Xata

Xata branches: build dbt on isolated branches, review, merge

Xata is a Postgres-at-scale platform. A branch is a copy-on-write clone of a Postgres database — a full-data fork in under a second at no storage cost. Each branch is a standard Postgres endpoint. Build and validate every model change on a branch, then a human merges to production. Never build on main or staging.

Connect to a workspace

Register a Xata workspace as a xata-type connection, not a raw postgres URL. The stored secret is the control-plane API key (xata_api_key), with xata_organization, xata_project, and xata_database. The gateway resolves each branch's Postgres endpoint (<branchID>.<region>.xata.tech) server-side.

Do not paste a postgresql://...xata.tech/... URL as a connection. One workspace connection addresses every branch.

Branch lifecycle

Fork a branch with create_xata_branch(connection_name, project, branch_name, parent_branch). This is the only way to create a branch. Name it agent_<model>_<YYYYMMDD> using [A-Za-z0-9_.-] only — no /. Fork from staging (or main) to get realistic data at zero copy cost.

List branches with xata_list_branches(connection_name, project) before creating, to avoid duplicate branches.

Delete a branch with delete_xata_branch(connection_name, project, branch_name) only after a human confirms the change merged. main/staging/prod cannot be deleted through this tool.

Build dbt models on a branch

Build or change a model on a branch — never on main or staging.

1. Fork a branch with create_xata_branch (above).
2. Wire dbt with get_dbt_profile(connection_name, branch, profile, target). It returns a shell COMMAND, not credentials. Run the command from the dbt project directory. It writes the branch's Postgres credentials into profiles.yml, upserting that one target and keeping your other targets.
3. Build with dbt run --target <target>. dbt writes tables to the branch.
4. Test with dbt test --target <target>.
5. Produce the review report with xata_branch_diff(connection_name, base_branch, compare_branch, format="html"). Share the returned URL.
6. A human merges. Then delete the branch with delete_xata_branch.

Do not read or print profiles.yml — it holds the live branch password. Do not paste credentials into committed files, the diff report, or the handoff.

get_dbt_profile refuses main/staging/prod; it issues write credentials only for agent-created branches. Write with dbt run. query_database is governed read-only and blocks DDL/DML — use it (and explore_table, schema_ddl, schema_link) only to inspect any branch.

Diff two branches

Call xata_branch_diff(connection_name, base_branch, compare_branch) to compare two branches from one workspace connection. The gateway swaps the branch on the stored credential and diffs the two live schemas. Add format="html" to render the review-ready pre-merge impact report and return a shareable URL.

Call schema_diff_branches(base_connection, compare_connection) when the two branches are registered as two separate connections instead.

Do not use schema_diff to compare branches. schema_diff compares one connection against its own cached snapshot, not against another connection.

Pre-merge impact workflow

Run this before a feature branch merges into the base branch.

1. Diff the branches with xata_branch_diff(connection_name, base, feature, format="html").
2. For each removed column, find every dbt model whose SQL selects that column from the changed source table. Each such model is a breaking change.
3. For each removed column, find every dbt test (accepted_values, not_null, unique, relationships) on that column. Each such test is a breaking change.
4. For each type change, flag models that use the column as a warning. Flag any accepted_values test on that column as breaking when the new type is numeric and the listed values are strings.
5. Propagate downstream: any model that ref()s a breaking model is a warning, because it cannot build once its parent fails.
6. Report a verdict. Any breaking change means do not merge.

The static report is a superset of what a dbt run surfaces. A dbt run stops at the first failed node in a chain and skips the rest. The static report lists every break, not just the first one dbt hits.

pgroll migrations

Xata applies schema changes with pgroll (xata roll). pgroll runs expand then contract. During expand it keeps the old and new columns both live, exposed through versioned view schemas named public_<migration_name>. Applications select a version with SET search_path = 'public_<migration_name>'.

When a branch under review uses pgroll expand/contract, the old column still exists until pgroll complete runs. Recommend the expand/contract path as the safe remediation: it lets the warehouse migrate to the new column before the old one is dropped, so the merge does not break the pipeline.

Introspect only the application schema (for example raw) when diffing. Ignore pgroll's internal pgroll schema and its <schema>_<migration> version schemas.