# Xata > Postgres for agentic development. An isolated Postgres branch with production-like data for every pull request, preview deployment, and coding agent — and a thousand branches cost like one. Xata is branch-native Postgres. Database demand now scales with machine activity, not headcount, and the Xata architecture decouples copy-count from cost: every agent, CI job, and simulation gets its own real database. Xata replicates from the Postgres you already run — RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, self-hosted — and branches at the storage layer. A copy-on-write child branch takes about three seconds; provisioning a new database and waking an idle one each take about one second. Every page listed below is also available as clean markdown by appending `.md` to its URL. ## How It Works - **Cheap Postgres copies** — Branch a live database or spawn from a snapshot. Copies use compute only when active (scale to zero) and storage only for diffs (copy-on-write). No per-copy fees. - **Works with existing Postgres** — Replicate from RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, or self-hosted. Or run your primary on Xata. - **Vanilla Postgres** — Standard PostgreSQL, not a fork. Every Postgres tool works. AWS and GCP today, or BYOC in your own cloud account. - **Built-in PII anonymization** — Lightweight filters to HIPAA-grade microaggregation on every branch. - **Open-source core** — Core branching engine is open source. No vendor lock-in. pg_dump and go. ## Platform Features - [Postgres Branching](https://xata.io/postgres-branching.md): Copy-on-write branches off a live database, about three seconds each. - [Realistic Staging Environments](https://xata.io/realistic-staging-dev.md): Production-like data in every dev and staging environment. - [Postgres Data Masking](https://xata.io/postgres-data-masking.md): PII anonymization applied on every branch. - [Postgres Schema Changes](https://xata.io/postgres-schema-changes.md): Zero-downtime schema migrations via pgroll. - [Database Agent](https://xata.io/database-agent.md): AI-powered PostgreSQL monitoring and optimization. - [Postgres Performance](https://xata.io/postgres-performance.md): NVMe-backed storage and instance sizing. - [Postgres Storage](https://xata.io/postgres-storage.md): Copy-on-write storage layer and delta-only billing. - [Postgres in Production](https://xata.io/postgres-prod.md): Running a primary database on Xata. - [Scale to Zero](https://xata.io/scale-to-zero.md): Idle branches release compute and resume on connect in about one second. - [Postgres Analytics](https://xata.io/postgres-analytics.md): Analytical queries against branched Postgres. - [Postgres for Platforms](https://xata.io/postgres-for-platforms.md): Embedded Postgres for platform and PaaS providers. - [Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)](https://xata.io/byoc.md): Data plane running in your own AWS or GCP account. - [Security](https://xata.io/security.md): Security posture, controls, and compliance. - [Data Privacy](https://xata.io/data-privacy.md): Data handling, residency, and anonymization commitments. ## Use Cases - [Agent Sandboxes](https://xata.io/use-cases/agent-sandboxes.md): An isolated real Postgres per coding agent or session. - [CI/CD](https://xata.io/use-cases/ci-cd.md): A database per pull request and per CI job. - [Dev and Staging](https://xata.io/use-cases/dev-staging.md): Replace shared staging with a branch per developer. - [Multi-Tenant](https://xata.io/use-cases/multi-tenant.md): A database per tenant without per-copy cost. - [Production Postgres](https://xata.io/use-cases/production-postgres.md): Xata as the primary database. ## Solutions by Segment - [Platforms](https://xata.io/solutions/platforms.md): Postgres embedded in your product, priced on diffs. - [Enterprise](https://xata.io/solutions/enterprise.md): BYOC, compliance, and enterprise controls. ## Agent Resources - [Database Infrastructure Glossary](https://xata.io/glossary): 258 database terms across 26 categories. HTML page with search and filtering. - [Glossary Agent Context File (.md)](https://xata.io/glossary/database-glossary-agent.md): Flat markdown, 339 terms, optimized for LLM context windows and agent skills. - [Glossary Agent Context File (.txt)](https://xata.io/glossary/database-glossary-agent.txt): Plain text version of the same 339 terms. - [Xata Claude Skill](https://xata.io/xata-claude-skill/SKILL.md): Claude Code skill for creating isolated database branches. - [Full glossary + platform context (llms-full.txt)](https://xata.io/llms-full.txt): Complete glossary content inline, no additional fetches needed. - [Documentation index for LLMs](https://xata.io/docs/llms.txt): Every documentation page as markdown. - [Full documentation (llms-full.txt)](https://xata.io/docs/llms-full.txt): Complete documentation content inline. ## Open Source Projects - [Open Source at Xata](https://xata.io/open-source.md): Index of Xata's open-source projects. - [Xata Core](https://xata.io/open-source/xata-core.md): Open-source copy-on-write branching engine for standard PostgreSQL. - [Open Source Quickstart](https://xata.io/open-source/quickstart.md): Run the branching engine yourself. - [pgroll](https://github.com/xataio/pgroll): Zero-downtime PostgreSQL schema migrations via expand/contract pattern. - [pgstream](https://github.com/xataio/pgstream): PostgreSQL CDC and streaming replication with transformation and anonymization. ## Documentation - [Xata Documentation](https://xata.io/docs): Full documentation site. - [Quickstart](https://xata.io/docs/quickstart): Connect a database and create your first branch. - [CLI Reference](https://xata.io/docs/cli): Projects, branches, migrations, replication. - [API Keys](https://xata.io/docs/platform/api-key): Authentication for the API and CLI. ## Comparisons - [Xata vs Neon](https://xata.io/compare/neon.md): Agent-optimized comparison with cost formulas. ## Company - [About Xata](https://xata.io/about.md): Company, team, and history. - [Pricing](https://xata.io/pricing.md): Plans and per-resource pricing. - [Pricing Calculators](https://xata.io/pricing/calculators.md): Model branch, compute, and storage cost. - [Blog](https://xata.io/blog.md): Engineering and product posts. ## Optional - [Careers](https://xata.io/careers.md): Open roles. - [Brand](https://xata.io/brand.md): Logos and brand assets. - [Onboarding](https://xata.io/onboarding.md): Onboarding flow. - [Service Level Agreement](https://xata.io/service-level-agreement.md): Uptime commitments. - [Terms of Service](https://xata.io/terms.md): Terms of service. - [Privacy Policy](https://xata.io/privacy.md): Privacy policy. ## Version Last updated: 2026-07-29