Branching with the Neon API

The examples in this guide demonstrate creating, viewing, and deleting branches using the Neon API. For other branch-related API methods, refer to the Neon API reference.

note

The API examples that follow may only show some of the user-configurable request body attributes that are available to you. To view all attributes for a particular method, refer to the method's request body schema in the Neon API reference.

The jq program 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 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:

note

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

curl 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/<project_id>/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 Project settings page in the Neon Console, or you can find it by listing the projects for your Neon account using the Neon API. It is a generated value that looks something like this: autumn-disk-484331.
The endpoints attribute creates a compute, which is required to connect to the branch. Neon supports read_write and read_only compute types. A branch can be created with or without a compute. You can specify read_only to create a read replica.
The branch attribute specifies the parent branch.
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 default branch or a non-default branch.

The response includes information about the branch, the branch's compute, 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 Project 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 default branch and any child branches. The name of the default 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 Project 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.

Restoring a branch using the API

To revert changes or recover lost data, you can use the branch restore endpoint in the Neon API.

POST /projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id_to_restore}/restore

For details on how to use this endpoint to restore a branch to its own or another branch's history, restore a branch to the head of its parent, and other restore options, see Branch Restore using the API.

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 details, see Getting Support.