Introduction > Isolated Development with Neon Branches > Hands-On: Neon Branching Workflow

Hands-On: Neon Branching Workflow

Neon Branching 🛠️

In this section, you’ll learn how to create, modify, and verify changes in a Neon feature database to experience the benefits of isolated development and testing.

✅ Step 1: Create a Feature Database

Follow these steps to create a feature database in the Neon Console:

Log in to the Neon Console.
Navigate to your project and open the Branches tab.
Click Create Branch.
Name your branch (e.g., feature-test-db).
Select the main branch (Main Database) as the parent and click Create.

Result: You’ve created a new feature database with a full copy of the main branch’s data.

Feature Branch

✅ Step 2: Connect to the Feature Database

In the Branches tab, copy the connection string for your feature database.

Manual Run

Go back to the server and open the terminal.
Export the connection string as an environment variable to simplify future connections:
```
export FEATURE_DATABASE_CONN="<your-connection-string>" >> ~/.bashrc
```
Replace <your-connection-string> with the connection string copied from the Neon Console.

Then to add to apply your updates run:
```
source ~/.bashrc
```
Confirm that the environment variable is set:
```
echo $FEATURE_DATABASE_CONN
```
You should see your connection string displayed.
Use the connection string to connect to the feature database:
```
psql $FEATURE_DATABASE_CONN
```
Verify that the feature database’s data matches the main database:
```
SELECT * FROM employees.salary LIMIT 15;
```
Exit the database:
```
\q
```

✅ Step 3: Apply Schema Changes to the Feature Database

Make schema changes in the feature database without affecting the main database.

Example:

ALTER TABLE employees.salary ADD COLUMN bonus NUMERIC(10, 2) DEFAULT 0;

Verify the change:

SELECT * FROM employees.salary LIMIT 15;

Confirm the bonus column is added.

Feature Bonus

✅ Step 4: Verify the Main Database Is Unaffected

The connection string for the main database is already saved as an environment variable (DEV_DATABASE_URL). Use this variable to connect back to the main database:

Connect to the main database using the environment variable:
```
psql $DEV_DATABASE_URL
```

Check the schema:

SELECT column_name
FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_name = 'salary';

Confirm Main Neon Database is unaffected:
```
SELECT * FROM employees.salary LIMIT 15;
```
Result: The bonus column will not appear in the main database.
Exit the database:
```
\q
```

✅ Step 5: Clean Up the Feature Database

Once testing is complete, delete the feature database:

In the Neon Console, go to the Branches tab.
Find your feature database (e.g., feature-test-db).
Click the ellipsis (⋮) next to the branch and select Delete.

Alternatively, you can delete the feature database programmatically using the Neon API:

curl -X DELETE https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/<project-id>/branches/<branch-id> \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <api-key>"

Delete Feature Branch

🏁 Summary 🏁

With Neon’s branching feature, you’ve:

Created a new feature database for isolated testing.
Exported the connection string as an environment variable for easier access.
Applied schema changes without impacting the main database.
Verified database independence through testing.
Cleaned up the feature database after completing your tests.

👉 Use these steps to streamline your dev/test workflows while maintaining safety and efficiency!