Neon CLI commands — branches

Before you begin

Before running the branches command, ensure that you have installed the Neon CLI.
If you have not authenticated with the neonctl 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-key option when running a command. See Connect.

The `branches` command

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 and adding a compute endpoint to a branch. You can create a read replica by adding a read-only compute endpoint.

Usage

neonctl 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-primary	Set a default branch
add-compute	Add replica to a branch
delete	Delete a branch
get	Get a branch

list

This subcommand allows you to list branches in a Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches list [options]

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

Examples

List branches with the default table output format. The information provided with this output format is limited compared to other formats, such as json.

neonctl branches list --project-id solitary-leaf-288182
┌────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                     │ Name     │ Created At           │ Updated At           │
├────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-small-meadow-878874 │ main     │ 2023-07-06T13:15:12Z │ 2023-07-06T14:26:32Z │
├────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-round-queen-335380  │ mybranch │ 2023-07-06T14:45:50Z │ 2023-07-06T14:45:50Z │
└────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

List branches with the json output format. This format provides more information than the default table output format.

neonctl branches list --project-id solitary-leaf-288182 --output json
[
{
    "id": "br-wild-boat-648259",
    "project_id": "solitary-leaf-288182",
    "name": "main",
    "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": "mybranch",
    "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"
}
]

create

This subcommand allows you to create a branch in a Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches create [options]

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	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 endpoint is also referred to as a read replica.	string
`--suspend-timeout`	Duration of inactivity in seconds after which the compute endpoint 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
`--psql`	Connect to a new branch via `psql`. `psql` must be installed to use this option.	boolean

Examples

Create a branch:

neonctl branches create
┌─────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                      │ Name                    │ Primary │ 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                                                                           │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ postgres://[user]:[password]@[neon_hostname]/[dbname]                                    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

tip

The Neon CLI provides a neonctl connection-string command you can use to extract a connection uri programmatically. See Neon CLI commands — connection-string.

Create a branch with the --output format of the command set to json. This output format returns all of the branch response data, whereas the default table output format (shown in the preceding example) is limited in the information it can display.

neonctl branches create --output json

Example output

{
"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": "postgres://alex:AbC123dEf@@ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/dbname",
    "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:
```
neonctl branches create --name mybranch
```

Create a branch with a read-only compute endpoint (a read replica)

neonctl branches create --name my_read_replica_branch --type read_only

Create a branch from a parent branch other than your main branch

neonctl branches create --name my_child_branch --parent mybranch

Create a point-in-time restore branch by specifying the --parent option with a timestamp:
```
neonctl branches create --name data_recovery --parent 2023-07-11T10:00:00Z
```
The timestamp must be provided in ISO 8601 format. You can use this timestamp converter. For more information about point-in-time restore, see Branching — Point-in-time restore (PITR).
Create a branch and connect to it with psql.
```
neonctl branch create --psql
```
Create a branch, connect to it with psql, and run an .sql file.
```
neonctl branch create --psql -- -f dump.sql
```

Create a branch, connect to it with psql, and run a query.

neonctl branch create --psql -- -c "SELECT version()"

reset

This command resets a child branch to the latest data from its parent.

Usage

neonctl 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.

Options

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

Example

neonctl branches reset dev/alex --parent
┌──────────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                   │ Name     │ Primary │ Created At           │ Last Reset At        │
├──────────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-aged-sun-a5qowy01 │ dev/alex │ false   │ 2024-05-07T09:31:59Z │ 2024-05-07T09:36:32Z │
└──────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

restore

This command restores a branch to a specified point in time in its own or another branch's history.

Usage

neonctl 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 parameter preserve-under-name.
^parent — restores the target branch to its parent. By default the target is restored the latest (head) of its parent. Append @timestamp or @lsn to restore to an earlier point in the parent's history.
source branch ID or source branch name — restores the target branch to the selected source branch. It restores the latest (head) by default. Append @timestamp or @lsn to restore to an earlier point in the source branch's history.

Options

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

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

Restoring a branch to an earlier point in its own history (with backup)

This command restores the branch main to an earlier timestamp, saving to a backup branch called main_restore_backup_2024-02-20

neonctl branches restore main ^self@2024-05-06T10:00:00.000Z --preserve-under-name main_restore_backup_2024-05-06

Results 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 │
└─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘

Restoring a branch (target) to the head of another branch (source)

This command restores the target branch dev/alex to latest data (head) from the source branch main.

neonctl branches restore dev/alex main

Results 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 │ dev/alex │ 2024-02-21T15:42:34Z │
└────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────┘

Restoring a branch to its parent at an earlier point in time

This command restores the branch dev/alex to a selected point in time from its parent branch.

neonctl branches restore dev/alex ^parent@2024-02-21T10:30:00.000Z

Results 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 │ dev/alex │ 2024-02-21T15:55:04Z │
└────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────┘

rename

This subcommand allows you to update a branch in a Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches rename <id|name> <new-name> [options]

<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.

Options

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

Example

neonctl 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 │
└───────────────────────┴────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

schema-diff

This command:

Compares the latest schemas of any two branches
Compares against a specific point in its own or another branch’s history

Usage

neonctl 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-context file
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 @timestamp or @lsn to 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 @timestamp or @lsn to compare to an earlier point in the specified branch's history.

Options

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

note

The --no-color or --color false global option can be used to decolorize the CLI command output when using CLI commands in CI/CD pipelines.

Examples

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

Compare to another branch's head

This command compares the schema of the main branch to the head of the branch dev/alex.

neonctl branches schema-diff main dev/alex

The output indicates that in the table public.playing_with_neon, a new column description character varying(255) has been added in the dev/alex branch that is not present in the main branch.

--- Database: neondb	(Branch: br-wandering-firefly-a50un462)
+++ Database: neondb	(Branch: br-fancy-sky-a5cydw8p)
@@ -26,9 +26,10 @@

 CREATE TABLE public.playing_with_neon (
     id integer NOT NULL,
     name text NOT NULL,
-    value real [!code --]
+    value real,
+    description character varying(255)
 );


 ALTER TABLE public.playing_with_neon OWNER TO neondb_owner;

ALTER TABLE public.playing_with_neon OWNER TO neondb_owner;

#### Comparing a branch to an earlier point in its history

This command compares the schema of `dev-alex` to a previous state in its history at LSN 0/123456.

neonctl branches schema-diff dev-alex ^self@0/123456

#### Comparing a branch to its parent

This command compares the schema of `dev/alex` to the head of its parent branch.

neonctl branches schema-diff dev/alex ^parent

#### Comparing a branch to an earlier point in another branch's history

This command compares the schema of the `main` branch to the state of the `dev/jordan` branch at timestamp 2024-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

```bash
neonctl branches schema-diff main dev/jordan@2024-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

set-primary

This subcommand allows you to set a branch as the default branch in your Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches set-primary <id|name> [options]

<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.

Options

In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the set-primary 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

Example

neonctl branches set-primary mybranch
┌────────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                 │ Name     │ Primary │ Created At           │ Updated At           │
├────────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-odd-frog-703504 │ mybranch │ true    │ 2023-07-11T12:22:12Z │ 2023-07-11T12:22:59Z │
└────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

add-compute

This subcommand allows you to add a compute endpoint to an existing branch in your Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches add-compute <id|name>

<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.

Options

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 branch with a read-only compute endpoint is also referred to as a read replica. A branch can have a single read-write and multiple read-only compute endpoints.	string

Example

neonctl branches add-compute mybranch --type read_only
┌─────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Id                  │ Host                                             │
├─────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ep-rough-lab-865061 │ ep-rough-lab-865061.ap-southeast-1.aws.neon.tech │
└─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

delete

This subcommand allows you to delete a branch in a Neon project.

Usage

neonctl branches delete <id|name> [options]

<id|name> refers to the Branch ID and branch name. You can specify one or the other.

Options

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

Example

neonctl 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 │
└─────────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

get

This subcommand allows you to retrieve details about a branch.

Usage

neonctl branches get <id|name> [options]

Options

In addition to the Neon CLI global options, the get subcommand supports this option:

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

Examples

neonctl branches get main
┌────────────────────────┬──────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                     │ Name │ Created At           │ Updated At           │
├────────────────────────┼──────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-small-meadow-878874 │ main │ 2023-07-06T13:15:12Z │ 2023-07-06T13:32:37Z │
└────────────────────────┴──────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

A get example with the --output format option set to json:

neonctl branches get main --output json
{
  "id": "br-lingering-bread-896475",
  "project_id": "noisy-rain-039137",
  "name": "main",
  "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"

Need help?

Join our Discord Server to ask questions or see what others are doing with Neon. Users on paid plans can open a support ticket from the console. For more detail, see Getting Support.

Neon CLI commands — branches

Before you begin

The branches command

Usage

list

Usage

Options

Examples

create

Usage

Options

Examples

tip

reset

Usage

Options

Example

restore

Usage

Options

Examples

Restoring a branch to an earlier point in its own history (with backup)

Restoring a branch (target) to the head of another branch (source)

Restoring a branch to its parent at an earlier point in time

rename

Usage

Options

Example

schema-diff

Usage

Options

note

Examples

Compare to another branch's head

set-primary

Usage

Options

Example

add-compute

Usage

Options

Example

delete

Usage

Options

Example

get

Usage

Options

Options

Examples

Need help?

The `branches` command