Branch list view showing all available branches in the project Xata’s branching system uses Copy-on-Write (CoW) at the storage layer to create instant database branches. Each branch contains the exact schema and data of the parent branch at the moment of creation, but after creation, branches are independent PostgreSQL instances. Learn more about how branching works.

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Overview

The overview page provides a single pane of glass to understand the details of your branch. Branch overview showing branch details and configuration options
  • Connect: Copy a connection string or individual parameters
  • Health: View the health and state of your primary instance and replicas
  • Instance Details: Understand the instance health, hierarchy and metadata
  • Create Child: Create a child branch using the current branch as the source
  • Instance Health: Click into an instance node to quickly view the latest metrics
Branch node flyout showing quick actions and branch information

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Branch Features

Queries

Execute and manage database queries across your branches.

Metrics

Monitor branch performance and usage across your instances within a branch.

Extensions

Extend your database functionality with extensions.

Schemas

Manage your database structure and schema.

Migrations

Apply schema changes to your database without downtime.

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Settings

Configure branch-specific settings including instance details, compute and PostgreSQL parameters.

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Instance Details

Configure the fundamental properties and settings for your branch instance. Branch settings showing instance details and configuration options
  • Branch Name: Set and modify the human-readable branch name
  • Replicas: Configure the amount of replicas for a branch
  • Instance Type: Configure the instance type for this branch

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Compute

Configure scale-to-zero settings for cost optimization. Learn more about compute settings →

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PostgreSQL Configuration

Fine-tune PostgreSQL parameters and settings for optimal database performance. Branch settings showing PostgreSQL configuration parameters
  • Connections: Configure connection and authentication settings
  • Resource Consumption: Configure memory and resource allotation settings
  • Planner: Configure query planner options
  • IO & Async Behaviour: Configure input/output and asynchronous behavior
  • Write-Ahead Log: Configure Write-Ahead logging (WAL)

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From the CLI

Use the Xata CLI to create and manage branches programmatically: 
# Create a new branch
xata branch create --name "staging" --parent-branch "main"

# List all branches
xata branch list

# Get branch details
xata branch describe staging
For more CLI commands, see the CLI Reference.