topic Re: Prune Branch History Not Working in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Prune Branch History Not Working

LRoberts_RDM — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 22:53:03 GMT

We are using a Trace Network which requires us to use branch versioning. One of our layers is updated each night with new information so the layer is growing very quickly, and we are beginning to see performance issues. We found that in the latest ArcGIS Pro release there is a new tool called Prune Branch History. When we run it, we get the following error. I cannot find any useful information online as to why this would be. We are using a branch version connection to the feature data set, we are disconnecting all users from the database before running.

Here are a few more shots of our environment.

GDB version

ArcGIS Pro version

Trace Network version

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AyanPalit — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 11:36:46 GMT

@LRoberts_RDM Yeah, as stated Prune Branch History is new at Pro 3.5.

Looks like the error is specific to Water_TN - Check the layer properties > Manage. Is it branch versioned correctly?

Here are some tips:

The dataset must be registered as branch versioned.
The tool can only be run by the data owner.
An exclusive schema lock is required to run the tool. Services referencing the input data will need to be stopped using ArcGIS Server Manager.
Conduct a test run—Use the tool with the Report Only option enabled. This method will not prune any data; it simply provides a report in the Output Log File result on the number of archived records that could be pruned.
Log file review—After running the tool, review the Output Log File result created to see how many archive records are eligible for pruning. Monitor log files for any warnings or errors related to the pruning process and take appropriate action.
Timing of running the tool—To reduce system impact, it's best to run the tool during off-peak hours, on weekends, or at times when the feature service referencing the branch-versioned dataset can be stopped.

Reference: Prune branch history

Please share your findings with the community.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

NanaDei — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 00:57:00 GMT

@LRoberts_RDM - The tool currently doesn’t support the Trace Network. We have plans to extend it to support Trace Network and Parcel Fabric datasets in a future release.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

JCGuarneri — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 17:15:22 GMT

I'm trying to run this tool and running into a different issue. I'm unable to get an exclusive schema lock. I've shut off all the services that access the DB in question, and confirmed that there are no other connections or locks (at least as far as Pro can see). The tool fails with a schema lock error every time. This is a dev database that has basically no traffic except when I am testing against it. Anything else I should be looking at?

For additional context, I'm pruning the history of a non-spatial table that's related to a Utility Network feature class.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AyanPalit — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 14:58:14 GMT

@LRoberts_RDM Quick follow-up, please post a screenshot of the Prune Branch History tool parameters.

Specifically, the Only Prune System Tables parameter. Do you see any difference checking/unchecking this option.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AmyRoust — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 14:36:02 GMT

What about Utility Networks? Same situation?

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AyanPalit — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:52:06 GMT

@AmyRoust Utility Network dataset is supported. Give it a try following the pre-requisites posted in links above. Please share back your experience.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AmyRoust — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 21:20:27 GMT

I ended up unregistering the entire dataset, which cleared out the entire history. The tool seemed to work fine, but unregistering really got things moving fast again. I re-registered as branch versioned and plan to incorporate that pruning tool in my workflows where I have Python scripts that batch update data.

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

nebojsa_pesic — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:22:00 GMT

I'm trying to use this tool on a Utility Network layer that is versioned and branched, but I keep getting an error saying it's not versioned or branched. I'm using a direct SDE connection to the SQL Server database as the UN owner (or db admin - result is the same). What else should I do ?

Re: Prune Branch History Not Working

AmyRoust — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:53:35 GMT

Did you try using your editing service for the UN instead of a direct connect to the database? I believe the tool wants the service.