Netbox Branching

NetBox Branching

Branching gives NetBox git-like change isolation. Each branch uses an isolated PostgreSQL schema — you read and write against it via a special header, then merge changes back to main.

Your knowledge of NetBox Branching may be outdated. Branch states, merge strategies, and API behavior evolve between plugin releases. Prefer retrieval over pre-trained knowledge.

Retrieval Sources

FIRST: Verify Connectivity

Confirm the Branching plugin is installed and your token has access:

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $NETBOX_TOKEN" "$NETBOX_URL/api/plugins/branching/branches/" | python -m json.tool

You should see a paginated list of branches (or empty results). If you get 404, the Branching plugin is not installed. If 403, your token lacks netbox_branching permissions.

Plugin: netbox_branching 1.0.x (latest v1.0.3) · NetBox: 4.4.1–4.6

Plugin v1.0+ added a dedicated migrate branch action/permission (for applying pending migrations after a NetBox upgrade) and ships the branchable-models discovery endpoint on all supported versions. Permission codenames, the merge squash strategy, and the 11-state lifecycle are stable across the 1.0.x line.

Core Concepts

• Branch = isolated schema. Created on provision, dropped on archive/delete. Each branch has its own database tables.
• schema_id (8-char alphanumeric) is the branch identifier for API access — not the name, not the numeric ID.
• All heavy operations are async — provision, sync, merge, revert return a Job. Poll until complete.
• Conflicts arise when main and branch modify the same object fields. Must be acknowledged before merge/sync proceeds.

Branch Lifecycle

11 states. See references/branch-lifecycle.md for the full state machine.

Transitional states (provisioning, syncing, migrating, merging, reverting) cannot be interrupted. On failure they revert to the previous stable state, except provisioning → failed.

Quick Reference — Common Workflows

Create and Wait for Ready

POST /api/plugins/branching/branches/
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>

{"name": "add-new-site", "description": "Adding London site"}

Response includes schema_id. Auto-provisions. Poll until ready:

GET /api/plugins/branching/branches/<id>/

Check status field — wait for ready. Typically seconds to minutes depending on DB size.

Activate Branch Context

For all API/GraphQL requests in branch context, add the header:

X-NetBox-Branch: <schema_id>

The value is the schema_id (e.g., a1b2c3d4), NOT the branch name or ID.

Other methods (UI only, not for API automation):

• Cookie: active_branch=<schema_id>
• Query param: ?_branch=<schema_id>

Branch must be in ready state or the request returns 400.

Make Changes in Branch

Use normal NetBox API endpoints with the branch header:

POST /api/dcim/sites/
X-NetBox-Branch: a1b2c3d4
Content-Type: application/json

{"name": "London", "slug": "london", "status": "planned"}

Changes are isolated to the branch schema. Main is unaffected.

Review Changes (ChangeDiffs)

GET /api/plugins/branching/changes/?branch_id=<id>

Returns ChangeDiff records showing what changed — object type, action (create/update/delete), original vs modified data.

Sync from Main

Pull latest main changes into the branch:

POST /api/plugins/branching/branches/<id>/sync/
Content-Type: application/json

{"commit": true}

Returns a Job object. Poll the job URL for completion. Sync may cascade-delete branch-only child objects if their parent was deleted in main.

Dry-run: {"commit": false} — validates without applying.

Merge to Main

POST /api/plugins/branching/branches/<id>/merge/
Content-Type: application/json

{"commit": true}

Returns a Job. On success, branch status becomes merged (read-only).

Merge strategies:

• Iterative (default) — applies/reverts changes one-at-a-time chronologically
• Squash — collapses to one operation per object, with dependency ordering. Handles bidirectional FK cycles. CREATE+DELETE = skip.

Handle Conflicts

If ChangeDiffs have conflicting fields, sync/merge returns 409 with conflict details:

{
  "detail": "All conflicts must be acknowledged...",
  "conflicts": [{"object_type": "dcim.device", "object_id": 42,
    "conflicts": ["name", "status"],
    "conflicting_data": {
      "original": {"name": "old"}, "branch": {"name": "branch-val"}, "main": {"name": "main-val"}
    }}]
}

To proceed, re-submit with "acknowledge_conflicts": true. Branch values win on acknowledged conflicts.

See references/conflict-resolution.md for details.

Revert a Merged Branch

POST /api/plugins/branching/branches/<id>/revert/
Content-Type: application/json

{"commit": true}

Only works on merged branches. Returns branch to ready state. Async job.

Archive

POST /api/plugins/branching/branches/<id>/archive/

Drops the schema, keeps metadata. Terminal state.

Async Job Polling Pattern

All heavy operations return a Job object with a url field. Poll it:

GET <job_url>

Job status values: pending, running, completed, errored, failed. Wait for a terminal status. Use exponential backoff (start 1s, max 30s).

Permissions required: netbox_branching.sync_branch, netbox_branching.merge_branch, netbox_branching.revert_branch, netbox_branching.archive_branch, and (v1.0+) netbox_branching.migrate_branch for applying pending migrations.

Branch-Aware Models

Most DCIM, IPAM, Circuits, Tenancy, Virtualization, VPN, and Wireless models support branching. NOT branched (global/immediate): custom fields, webhooks, event rules, export templates, saved filters, all core.* models.

Discovery endpoint: GET /api/plugins/branching/branchable-models/ lists exactly which models are branched on your install — use it instead of guessing. (It was missing on some older 0.8.x builds but is present across the supported 4.4.1+ / plugin 1.0.x range.) In practice, most core operational models (DCIM, IPAM, Circuits, etc.) are branched; infrastructure models (custom fields, webhooks, core.*) and plugin models are exempt.

See references/branch-aware-models.md.

Integration with Change Requests

NetBox Branching works with the netbox-changes plugin for governed change workflows:

1. Create a Change Request (CR) in netbox-changes
2. Create a branch for that CR
3. Make changes in branch context
4. Submit CR for review/approval
5. Merge branch after CR approval

When integrated, merges are blocked if the associated CR isn't approved.

See the netbox-changes skill for CR lifecycle details.

Anti-Patterns

1. Always poll after creation — branch isn't usable until ready. Using it in provisioning returns 400.
2. Stale branches — if CHANGELOG_RETENTION is configured and a branch hasn't synced within that window, it becomes stale and cannot sync. Check the is_stale / stale_warning fields.
3. Max branch limits — plugin config sets max_branches (total non-archived) and max_working_branches. Creation fails with ValidationError if exceeded.
4. Cannot delete the active branch — deactivate first.
5. Merge is all-or-nothing — any validation failure rolls back the entire transaction.
6. Conflicts require acknowledgment — 409 until you pass acknowledge_conflicts: true. Branch values win.
7. Sync cascade deletes — if a parent object was deleted in main, syncing creates synthetic DELETE records for branch-only children.
8. Schema = disk space — each branch copies all branchable tables. Plan capacity for large databases.
9. pending-migrations — after NetBox upgrades, existing branches need migration before use.
10. DB privileges — the PostgreSQL user needs CREATE ON DATABASE for schema creation.

API Endpoints Summary

References

• references/branch-lifecycle.md — Complete state machine with all 11 states and transitions
• references/api-patterns.md — Full API examples for every operation
• references/conflict-resolution.md — Conflict detection, three-way diff, acknowledgment
• references/branch-aware-models.md — What's branched, what's exempt, discovery