# Neon's Instant Branches: Schema-Only or With Data, the Choice Is Yours

DevFeed: [Neon's Instant Branches: Schema-Only or With Data, the Choice Is Yours](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/neon-s-instant-branches-schema-only-or-with-data-the-choice-is-yours-5448.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://neon.com/blog/instant-branches-schema-only-or-with-data-the-choice-is-yours>)

Author: Bryan Clark

Published: 2025-02-05T14:51:44Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Blog -- Neon Docs](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blog-neon-docs.md>)

Topics: [Database](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/database.md>), [pii](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/pii.md>), [synthetic-data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/synthetic-data.md>), [API](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api.md>)

Tags: [api](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/api.md>), [database](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/database.md>), [develop](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/develop.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [pii](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pii.md>), [product](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/product.md>), [synthetic-data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/synthetic-data.md>), [workflow](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/workflow.md>)

## AI overview

Neon introduces instant schema-only database branches for its Early Access Program, alongside existing branches that copy production data and schema. Schema-only branches help teams work within PII restrictions by allowing them to seed isolated environments with synthetic data, while data-inclusive branches remain useful for testing production-like behavior. Both branch types can be created through the Neon console or API.

## Source excerpt

If you've been keeping up with the Neon story, we introduced database branching in December 2022. Our instant branches--complete copies of production, including data and schema--have enabled thousands of developers to work and test efficiently within the safety of their own isolate...