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Use Cases

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QA Test Data Reset

QA testers need a known database state before each test run. With traditional setups, this means SQL dump/restore cycles that take 5-20 minutes. 
# Create a clean branch before testing
graft checkout clean-state

# Run tests against the branch
pytest tests/ -n auto

# Reset for the next run
graft checkout clean-state
Each checkout takes ~3-5 seconds regardless of database size, because the tree is materialized from the object pool (only changed files are touched).

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Feature Branch Isolation

Switch database state as you switch code branches. No migration-rollback dance. 
# On feature branch "payment-v2"
graft checkout feature-payment-v2
# Database now has the tables and data for payment-v2

# Switch back to main to investigate a bug
git checkout main
graft checkout main
# Database is back to main's state, payment-v2 changes isolated

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Pre-Migration Testing

Before running a destructive migration, snapshot the current state: 
graft commit -m "before payment_methods migration"

# Run the migration...
psql -d myapp -f migrations/20260604_add_payment_methods.sql

# Test the new feature
npm run test:e2e

# If something went wrong, roll back in seconds
graft rollback

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Load Testing Baseline

Create a consistent baseline for load tests: 
# Seed the database
seedling generate --count 50000 --seed 42 --db "$DATABASE_URL"

# Snapshot the seeded state
graft commit -m "load test baseline (50K rows)"

# Run load test
k6 run load-test.js

# Reset to exact same state for the next run
graft checkout baseline

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CI Pipeline Database State

In CI, restore a known database state before running tests: 
jobs:
  test:
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Restore database state
        run: graft checkout test-fixtures
      - name: Run tests
        run: go test ./...
Graft’s exit codes (0 = success, 1 = failure) integrate naturally with CI pipelines.

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Experiment Safely

Try schema changes or data transformations in isolation, knowing you can always revert: 
graft checkout unsafe-experiment
# Drop tables, rename columns, corrupt data — it's isolated
graft verify unsafe-experiment
# ✗ Integrity FAILED — dump the experiment
graft delete unsafe-experiment
graft checkout main
# Back to safety