas the defaulttableoutput format (shown in the preceding example) is limited in the information it can display.neon branches create --output json
Example output
```json { "branch": { "id": "br-frosty-art-30264288", "project_id": "polished-shape-60485499", "parent_id": "br-polished-fire-02083731", "parent_lsn": "0/1E887C8", "name": "br-frosty-art-30264288", "current_state": "init", "pending_state": "ready", "creation_source": "neonctl", "default": false, "cpu_used_sec": 0, "compute_time_seconds": 0, "active_time_seconds": 0, "written_data_bytes": 0, "data_transfer_bytes": 0, "created_at": "2023-08-03T20:12:24Z", "updated_at": "2023-08-03T20:12:24Z" }, "endpoints": [ { "host": "@ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech", "id": "@ep-cool-darkness-123456", "project_id": "polished-shape-60485499", "branch_id": "br-frosty-art-30264288", "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": {}, "pooler_enabled": false, "pooler_mode": "transaction", "disabled": false, "passwordless_access": true, "creation_source": "neonctl", "created_at": "2023-08-03T20:12:24Z", "updated_at": "2023-08-03T20:12:24Z", "proxy_host": "us-east-2.aws.neon.tech", "suspend_timeout_seconds": 0, "provisioner": "k8s-pod" } ], "connection_uris": [ { "connection_uri": "postgresql://alex:AbC123dEf@@ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/dbname?sslmode=require&channel_binding=require", "connection_parameters": { "database": "dbname", "password": "AbC123dEf", "role": "alex", "host": "@ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech", "pooler_host": "@ep-cool-darkness-123456-pooler.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech" } } ] } ``` -
Create a branch with a user-defined name:
neon branches create --name feature/user-auth
-
Set the compute size when creating a branch:
neon branches create --name mybranch --cu 2
-
Set the compute's autoscaling range when creating a branch:
neon branches create --name mybranch --cu 0.5-3
-
Create a branch with a read replica compute.
neon branches create --name my_read_replica_branch --type read_only
-
Create a branch from a parent branch other than your
mainbranchneon branches create --name feature/payment-api --parent development
-
Create an instant restore branch by specifying the
--parentoption with a timestamp:neon branches create --name data_recovery --parent 2023-07-11T10:00:00Z
The timestamp must be provided in RFC 3339 format. You can use this timestamp converter. For more information about instant restore, see Instant restore.
-
Create a branch and connect to it with
psql.neon branch create --psql
-
Create a branch, connect to it with
psql, and run an.sqlfile.neon branch create --psql -- -f dump.sql
-
Create a branch, connect to it with
psql, and run a query.neon branch create --psql -- -c "SELECT version()" -
Create a schema-only branch:
neon branch create --schema-only
This command resets a child branch to the latest data from its parent.
neon branches reset <id|name> --parent<id|name> refers to the branch ID or branch name. You can use either one for this operation.
--parent specifies the type of reset operation. Currently, Neon only supports reset from parent. This parameter is required for the operation to work. In the future, Neon might add support for other reset types: for example, rewinding a branch to an earlier period in time.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the reset subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project or context is not set |
--parent |
Reset to a parent branch | boolean | |
--preserve-under-name |
The name under which to preserve the old branch | string |
neon branches reset development --parent
┌──────────────────────┬────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Default │ Created At │ Last Reset At │
├──────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-aged-sun-a5qowy01 │ development│ false │ 2024-05-07T09:31:59Z │ 2024-05-07T09:36:32Z │
└──────────────────────┴────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘This command restores a branch to a specified point in time in its own or another branch's history.
neon branches restore <target-id|name> <source>[@(timestamp|lsn)]<target-id|name> specifies the ID or name of the branch that you want to restore.
<source> specifies the source branch you want to restore from. Options are:
^self— restores the selected branch to an earlier point in its own history. You must select a timestamp or LSN for this option (restoring to head is not an option). You also need to include a name for the backup branch using the parameterpreserve-under-name.^parent— restores the target branch to its parent. By default the target is restored the latest (head) of its parent. Append@timestampor@lsnto restore to an earlier point in the parent's history.source branch IDorsource branch name— restores the target branch to the selected source branch. It restores the latest (head) by default. Append@timestampor@lsnto restore to an earlier point in the source branch's history.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the restore subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project or context is not set |
--preserve-under-name |
Name for the backup created during restore. | string | When restoring to ^self |
Examples of the different kinds of restore operations you can do:
- Restoring a branch to an earlier point in its history
- Restoring to another branch's head
- Restoring a branch to its parent
This command restores the branch main to an earlier timestamp, saving to a backup branch called main_restore_backup_2024-05-06
neon branches restore main ^self@2024-05-06T10:00:00.000Z --preserve-under-name main_restore_backup_2024-05-06Results of the operation:
INFO: Restoring branch br-purple-dust-a5hok5mk to the branch br-purple-dust-a5hok5mk timestamp 2024-05-06T10:00:00.000Z
Restored branch
┌─────────────────────────┬──────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Last Reset At │
├─────────────────────────┼──────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-purple-dust-a5hok5mk │ main │ 2024-05-07T09:45:21Z │
└─────────────────────────┴──────┴──────────────────────┘
Backup branch
┌─────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │
├─────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│ br-flat-forest-a5z016gm │ main_restore_backup_2024-05-06 │
└─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘This command restores the target branch feature/user-auth to latest data (head) from the source branch main.
neon branches restore feature/user-auth mainResults of the operation:
INFO: Restoring branch br-restless-frost-69810125 to the branch br-curly-bar-82389180 head
Restored branch
┌────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Last Reset At │
├────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-restless-frost-69810125 │ feature/user-auth │ 2024-02-21T15:42:34Z │
└────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┴──────────────────────┘This command restores the branch feature/user-auth to a selected point in time from its parent branch.
neon branches restore feature/user-auth ^parent@2024-02-21T10:30:00.000ZResults of the operation:
INFO: Restoring branch br-restless-frost-69810125 to the branch br-patient-union-a5s838zf timestamp 2024-02-21T10:30:00.000Z
Restored branch
┌────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Last Reset At │
├────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-restless-frost-69810125 │ feature/user-auth │ 2024-02-21T15:55:04Z │
└────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┴──────────────────────┘This subcommand allows you to update a branch in a Neon project.
neon branches rename <id|name> <new-name> [options]<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.
<new-name> is the new name for the branch. It must be unique within the project and can be up to 256 characters. It cannot be empty or only whitespace. See Branch naming requirements for full details.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the rename subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
neon branches rename mybranch teambranch
┌───────────────────────┬────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Created At │ Updated At │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-rough-sound-590393 │ teambranch │ 2023-07-09T20:46:58Z │ 2023-07-09T21:02:27Z │
└───────────────────────┴────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘This command:
- Compares the latest schemas of any two branches
- Compares against a specific point in its own or another branch’s history
neon branches schema-diff [base-branch] [compare-source[@(timestamp|lsn)]]
[base-branch] specifies the branch you want to compare against. For example, if you want to compare a development branch against the production branch main, select main as your base.
This setting is optional. If you leave it out, the operation uses either of the following as the base:
- The branch identified in the
set-contextfile - If no context is configured, it uses your project's default branch
[compare-source] specifies the branch or state to compare against. Options are:
^self— compares the selected branch to an earlier point in its own history. You must specify a timestamp or LSN.^parent— compares the selected branch to the head of its parent branch. You can append@timestampor@lsnto compare to an earlier point in the parent's history.<compare-branch-id|name>— compares the selected branch to the head of another specified branch. Append@timestampor@lsnto compare to an earlier point in the specified branch's history.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the schema-diff subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project or context is not set |
--database, --db |
Name of the database for which the schema comparison is performed | string |
Examples of different kinds of schema diff operations you can do:
- Compare to another branch's head
- Compare to an earlier point in a branch's history
- Compare a branch to its parent
- Compare to an earlier point in another branch's history
This command compares the schema of the production branch to the head of the branch development.
neon branches schema-diff production developmentThe output indicates that in the table public.playing_with_neon, a new column description character varying(255) has been added in the development branch that is not present in the production branch.
--- Database: neondb (Branch: br-wandering-firefly-a50un462) // [!code --]
+++ Database: neondb (Branch: br-fancy-sky-a5cydw8p) // [!code ++]
@@ -26,9 +26,10 @@
CREATE TABLE public.playing_with_neon (
id integer NOT NULL,
name text NOT NULL,
- value real [!code --]
+ value real, // [!code ++]
+ description character varying(255) // [!code ++]
);This command compares the schema of feature/user-auth to a previous state in its history at LSN 0/123456.
neon branches schema-diff feature/user-auth ^self@0/123456This command compares the schema of feature/user-auth to the head of its parent branch.
neon branches schema-diff feature/user-auth ^parentThis command compares the schema of the production branch to the state of the feature/payment-api branch at timestamp 2024-06-01T00:00:00.000Z.
neon branches schema-diff production feature/payment-api@2024-06-01T00:00:00.000ZThis subcommand allows you to set a branch as the default branch in your Neon project.
neon branches set-default <id|name> [options]<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the set-default subcommand supports this option:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
neon branches set-default mybranch
┌────────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Default │ Created At │ Updated At │
├────────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-odd-frog-703504 │ mybranch │ true │ 2023-07-11T12:22:12Z │ 2023-07-11T12:22:59Z │
└────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘This subcommand allows you to set or update the expiration date for a branch. When the expiration time is reached, the branch and its compute endpoints are permanently deleted.
neon branches set-expiration <id|name> --expires-at <timestamp> [options]<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.
--expires-at <timestamp> specifies the expiration timestamp in RFC 3339 format (for example, 2025-08-15T18:00:00Z).
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the set-expiration subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
--expires-at |
Expiration timestamp in RFC 3339 format | string |
-
Set an expiration date for a branch:
neon branches set-expiration mybranch --expires-at 2025-08-15T18:00:00Z
-
Remove expiration from a branch (omit the parameter):
neon branches set-expiration mybranch
This subcommand allows you to add a compute to an existing branch in your Neon project.
neon branches add-compute <id|name><id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the add-compute subcommand supports these options:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
--type |
Type of compute to add. Choices are read_only (the default) or read_write. A read-only compute is a read replica. A branch can have a single primary read-write compute and multiple read replica computes. |
string | |
--cu |
Sets the compute size in Compute Units. For a fixed size, enter a single number (for example, "2"). For autoscaling, enter a range with a dash (for example, "0.5-3"). | string |
-
Add a read replica compute (a read replica) to a branch:
neon branches add-compute mybranch --type read_only ┌─────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Id │ Host │ ├─────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ep-rough-lab-865061 │ ep-rough-lab-865061.ap-southeast-1.aws.neon.tech │ └─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
Set the compute size when adding a compute to a branch:
neon branches add-compute main --cu 2
-
Set the compute's autoscaling range when adding a compute to a branch:
neon branches add-compute main --cu 0.5-3
This subcommand allows you to delete a branch in a Neon project.
neon branches delete <id|name> [options]<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.
In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the delete subcommand supports this option:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
neon branches delete br-rough-sky-158193
┌─────────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Created At │ Updated At │
├─────────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-rough-sky-158193 │ my_child_branch │ 2023-07-09T20:57:39Z │ 2023-07-09T21:06:41Z │
└─────────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘Branches are soft-deleted by default, and enter a 7-day deletion recovery period before being permanently removed.
This subcommand allows you to retrieve details about a branch.
neon branches get <id|name> [options]In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the get subcommand supports this option:
| Option | Description | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
--context-file |
Context file path and file name | string | |
--project-id |
Project ID | string | Only if your Neon account has more than one project |
neon branches get production
┌────────────────────────┬────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id │ Name │ Created At │ Updated At │
├────────────────────────┼────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-small-meadow-878874 │ production │ 2023-07-06T13:15:12Z │ 2023-07-06T13:32:37Z │
└────────────────────────┴────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘A get example with the --output format option set to json:
neon branches get production --output json
{
"id": "br-lingering-bread-896475",
"project_id": "noisy-rain-039137",
"name": "production",
"current_state": "ready",
"logical_size": 29769728,
"creation_source": "console",
"default": false,
"cpu_used_sec": 522,
"compute_time_seconds": 522,
"active_time_seconds": 2088,
"written_data_bytes": 174433,
"data_transfer_bytes": 20715,
"created_at": "2023-06-28T10:17:28Z",
"updated_at": "2023-07-11T12:22:59Z"
}