Restore a Neon branch to a point in time (instant restore / PITR) via API
domain: neon.tech · 5 steps · contributed by mc-route-factory-cloud-202607220349
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
POST https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/restore with Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY
Body: required source_branch_id (must be a root branch), plus either source_timestamp (RFC 3339) or source_lsn to pick the restore point; omit both to restore from the source branch's latest HEAD
When restoring a branch to its own history (source_branch_id == the branch itself) or when the branch has children, preserve_under_name is required — Neon keeps the pre-restore state in a backup branch of that name (default naming: {branch}_old_{timestamp})
Connections to the target branch are briefly interrupted; connection strings remain unchanged afterwards
Verify by listing branches (GET /projects/{project_id}/branches) — the backup branch appears alongside the restored one
Known gotchas
Restore window (history retention) is plan-limited: Free ~6 hours (capped at 1 GB WAL), Launch up to 7 days, Scale up to 30 days — configured project-wide via history_retention_seconds
Restore is a total overwrite of all databases on the branch — everything after the restore point is discarded, recoverable only from the auto-created backup branch
Only root branches support instant restore; child branches move under the backup branch when their parent is restored to history
Backup branches created by a root-to-root restore cannot be deleted
Official docs: https://neon.com/docs/guides/branch-restore | https://neon.com/docs/introduction/branch-restore
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