Question 1

What is database branching?

Accepted Answer

Database branching creates isolated, full copies of your production database that you can modify without affecting the original. Like git branches for code, but for your data infrastructure. Ardent uses copy-on-write technology so branches are created in under 6 seconds regardless of database size, and only store the changes you make.

Question 2

How does Ardent create database copies so fast?

Accepted Answer

Ardent uses copy-on-write branching at the storage level. Instead of duplicating the entire database, a branch shares the underlying storage with the parent and only stores the deltas (changes made). This means a 1TB database branches in under 6 seconds and uses 0 MB of additional storage until you start making changes.

Question 3

Is it safe to let AI agents modify database branches?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each Ardent branch is fully isolated at both the compute and storage level. Changes made on a branch never affect production or other branches. This makes it safe for coding agents to run migrations, clean data, backfill records, and test queries on a 1:1 copy of production without any risk.

Question 4

How does Ardent compare to traditional database replicas?

Accepted Answer

Traditional replicas take hours to days to create, duplicate the full database storage for each copy, and require always-on compute. Ardent creates branches in under 6 seconds, shares storage via copy-on-write (you only pay for changes), and compute autoscales to zero when idle. You can create unlimited branches vs. the 15-20 replica limit of traditional approaches.

Question 5

What databases does Ardent support?

Accepted Answer

Ardent currently supports PostgreSQL databases including Supabase, AWS RDS, and standard Postgres instances. Support for additional databases is on the roadmap.

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Why AI native data teams use Ardent

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“We spent hours trying to test AI database code through inaccurate seed files. Ardent lets us and our agents test in seconds with zero drift from production.”

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