init

The init command sets up pgbranch for a PostgreSQL database in your project directory.

Usage

pgbranch init -d <database> [flags]

Flags

Flag	Short	Description	Default
`--database`	`-d`	Database name (required)	-
`--host`	`-H`	PostgreSQL host	`localhost`
`--port`	`-p`	PostgreSQL port	`5432`
`--user`	`-U`	PostgreSQL user	`postgres`
`--password`	`-W`	Prompt for password	-

Examples

Basic Initialization

pgbranch init -d myapp_dev

With Connection Details

pgbranch init -d myapp_dev -H localhost -p 5432 -U postgres

With Password Prompt

pgbranch init -d myapp_dev -W

You’ll be prompted to enter the password securely.

What It Does

When you run pgbranch init, it:

Creates the .pgbranch directory in the current folder
Generates configuration with your database connection details
Creates an encryption key for securing remote credentials
Tests the database connection to ensure it’s accessible

Directory Structure Created

.pgbranch/
├── config.json     # Database and remote configuration
├── branches/       # Branch metadata storage
└── key             # Encryption key (add to .gitignore)

Configuration File

The generated config.json looks like:

{
  "database": "myapp_dev",
  "host": "localhost",
  "port": 5432,
  "user": "postgres",
  "password": "",
  "remotes": {},
  "defaultRemote": ""
}

Re-initialization

If pgbranch is already initialized in the directory, running init again will show an error:

Error: pgbranch already initialized in this directory

To reinitialize, first remove the .pgbranch directory:

rm -rf .pgbranch
pgbranch init -d myapp_dev

Next Steps

After initialization: