> This page location: APIs & SDKs > CLI > Setup and context > checkout
> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

> Summary: Covers the usage of the `checkout` command in the Neon CLI to switch the active branch in your local context, so subsequent commands target that branch without specifying `--branch` on every command.

# Neon CLI command: checkout

Pin a branch in your local .neon context file

The `checkout` command pins a branch in the local context so subsequent commands target it. It's a focused helper over [`set-context`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/set-context) for the common "switch the branch I'm working on" case. The `checkout` command requires neon 2.22.2 or later; check your version with `neon --version`.

`checkout` resolves the branch (by name or ID) against the project, then heals the `.neon` file: it always (re)writes `projectId`, `branch`, and `orgId` (when the project has one), so a `.neon` that was missing fields or drifted ends up complete and consistent.

## Usage

```bash
neon checkout [id|name] [options]
```

The branch argument is optional. Run `neon checkout` with no branch in an interactive terminal to fetch the project's branches and pick one from a list. In a non-interactive context (CI or no TTY), you must pass a branch explicitly.

## Options

| Option         | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | Type    | Default | Required |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: |
| `--create`     | Create the named branch if it does not exist, then check it out                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | boolean | `false` |    No    |
| `--env`        | Path to a .env file to load into the environment before evaluating neon.ts so Function env values resolve from it. Existing env vars are not overridden. Function env values that read process.env must be set in this file or the environment. Used when this checkout creates a branch from neon.ts; ignored for an existing branch. | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--env-pull`   | Pull the branch's Neon env vars (DATABASE\_URL, ...) into a local .env after checkout. On by default; use --no-env-pull to skip, for example when injecting env at runtime with `neon-env run` (from `@neon/env`) or `neon dev`.                                                                                                       | boolean | `true`  |    No    |
| `--project-id` | Project ID                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | string  | —       |    No    |

By default, `checkout` pulls environment variables into a `.env` file after checking out the branch; use `--no-env-pull` to skip this.

Creating a branch from a [`neon.ts`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-ts) policy evaluates that policy, resolving any `process.env` values it references (such as a function's secrets) from your environment. Pass `--env <file>` to load those values from `<file>` first, so they resolve during the checkout. Checking out an existing branch doesn't re-evaluate the policy, so `--env` is ignored there.

## Branch ID vs name

Branch ID vs name is detected automatically (a `br-…` value is treated as an ID):

- **ID:** Matched strictly by ID. A non-existent ID is a hard "not found" error (IDs are server-assigned, so `checkout` never creates one).
- **Name:** Matched by name. If the name doesn't exist, pass `--create` to create it (equivalent to `neon branches create --name <name>`: branched from the project's default branch with a read-write compute), then check it out. Without `--create`, an interactive terminal offers to create it, while a non-interactive context (CI or no TTY) exits with a "not found" error that tells you to pass `--create`. `--create` needs a branch name, so `neon checkout --create` on its own is an error. `--create` requires neon 4.15.0 or later.

## Project resolution

The project is resolved through the standard Neon CLI chain, each entry winning over the next:

1. `--project-id <id>` flag
2. `projectId` from the closest `.neon` file (found by walking up from the current directory)
3. If still unresolved and the API key maps to exactly one project, that project is auto-detected (same behavior as `branches` and `connection-string`)

If none of those resolve a project, `checkout` prints an error explaining the chain above. In an interactive terminal it then offers to run [`neon link`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/link) in the current folder so you can pick (or create) a project on the spot. In non-interactive contexts, it exits with a non-zero code instead of prompting.

## Examples

Pin a branch by name. Projects created with the CLI or API get a default branch named `main`; Console-created projects use `production`. Run `neon branches list` if you're unsure:

```bash
neon checkout main --project-id polished-snowflake-12345678
```

```text filename="Output"
INFO: Checked out branch br-steep-math-aiu3vve7 on project polished-snowflake-12345678. Updated /path/to/cwd/.neon.
```

The updated `.neon` file:

```json
{
  "orgId": "org-abc123",
  "projectId": "polished-snowflake-12345678",
  "branch": "br-steep-math-aiu3vve7"
}
```

Pick a branch interactively (requires a linked project or `--project-id`):

```bash
neon checkout
```

Pin a branch by ID:

```bash
neon checkout br-cool-snow-12345678 --project-id polished-snowflake-12345678
```

Create a branch by name if it doesn't exist yet, then pin it:

```bash
neon checkout dev --create --project-id polished-snowflake-12345678
```

After checking out a branch, commands such as [`connection-string`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/connection-string) and [`psql`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/psql) use the pinned branch by default.

---

## Related docs (Setup and context)

- [login](https://neon.com/docs/cli/login)
- [init](https://neon.com/docs/cli/init)
- [ask](https://neon.com/docs/cli/ask)
- [mcp](https://neon.com/docs/cli/mcp)
- [skills](https://neon.com/docs/cli/skills)
- [plugins](https://neon.com/docs/cli/plugins)
- [claim](https://neon.com/docs/cli/claim)
- [bootstrap](https://neon.com/docs/cli/bootstrap)
- [link](https://neon.com/docs/cli/link)
- [env](https://neon.com/docs/cli/env)
- [set-context](https://neon.com/docs/cli/set-context)
- [open](https://neon.com/docs/cli/open)
- [me](https://neon.com/docs/cli/me)
- [profile](https://neon.com/docs/cli/profile)
- [api-keys](https://neon.com/docs/cli/api-keys)
- [completion](https://neon.com/docs/cli/completion)

---

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