> ## Documentation index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://upstash.com/docs/llms.txt > Ask it with GET https://upstash.com/docs/ask?q=. Short keywords rank best. > Use these to discover all available pages before exploring further. > Feature requests: https://upstash.com/docs/common/help/feature-requests.md lists what users asked for and how to vote for a request or add one. > Page rating: `GET https://upstash.com/docs/feedback?path=/docs/redis/features/branching&helpful={true|false}&comment={comment}` records whether this page helped. The `comment` (URL-encoded, at most 500 characters) says what helped, or what was missing or wrong; a `helpful=false` rating needs it. It is anonymous and needs no key. Comments hold no code, secrets or personal data. # Database Branching A branch is a copy of a database's data that you can change freely. It gets its own endpoint and password, so you can point a staging app, a test suite or an experiment at it without touching the data your production clients use. Later changes on either side stay separate: a branch is a copy, not a replica, so nothing is synced back. Branching is available for global databases on the Pay as You Go, Fixed and Enterprise plans, in the Upstash console and also [from an agent or the CLI](#from-an-agent-or-the-cli). Free databases, regional databases, databases on the legacy Pro plan, databases with an IP allowlist, suspended databases and HIPAA-enabled databases can't be branched. Branching also needs an account with a payment method, and isn't available to accounts created through Vercel, Heroku, DigitalOcean, Laravel, Fly.io or AWS Marketplace. ## Creating a Branch Open your database and use the branch switcher in the header, or `Create branch` in the database's actions menu. You can create a branch from the main database or from one of its existing branches. Choose a name and the data source, then wait for the branch to be created. Create branch dialog in the Upstash console Branch names can contain letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores and dots, must start and end with a letter or number, and can be up to 100 characters long. Names must be unique within the database. While a branch is being created, its page shows a `Creating branch` bar and its tabs stay unavailable. Creating a branch usually takes a few seconds. When the branch is ready, the console shows a notification. If it can't be created, a message tells you it failed and the branch is removed. ## What a Branch Gets - All keys and values in the source database, as of the moment you create the branch. - Its own endpoint and password. - A single replica in the main database's region. A branch does not get read regions or high availability, and it is always on the Pay as You Go plan: its requests, storage and bandwidth are billed as Pay as You Go, whatever plan the main database is on. ## Working with Branches Use the branch switcher in the header to move between the main database and its branches. The switcher lists `main` first, then each branch, and you can search by name. Branch switcher listing main and a staging branch A branch is hidden on the main databases list. You reach it from the switcher on its database's page, and it appears as `database / branch` in places where databases are picked by name, such as the Cost Explorer. On a branch you can: - Browse its data, run commands in the CLI and monitor it, using its own credentials. - Rename it or delete it, from the branch's actions menu or from `Settings` → `Delete Branch`. - Create another branch from it. A branch can't be promoted to the main database. The following are not available on a branch, since they depend on the main database's plan or on more than one replica: - Production Pack, and the features it unlocks: Protect Credentials, Prometheus, Datadog, Insights, the past-month usage range and 3-day backups. - Changing the plan, adding read regions, and Enterprise add-ons such as HIPAA and VPC peering. - Pinning the database, and the security checklist in `Settings`. ## From an Agent or the CLI With the [Upstash MCP server](/agent-resources/mcp), ask your agent something like "create a branch of my-app called staging". It uses `redis_create_branch`, and the branch then shows up in `redis_list_databases` and can be renamed or deleted with the usual database tools. With the [Upstash CLI](/agent-resources/cli): ```bash upstash redis create-branch --db-id $DB_ID --name staging ``` A new branch starts in the `creating` state and becomes `active` within seconds, which you can check with `upstash redis get --db-id $BRANCH_ID`. Rename or delete it with `upstash redis rename` and `upstash redis delete`, like any other database. ## Deleting a Database with Branches A database that has branches can't be deleted or transferred, because its branches depend on it. Delete its branches first, then delete or transfer the main database.