> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.elationhealth.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Early Release > Learn what the Hosted Database Early Release channel is, how to request access, and which changes are currently available early ahead of their general availability date. Early Release is an optional, separate Hosted Database channel. It carries changes that Elation has built and verified but has not yet rolled out to general availability, so you can query and test them before the GA date rather than waiting for it. ## What Early Release is When a change to the Hosted Database is ready but is still inside its notice period, or is waiting on a scheduled release date, Elation can build a copy of the affected table with the change already applied and share it into your Hosted Database as an additional table. The general availability table is untouched, so nothing you have in production changes. That gives you two things: * **Early access.** If you are waiting on a new table or column to unblock work on your side, you can start querying it now instead of at the GA date. * **A place to test.** Every change is fully validated by Elation before it reaches Early Release, so the channel is not where a change gets its first exercise. It is there so you can confirm the change lands cleanly in your environment: point a test run at the Early Release table and see your own pipelines and queries handle it before the change reaches the table they read today. Early Release is opt-in and is requested per practice. It is not enabled by default. ## Currently in Early Release The table below lists every change available in the Early Release channel today, with its general availability date where one has been set. A blank GA date means the date has not been fixed yet. | Change | Tables affected | In Early Release since | Target GA date | | ------------------------------------------ | --------------- | ---------------------- | -------------- | | No changes are currently in Early Release. | | | | ## How to request access Contact the [Elation Support Portal](/articles/support-portal-introduction) with the subject line HDB - Early Release access. Tell us which practice or practices you want it enabled for. Once it is enabled, the Early Release tables appear in your Hosted Database alongside your existing tables. You can request access at any time, including specifically to test a single announced change. ## Working with Early Release data * **Query the Early Release table by name.** Each Early Release change arrives as its own table, sitting alongside the general availability table it will eventually replace. Point test queries and validation runs at it explicitly. Nothing about how you query your existing tables changes. * **Do not run production reporting off it.** The channel exists for validation and early adoption work. A change in Early Release can still be adjusted before GA. * **Expect only the affected tables.** Early Release adds a table per pending change, not a duplicate of your Hosted Database. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does Early Release cost extra? No. It is an optional channel available on request to Hosted Database customers. ### Is Early Release data real, and is it current? Yes to both. It is your own data, not synthetic or sample data, and it is subject to the same access controls as the rest of your Hosted Database. Early Release tables are built on the same refresh cadence as your general availability tables, so the only difference between the two is the pending change itself. ### What happens on the GA date? The change lands in your general availability table as described in its release notes, and the Early Release table is retired. If you built test queries against the Early Release table, repoint them at the general availability one. ## Related Articles * [Change Management and Schema Versioning](/articles/hdb/change-management) * [Hosted Database Release Notes](/articles/hdb/hdb-snowflake) * [What data is available?](/articles/hdb/where-can-i-see-what-data-is-available) *** *If you have any questions about this topic please reach out to [Elation Support Portal](/articles/support-portal-introduction) with the subject line HDB - \*