Database branches, or Deedglass
Branches win until the change has to reach production. Let the agent work on a copy, and use Deedglass where it has to write to the real thing.
The short answer
- A Neon branch is a copy-on-write clone of your data, made from a current or past state without load on the parent.1
- Supabase branches start without production data by default, and merging a branch applies its migrations.2
- Deedglass is for the writes that must happen on production: it decides each one, checks what Postgres committed and keeps a record.
When to choose Database branches
- The agent is building or testing: a schema change, a data fix you want to try first, a preview environment.1
- You want to throw the result away or start again: Neon can reset a branch to match its parent.1
- Your changes reach production as reviewed migrations through Git, which is how Supabase merges a branch.2
- The agent never needs production data at all.
When Deedglass fits
- The agent acts on live data as part of its job: shipping orders, refunds, support fixes. There is no copy to merge back.
- You want each live write decided by a rule, checked against what Postgres committed, and recorded.
Side by side
| Question | Database branches | Deedglass |
|---|---|---|
| Keeps production untouched while the agent works | Yes: the agent works on a copy, not on the parent1 | No: it governs writes to production |
| Decides before the call | Not described in their docs (checked 13 October 2026)1 | Yes: rules decide each tool call |
| Checks what Postgres committed | Not described in their docs (checked 13 October 2026)1 | Yes: reads Postgres's change log |
| Signed record of each action, checkable offline | Not described in their docs (checked 13 October 2026)2 | Yes |
| Going back | Neon: reset a branch to its parent, or branch from a past state11 | Undo the rows one action changed |
| How changes reach production | Supabase: merging runs a deployment that applies migrations2 | They are made on production, under rules |
| Price (checked 13 October 2026) | See each provider's pricing | Free self-host · Pro $49 a month |
Use them together
A good pattern is both: the agent drafts and tests on a branch, and the one change that has to run on production goes through Deedglass's rules, with the check and the record.
What Deedglass doesn't do
- It doesn't give the agent a sandbox copy of your database.
- It doesn't review schema migrations; it governs the statements an agent runs through it.
Sources
- 1Neon documentation: Branching · neon.com · checked 13 October 2026
- 2Supabase documentation: Branching · supabase.com · checked 13 October 2026
Last checked 13 October 2026. We re-check these pages every month. If something is out of date, write to hello@deedglass.com.
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