Start or connect to a running Nessie server (default port 19120)
Using the Nessie CLI (REPL): run CONNECT TO http://localhost:19120/api/v2, then CREATE BRANCH my_branch FROM main
Using the REST API: send POST /api/v2/trees with a JSON body of type BRANCH, specifying name and a reference (hash or branch name) to branch from
Confirm the branch exists: LIST REFERENCES in the CLI, or GET /api/v2/trees to enumerate all references
Set the active reference in the CLI: USE BRANCH my_branch
Known gotchas
The Nessie CLI ships as a separate download from the server; do not confuse it with the older pynessie Python CLI, which is deprecated and targets the v1 API
When branching from a specific commit rather than the tip of a branch, supply the exact commit hash; Nessie does not support symbolic relative references like HEAD~1
The v2 API path (/api/v2) is required for current Nessie server releases; v1 paths are no longer supported in recent versions
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp