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A branch is a separate copy of your site where you can try a change without touching Your site (the version that goes live when you publish). When the change looks right, you ask for a review and merge it into Your site. Use a branch for bigger changes, or when someone else should approve the change first. In this example the menu on the Northwind Blog page was hard to read over its dark photo. We fixed it on a branch, checked it, and merged it.
The Northwind Blog page menu bar with dark, barely visible links over a dark photo

Before: the Blog page menu is hard to read

Start a branch

1

Open the branch menu

At the top of the chat, click Your site. The menu shows what you are working on, your branches, and New branch.
The branch menu: Working on Your site, a list of branches, and New branch outlined

The branch menu, with New branch outlined

2

Name the branch and create it

Click New branch. Give it a short name (letters, numbers, and . _ / - only), keep Branch from set to Your site, and say what it is for. Click Create branch.
The New branch box with the name blog-menu, Branch from Your site, a description, and the Create branch button

The New branch box

3

Wait for the branch preview

The builder switches to the branch: the menu at the top now shows its name, and a bar above the chat box says Working on blog-menu. The branch gets its own preview, which takes about a minute to start the first time.
The builder on the blog-menu branch, with the Working on blog-menu bar above the chat box and the preview starting

Working on the new branch

The bar’s Switch to main button takes you back to Your site (“main” is another name for Your site).

Make and check the change

1

Ask for the change

Chat as usual. Everything the AI changes now lands on the branch, not on Your site.
The chat box on the blog-menu branch with the request to make the Blog page menu light

A request on the branch

2

Check it in the branch preview

Open the page you changed with the page picker. To see it at full size, click Open this page in a new tab (the square with an arrow) above the preview.
The toolbar above the branch preview showing /blog and the Open this page in a new tab button outlined

The page picker on /blog and the open-in-a-new-tab button

The Blog page menu bar on the branch, with light, readable links

After: the menu on the branch is easy to read

Review and merge

1

Ask for a review

Open the branch menu again (it now shows your branch’s name) and click Ask for a review.
The branch menu for blog-menu with Ask for a review outlined

Ask for a review in the branch menu

Check that From is your branch and Into is Your site, give the review a title and a short description, and click Ask for a review.
The Ask for a review box: from blog-menu into Your site, the title Readable menu on the Blog page, and a description

The Ask for a review box

2

Look over the review

The review opens. It shows whether it is Ready to merge, the buttons Merge, Close without merging and Open preview, and the files that changed. Click a file to see exactly what changed, line by line.
The review Readable menu on the Blog page, marked Ready to merge, with the Merge button outlined and three changed files

The review, with Merge outlined

A line-by-line view of app/blog/page.tsx with one line changed, outlined

What changed in one file

The changed files can include the AI assistant’s own notes files. That is normal.Teammates who can publish the site can comment on lines and approve it. You cannot approve your own review. An owner or admin can require an approval before merging.
3

Merge it into Your site

Click Merge. When it finishes, the review says Merged and Merged “blog-menu” into Your site. The branch is archived; you can restore it until the date shown.
The review marked Merged, with Branch archived. Restore it until 19 November 2026. and Merged blog-menu into Your site.

Merged

4

Publish

Merging changes Your site, not the live site. To put it live, click Deploy and then Deploy on the Production row, as in Publish Your Changes.
The Deploy menu with the Production row's Deploy button outlined

Publishing after the merge

The live Northwind Blog page menu bar with light, readable links

Live: the Blog page menu is readable

Good to know

  • Nothing on a branch goes live by itself. Visitors only see a change after it is merged into Your site and published.
  • Anyone who can publish the site can create, merge and delete branches. Only an owner or admin can turn Require an approval on or off.
  • Content in the CMS can only be edited on Your site, not on a branch.
  • More about branches: Branches and Reviews.