> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Try a Change on a Branch First > Make a change on a separate copy of your site, check it, ask for a review, then merge it into Your site 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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-00-live-before-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=61a413df499ce069f4e7c2d7b5158ad0) ## 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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-01-menu-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=407f682c0610c78a5bddfbac5a67f042) **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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-02-dialog-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=e369b2d72e456866bcc0e9720bc94ea3) **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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-03-created.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=c609a0997fd12385c557f09ae8066f0e) > [!NOTE] > > 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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-04-request-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=d5cb24ccf02fd56204b02e1d32f801db) **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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-05-branch-preview-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=9a4b6573d7188b7f1c2489e8f1382e4a) ![The Blog page menu bar on the branch, with light, readable links](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-06-branch-full-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=2c5f702f979d17a3817c2fd2b47142b5) ## 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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-07-ask-review-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=354482745fefbd021091daeab629e87a) 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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-08-review-dialog-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=a79c65ecb31dad4c0a92abebd8e245c5) **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](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-10-review-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=e3fadd06ed05474b8bb6ea526090d8db) ![A line-by-line view of app/blog/page.tsx with one line changed, outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-11-diff-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=ec1160b77a974119fe4c97894dea3640) 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.](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-12-merged-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=0025881d07bc85eab47c1a48928317a5) **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](/how-tos/site-builder/publish). ![The Deploy menu with the Production row's Deploy button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-13-deploy-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=29fc08a13135321ecdc61da841518cb1) ![The live Northwind Blog page menu bar with light, readable links](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP/images/how-tos/site-builder/br-14-live-after-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=FVlEfoFyGPs7ebKP\&q=85\&s=63c8443ab31e113e9abd30050fc19513) ## 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](/editor/branches) and [Reviews](/editor/reviews). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.