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Prerequisites:
  • Node.js (LTS recommended)
  • A Postgres connection string (Supabase, RDS, PlanetScale, or self-hosted)
1

Install the CLI

npm install -g ardent-cli
2

Log in

ardent login
This opens your browser to authenticate with GitHub or email. If you only have one project and one connector, Ardent auto-selects them after login so you can go straight to branching.
3

Preflight your database

ardent connector preflight postgresql 'postgresql://user:[YOUR-PASSWORD]@host:5432/mydb'
Preflight checks whether Ardent can reach and replicate from your source database. It does not create a connector, store credentials, or start replication. If grants are missing, Ardent prints the SQL to run.Wrap the URL in single quotes so special characters in the password or query string are not interpreted by your shell.
4

Connect your database

When preflight passes, create the connector:
ardent connector create postgresql 'postgresql://user:[YOUR-PASSWORD]@host:5432/mydb'
Ardent replicates your database during initial setup. You only do this once. Setup time depends on data size, write rate, and network throughput. Small sources are ready in minutes; large production databases take longer. After setup, every branch creates in under 6 seconds, regardless of data size.
The new connector is automatically selected as your active connector.
5

Create your first branch

When the connector is ready:
ardent branch create my-feature
Done. You now have an isolated copy of your production database. The CLI returns a connection string you can use anywhere: psql, your app, an ORM, or an agent.

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What’s next

  • Feed the branch URL to Claude Code or Cursor. Test if your migration breaks, try a new index, or validate schema changes against realistic data
  • Run ardent branch info to see the connection URL and status for your current branch
  • Create more branches for different tasks. They auto-suspend when idle, so don’t worry about cleanup
  • Working across multiple databases or environments? Use ardent project switch and ardent connector switch to move between them

Connector docs

Provider-specific setup for Supabase, RDS, PlanetScale, and self-hosted Postgres.

CLI Reference

Commands, flags, automation output, and configuration knobs.