Instant database branches for PostgreSQL
Open-source database branching for any PostgreSQL setup. Deploy on your own infrastructure, keep full control of your data, and create instant isolated clones for development, testing, production debugging, and more.
Get Started in Minutes
From zero to branching in four simple steps. No complex configuration.
Deploy with CloudFormation
One-click deployment to AWS with pre-configured infrastructure
Launch Stack
CloudFormation will create the instance, security groups, and storage automatically. Setup takes ~5 minutes.
Sizing tips
- • Instance size: start with 1/2 or 1/4 of your production instance size.
- • Storage size: start with 1 to 1.2x your production database size. Branchd uses compression and copy-on-write for efficient storage.
Check your database size:
psql "postgresql://user:pass@host:port/dbname" -c "SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(current_database())) as size;"Instance types reference
Basic
Standard
Memory-Optimized
Install CLI
Download the Branchd CLI on your local machine
Installation
# Linux/macOS
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/branchd-dev/branchd/main/install-cli.sh | bashOr download from GitHub Releases
Configure Your Instance
Complete the web-based setup wizard
Setup Wizard
# Initialize CLI with your instance IP
branchd init <your-instance-ip>This creates branchd.json and opens the setup page in your browser.
- • Create your admin account
- • Configure source database connection
- • Optionally set up anonymization rules and refresh schedule
- • Trigger initial database restore
Create Your First Branch
After the initial restore completes, use the CLI to create and manage branches
Branch Management
# Login to your instance
branchd login --email=admin@example.com
# Create a new branch - returns ready-to-use connection string
branchd checkout my-feature-branch
# List all branches
branchd ls
# Delete a branch
branchd delete my-feature-branchDeploy with CloudFormation
One-click deployment to AWS with pre-configured infrastructure
Launch Stack
CloudFormation will create the instance, security groups, and storage automatically. Setup takes ~5 minutes.
Sizing tips
- • Instance size: start with 1/2 or 1/4 of your production instance size.
- • Storage size: start with 1 to 1.2x your production database size. Branchd uses compression and copy-on-write for efficient storage.
Check your database size:
psql "postgresql://user:pass@host:port/dbname" -c "SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(current_database())) as size;"Instance types reference
Basic
Standard
Memory-Optimized
Install CLI
Download the Branchd CLI on your local machine
Installation
# Linux/macOS
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/branchd-dev/branchd/main/install-cli.sh | bashOr download from GitHub Releases
Configure Your Instance
Complete the web-based setup wizard
Setup Wizard
# Initialize CLI with your instance IP
branchd init <your-instance-ip>This creates branchd.json and opens the setup page in your browser.
- • Create your admin account
- • Configure source database connection
- • Optionally set up anonymization rules and refresh schedule
- • Trigger initial database restore
Create Your First Branch
After the initial restore completes, use the CLI to create and manage branches
Branch Management
# Login to your instance
branchd login --email=admin@example.com
# Create a new branch - returns ready-to-use connection string
branchd checkout my-feature-branch
# List all branches
branchd ls
# Delete a branch
branchd delete my-feature-branchNeed support? Reach out.
Why Branchd?
Fast, secure, and built for modern development teams
Developer Productivity
Save your team tens of hours per month
Faster development, production debugging, QA testing, pull request reviews, and more. Perfect for large databases.
Self-Hosted & Private
Your infrastructure, your data, your control
Deploy on your own AWS infrastructure. All data stays within your environment. No third-party access, ever.
Cost Efficient
No SaaS fees, minimal storage overhead
Pay only for your AWS infrastructure. Copy-on-write snapshots mean branches share unchanged data. A 100GB database with 10 branches might only use 120GB total.
CI/CD Ready
Automate database branches in your pipeline
CLI-first design integrates seamlessly with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or any CI/CD tool. Spin up a branch per PR automatically.
Real Production Data
Test with actual data, not stale fixtures
Debug issues with real customer data, test migrations against actual schema complexity, and catch edge cases before production.
Disposable by Design
Create, destroy, repeat
Branches are meant to be temporary. Spin them up for testing, tear them down when done. No orphaned databases cluttering your infrastructure.
Developer Productivity
Save your team tens of hours per month
Faster development, production debugging, QA testing, pull request reviews, and more. Perfect for large databases.
Self-Hosted & Private
Your infrastructure, your data, your control
Deploy on your own AWS infrastructure. All data stays within your environment. No third-party access, ever.
Cost Efficient
No SaaS fees, minimal storage overhead
Pay only for your AWS infrastructure. Copy-on-write snapshots mean branches share unchanged data. A 100GB database with 10 branches might only use 120GB total.
CI/CD Ready
Automate database branches in your pipeline
CLI-first design integrates seamlessly with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or any CI/CD tool. Spin up a branch per PR automatically.
Real Production Data
Test with actual data, not stale fixtures
Debug issues with real customer data, test migrations against actual schema complexity, and catch edge cases before production.
Disposable by Design
Create, destroy, repeat
Branches are meant to be temporary. Spin them up for testing, tear them down when done. No orphaned databases cluttering your infrastructure.