Why are my Supabase branches empty?

Last edited: 1/19/2026

Branching in Supabase (Branching 2.0) relies on the current migration files in your project—not a schema dump—when creating environments from main. This means if your main branch lacks migration history, branching will not fully capture your schema. This is a known limitation highlighted in the Branching 2.0 documentation. Follow the steps below to generate, synchronize, and repair your migration history for smooth branching.

1. Prerequisites: Prepare local Supabase environment#

If you do not have a local environment set up already, follow the Supabase local development getting started guide:
- Running Supabase Locally.

Execute the following commands to initialize and start a local project:

1
supabase init
2
supabase start

2. Pull remote schema into migrations#

With your project linked, run:

1
supabase db pull --linked

This command generates a migration file in your supabase/migrations folder which reflects your remote schema. This will not run the migration locally or overwrite anything.

3. Sync remote migration history#

Upon running the above command, the Supabase CLI will typically prompt with:

1
Update remote migration history table? [Y/n]

Type Y to update your remote project’s migration history and ensure it matches your new local migrations.

If the CLI suggests repairing migration history due to mismatches, you might see:

1
Make sure your local git repo is up-to-date. If the error persists, try repairing the migration history table:
2
supabase migration repair --status applied TIMESTAMP_OF_MIGRATION_TO_REPAIR

Run the exact repair command provided, replacing the timestamp as instructed (example timestamp: 20251006141726). This synchronizes the migration state between local and remote.

4. Proceed with Branching#

Once your migration history is up to date, continue to use branching features as normal. Each new branch will now inherit the correct migrations from your main branch.

Additional tips#

If further issues arise (such as schema drift or migration mismatches), review the troubleshooting documentation, and consider manual repair with supabase migration repair.