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Changing the database

Sometimes a feature needs to store something new — a field, a list, a new kind of record. You don't do any of this by hand, but here's how that change reaches the live app safely.

The one idea

Your practice workspace has its own copy of the data; the live app has the real one. The same app runs against both — it just points at a different one. The shape of the data travels between them; the actual records don't.

Your workspace

Practice data. Add fields, try things, break it — nothing real is here.

the change travels when it's approved

The live app

Real records. Gets the same new shape on release — the real data is never touched by hand.

What happens when you change the data

You just ask Claude for what you need. Behind the scenes, it's careful and repeatable:

01

Claude writes the change down

It adds the new field and records the exact change as a clear instruction the databases can follow.

02

It's tried on your practice data first

So you can build and see the feature working, with fake data — no risk.

03

It's reviewed like any change

Checked automatically and approved by a teammate, alongside the feature that uses it.

04

It runs on the live app when released

The same recorded instruction updates the real database's shape. Existing records stay put; nothing is edited by hand.

Two kinds of change

Adding is routine. Changing or removing needs more care — that's where real data can be affected.

Routine

Adding — a new field or list

Just shows up on release; existing records are untouched. The everyday case, no special steps.

Handled carefully

Changing or removing

Renaming or deleting existing data is done in small steps, with a backup and approval first — because real records are involved. Claude follows that rule for you.

🌱

Some features need a bit of starting information — a list of categories, default settings. That ships with the change, so it's there in both your practice copy and the live app. Only real user data stays separate.

What keeps it safe

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