PlanetScale CLI commands: branch

September 20, 2020

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
`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
`delete <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--force`	Delete the specified branch from the a database
`diff <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show the diff of the specified branch against the parent branch.
`list <DATABASE_NAME>`	`--web`	List all branches of a database
`promote <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Promote a database branch to production
`refresh-schema <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Refresh the schema for a database branch
`safe-migrations enable <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Enables safe migrations for a database branch
`safe-migrations disable <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`		Disables safe migrations for a database branch
`schema <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show the schema of a branch
`show <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME>`	`--web`	Show a specific backup of a branch
`switch <BRANCH_NAME> --database <DATABASE_NAME>`	`--database <DATABASE_NAME>`*, `--create`, `parent-branch <BRANCH_NAME>`	Switch to the specified branch

* 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`
`--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`

Note

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 `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 `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.

Need help?

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