The method carries out version-control of a database in a database environment including a master server storing a database, one or more local servers capable of storing a local copy of the database, and a local machine for the development of the database. When a developer makes a change to the local database on the local machine, a program resident on the local machine derives a script based on the change, and checks the script into the master server. The program executes the script on the master database and stores the script in a metadatabase, which can be accessed by the local servers. When a developer wishes to update a local copy of a database to a particular version, he calls up the program on the local machine, which obtains from the metadatabase those scripts necessary to incrementally change the state of the local copy to the given state.