PlanetScale CLI commands: branch

Getting Started

Make sure to first set up your PlanetScale developer environment. Once you’ve installed the pscale CLI, you can interact with PlanetScale and manage your databases straight from the command line.

The `branch` command

This command allows you to create, delete, diff, and manage branches. Usage:

pscale branch <SUB-COMMAND> <FLAG>

Available sub-commands

Sub-command	Sub-command flags	Description	Product
`connections <COMMAND>`	`show`, `top`, `kill`, `kill-transaction`	Inspect and act on live branch connections. See the `connections` reference.	Postgres, Vitess
`create <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--from <SOURCE_BRANCH>`, `--region <BRANCH_REGION>`, `--restore <BACKUP_NAME>`, `--seed-data`, `--wait`	Create a new branch on the specified database	Postgres, Vitess
`delete <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--force`, `--delete-descendants`	Delete the specified branch from a database	Postgres, Vitess
`diff <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show the diff of the specified branch against the parent branch.	Vitess
`list <DATABASE_NAME>`	`--web`	List all branches of a database	Postgres, Vitess
`parameters list <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--namespace <NAMESPACE>`, `--extension`, `--internal`	List the configuration parameters of a Postgres branch	Postgres
`promote <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Promote a database branch to production	Vitess
`query-patterns download <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--output <PATH>`	Generate and download a CSV report of branch query patterns. See the `query-patterns` reference.	Postgres, Vitess
`refresh-schema <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Refresh the schema for a database branch	Vitess
`resize <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--cluster-size <SKU>`, `--replicas <COUNT>`, `--parameters <NAMESPACE.NAME=VALUE>`, `--wait`, `--wait-timeout <DURATION>`	Change a Postgres branch’s cluster size, replica count, or configuration parameters	Postgres
`resize status <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Show the latest change request for a Postgres branch	Postgres
`resize cancel <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Cancel the queued change request for a Postgres branch	Postgres
`safe-migrations enable <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Enables safe migrations for a database branch	Vitess
`safe-migrations disable <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Disables safe migrations for a database branch	Vitess
`schema <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show the schema of a branch	Vitess
`show <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show a specific backup of a branch	Postgres, Vitess
`switch <BRANCH_NAME> --database <DATABASE_NAME>`	`--database <DATABASE_NAME>`*, `--create`, `parent-branch <BRANCH_NAME>`	Switch to the specified branch	Postgres, Vitess

Service token automation: `branch`

Legend: ✅ supported · 🚫 unavailable · 👤 interactive login only. All sub-commands require --org or PLANETSCALE_ORG.

Sub-command	Env-var auth	`--service-token` flag	Requires `--org`	Postgres / Vitess	`--format json`	API equivalent
`list <database>`	✅	✅	✅	Both	✅	`pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches --format json`
`show <database> <branch>`	✅	✅	✅	Both	✅	`pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches/<branch> --format json`
`create` / `delete`	✅	✅	✅	Both	✅	`POST pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches --format json` · `DELETE pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches/<branch> --format json`
`schema <database> <branch>`	✅	✅	✅	Both	✅	`pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches/<branch>/schema --format json`
`diff` / `promote`	✅	✅	✅	Vitess	✅	`pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches/<branch>/schema/lint --format json` · `POST pscale api organizations/<org>/databases/<database>/branches/<branch>/promote --format json`
`connections`	✅	✅	✅	Both	✅	`pscale branch connections top <database> <branch> --org <org> --format json`

export PLANETSCALE_ORG="<org>"
pscale branch list <database> --format json
pscale branch show <database> <branch> --format json

Setup and commands to avoid: CLI overview · Service tokens

* Flag is required

Sub-command flag descriptions

Some of the sub-commands have additional flags unique to the sub-command. This section covers what each of those does. See the above table for which context.

Sub-command flag	Description	Applicable sub-commands
`--from <SOURCE_BRANCH>`	Parent branch that you want to create a new branch off of	`create`
`--region <BRANCH_REGION>`	Region where database should be created	`create`
`--restore <BACKUP_NAME>`	Create a new branch from a specified backup	`create`
`--seed-data`	Create a new branch and seed data using the Data Branching® feature	`create`
`--web`	Perform the action in your web browser	`create`, `diff`, `list`, `schema`, `show`
`--wait`	Wait until the branch is ready (`create`) or the change request completes (`resize`)	`create`, `resize`
`--major-version`	The major version of the branch (Postgres only). Currently supports `17` or `18`.	`create`
`--database <DATABASE_NAME>`	Specify the database name	`switch`
`--create`	Create a new branch if it does not exist	`switch`
`--parent-branch <BRANCH_NAME>`	If a new branch is being created, use this to specify a parent branch. Default is `main`.	`switch`
`--delete-descendants`	Recursively delete all descendant branches when deleting a branch	`delete`
`--output <PATH>`	Write the query patterns CSV report to a specific file path.	`query-patterns download`
`--cluster-size <SKU>`	New cluster size for the branch, as a fully-qualified SKU name (e.g. `PS_10_GCP_X86`). Use `pscale size cluster list --engine postgresql` to see the valid sizes.	`resize`
`--replicas <COUNT>`	Desired number of replicas for the branch	`resize`
`--parameters <NAMESPACE.NAME=VALUE>`	Set a configuration parameter (e.g. `pgconf.max_connections=200`). Repeat the flag to set multiple parameters. Use `pscale branch parameters list` to see available parameters.	`resize`
`--wait-timeout <DURATION>`	Maximum time to wait for the change request to complete with `--wait`. Default is `10m`.	`resize`
`--namespace <NAMESPACE>`	Only show parameters in this namespace (e.g. `pgconf`, `pgbouncer`, `patroni`)	`parameters list`
`--extension`	Only show parameters that configure an extension (`--extension=false` hides them)	`parameters list`
`--internal`	Only show internal (immutable) parameters (`--internal=false` hides them)	`parameters list`

The --region flag can not be used with --restore when creating a branch. Branch backups will be restored to their original region.

Available flags

Flag	Description
`-h`, `--help`	View help for auth command
`--org <ORGANIZATION_NAME>`	The organization for the current user

Global flags

Command	Description
`--api-token <TOKEN>`	The API token to use for authenticating against the PlanetScale API.
`--api-url <URL>`	The base URL for the PlanetScale API. Default is `https://api.planetscale.com/`.
`--config <CONFIG_FILE>`	Config file. Default is `$HOME/.config/planetscale/pscale.yml`.
`--debug`	Enable debug mode.
`-f`, `--format <FORMAT>`	Show output in a specific format. Possible values: `human` (default), `json`, `csv`.
`--no-color`	Disable color output.
`--service-token <TOKEN>`	The service token for authenticating.
`--service-token-id <TOKEN_ID>`	The service token ID for authenticating.

Examples

The `connections` sub-command

Command:

pscale branch connections top <database> <branch>

Opens a live view of the branch’s connection activity. It works for Postgres and Vitess branches; for Vitess, pass --keyspace and --shard to target a tablet, or run interactively to select them. See the connections reference, Inspect live Postgres connections, and Inspect live Vitess connections for the full workflow.

The `query-patterns` sub-command

Command:

pscale branch query-patterns download <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME> --org <ORGANIZATION_NAME>

Creates a Query Insights report for the branch, waits for it to finish generating, and downloads the CSV file. Use --output to choose the file path. See the query-patterns reference for the full workflow.

The `list` sub-command with `--web` flag

Command:

pscale branch list <DATABASE_NAME> --web

Output: Opens the Branches page, <https://app.planetscale.com/org/database/branches>, in browser.

The `parameters` sub-command

Command:

pscale branch parameters list <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME> --namespace pgconf

Lists the configuration parameters of a Postgres branch, including their current values, defaults, allowed ranges, and whether changing them requires a restart. Use --namespace to limit the output to a single namespace such as pgconf, pgbouncer, or patroni.

The `resize` sub-command

Command:

pscale branch resize <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME> --parameters pgconf.max_connections=200 --parameters pgconf.work_mem=8MB --wait

Creates a change request for a Postgres branch. A single change request can update the cluster size (--cluster-size), the number of replicas (--replicas), and configuration parameters (--parameters, repeatable) together. With --wait, the command polls until the change request completes; without it, the command returns immediately and you can follow up with resize status. Some parameters require a database restart to take effect; the command tells you which ones before the change is applied. Command:

pscale branch resize status <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>

Shows the latest change request for the branch, including its state (queued, pending, resizing, completed, or canceled) and what it changes. Command:

pscale branch resize cancel <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>

Cancels the queued change request for the branch. Only change requests that have not started being applied can be canceled.

The `diff` sub-command

Command:

pscale branch diff <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>

Output:

-- users --
+CREATE TABLE `users` (
+  `id` bigint unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
+  `name` varchar(255) COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
+  PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
+) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

This will return the diff against the parent branch.

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Introduction

Using the pscale CLI

CLI command reference

PlanetScale CLI commands: branch

Getting Started

The `branch` command

Available sub-commands

Service token automation: `branch`

Sub-command flag descriptions

Available flags

Global flags

Examples

The `connections` sub-command

The `query-patterns` sub-command

The `list` sub-command with `--web` flag

The `parameters` sub-command

The `resize` sub-command

The `diff` sub-command

Need help?

​Getting Started

​The branch command

​Available sub-commands

​Service token automation: branch

​Sub-command flag descriptions

​Available flags

​Global flags

​Examples

​The connections sub-command

​The query-patterns sub-command

​The list sub-command with --web flag

​The parameters sub-command

​The resize sub-command

​The diff sub-command

​Need help?

Getting Started

The `branch` command

Available sub-commands

Service token automation: `branch`

Sub-command flag descriptions

Available flags

Global flags

Examples

The `connections` sub-command

The `query-patterns` sub-command

The `list` sub-command with `--web` flag

The `parameters` sub-command

The `resize` sub-command

The `diff` sub-command

Need help?