Agent skill
database-query-optimizer
Analyzes and optimizes database queries for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB with EXPLAIN plans, index suggestions, and N+1 query detection. Use when user asks to "optimize query", "analyze EXPLAIN plan", "fix slow queries", or "suggest database indexes".
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/Dexploarer/claudius-skills/tree/main/examples/intermediate/performance-skills/database-query-optimizer
SKILL.md
Database Query Optimizer
Analyzes database queries, interprets EXPLAIN plans, suggests indexes, and detects common performance issues like N+1 queries.
When to Use
- "Optimize my database query"
- "Analyze EXPLAIN plan"
- "Why is my query slow?"
- "Suggest indexes"
- "Fix N+1 queries"
- "Improve database performance"
Instructions
1. PostgreSQL Query Analysis
Run EXPLAIN:
EXPLAIN ANALYZE
SELECT u.name, COUNT(p.id) as post_count
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id
WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01'
GROUP BY u.id, u.name
ORDER BY post_count DESC
LIMIT 10;
Interpret EXPLAIN output:
QUERY PLAN
-----------------------------------------------------------
Limit (cost=1234.56..1234.58 rows=10 width=40) (actual time=45.123..45.125 rows=10 loops=1)
-> Sort (cost=1234.56..1345.67 rows=44444 width=40) (actual time=45.122..45.123 rows=10 loops=1)
Sort Key: (count(p.id)) DESC
Sort Method: top-N heapsort Memory: 25kB
-> HashAggregate (cost=1000.00..1200.00 rows=44444 width=40) (actual time=40.456..42.789 rows=45000 loops=1)
Group Key: u.id
-> Hash Left Join (cost=100.00..900.00 rows=50000 width=32) (actual time=1.234..35.678 rows=100000 loops=1)
Hash Cond: (p.user_id = u.id)
-> Seq Scan on posts p (cost=0.00..500.00 rows=50000 width=4) (actual time=0.010..10.234 rows=50000 loops=1)
-> Hash (cost=75.00..75.00 rows=2000 width=32) (actual time=1.200..1.200 rows=2000 loops=1)
Buckets: 2048 Batches: 1 Memory Usage: 125kB
-> Seq Scan on users u (cost=0.00..75.00 rows=2000 width=32) (actual time=0.005..0.678 rows=2000 loops=1)
Filter: (created_at > '2024-01-01'::date)
Rows Removed by Filter: 500
Planning Time: 0.234 ms
Execution Time: 45.234 ms
Key metrics to analyze:
- cost: Estimated cost (first number = startup, second = total)
- rows: Estimated rows returned
- width: Average row size in bytes
- actual time: Real execution time (ms)
- loops: Number of times node executed
Red flags:
- Sequential Scan on large tables
- High cost values
- Rows estimate far from actual
- Multiple loops
- Slow execution time
2. Optimization Strategies
Add Index:
-- Create index on filtered column
CREATE INDEX idx_users_created_at ON users(created_at);
-- Create index on join column
CREATE INDEX idx_posts_user_id ON posts(user_id);
-- Composite index for specific query pattern
CREATE INDEX idx_users_created_name ON users(created_at, name);
-- Partial index for common filter
CREATE INDEX idx_users_recent ON users(created_at) WHERE created_at > '2024-01-01';
-- Covering index (includes all needed columns)
CREATE INDEX idx_users_covering ON users(id, name, created_at);
Rewrite Query:
-- ❌ BAD: Subquery in SELECT
SELECT
u.name,
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM posts WHERE user_id = u.id) as post_count
FROM users u;
-- ✅ GOOD: Use JOIN
SELECT
u.name,
COUNT(p.id) as post_count
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id
GROUP BY u.id, u.name;
-- ❌ BAD: OR conditions
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'test@example.com' OR username = 'test';
-- ✅ GOOD: Use UNION (can use separate indexes)
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'test@example.com'
UNION
SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = 'test';
-- ❌ BAD: Function on indexed column
SELECT * FROM users WHERE LOWER(email) = 'test@example.com';
-- ✅ GOOD: Functional index or avoid function
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email_lower ON users(LOWER(email));
-- Or just:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'test@example.com';
3. N+1 Query Detection
Problem:
# Python/SQLAlchemy example
# ❌ N+1 Query Problem
users = User.query.all() # 1 query
for user in users:
posts = user.posts # N queries (one per user)
print(f"{user.name}: {len(posts)} posts")
# Total: 1 + N queries
Solution:
# ✅ Eager Loading
users = User.query.options(joinedload(User.posts)).all() # 1 query
for user in users:
posts = user.posts # No additional query
print(f"{user.name}: {len(posts)} posts")
# Total: 1 query
Node.js/Sequelize:
// ❌ N+1 Problem
const users = await User.findAll();
for (const user of users) {
const posts = await user.getPosts(); // N queries
}
// ✅ Solution: Include associations
const users = await User.findAll({
include: [{ model: Post }] // 1 query with JOIN
});
Rails/ActiveRecord:
# ❌ N+1 Problem
users = User.all
users.each do |user|
puts user.posts.count # N queries
end
# ✅ Solution: includes
users = User.includes(:posts)
users.each do |user|
puts user.posts.count # No additional queries
end
4. Index Suggestions
Automated analysis:
-- PostgreSQL: Find missing indexes
SELECT schemaname, tablename, attname, n_distinct, correlation
FROM pg_stats
WHERE schemaname = 'public'
AND n_distinct > 100
AND correlation < 0.5
ORDER BY n_distinct DESC;
-- Find tables with sequential scans
SELECT schemaname, tablename, seq_scan, seq_tup_read,
idx_scan, idx_tup_fetch
FROM pg_stat_user_tables
WHERE seq_scan > 0
AND seq_tup_read / seq_scan > 10000
ORDER BY seq_tup_read DESC;
-- Unused indexes
SELECT schemaname, tablename, indexname, idx_scan
FROM pg_stat_user_indexes
WHERE idx_scan = 0
AND indexrelname NOT LIKE 'pg_toast%'
ORDER BY pg_relation_size(indexrelid) DESC;
MySQL:
-- Missing indexes
SELECT * FROM sys.schema_unused_indexes;
-- Duplicate indexes
SELECT * FROM sys.schema_redundant_indexes;
-- Table scan queries
SELECT * FROM sys.statements_with_full_table_scans
LIMIT 10;
5. Query Optimization Checklist
Python Script:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import psycopg2
import re
class QueryOptimizer:
def __init__(self, conn):
self.conn = conn
def analyze_query(self, query):
"""Analyze query and provide optimization suggestions."""
suggestions = []
# Check for SELECT *
if re.search(r'SELECT\s+\*', query, re.IGNORECASE):
suggestions.append("❌ Avoid SELECT *. Specify only needed columns.")
# Check for missing WHERE clause
if re.search(r'FROM\s+\w+', query, re.IGNORECASE) and \
not re.search(r'WHERE', query, re.IGNORECASE):
suggestions.append("⚠️ No WHERE clause. Consider adding filters.")
# Check for OR in WHERE
if re.search(r'WHERE.*\sOR\s', query, re.IGNORECASE):
suggestions.append("⚠️ OR conditions may prevent index usage. Consider UNION.")
# Check for functions on indexed columns
if re.search(r'WHERE\s+\w+\([^\)]+\)\s*=', query, re.IGNORECASE):
suggestions.append("❌ Functions on columns prevent index usage.")
# Check for LIKE with leading wildcard
if re.search(r'LIKE\s+[\'"]%', query, re.IGNORECASE):
suggestions.append("❌ LIKE with leading % cannot use index.")
# Run EXPLAIN
cursor = self.conn.cursor()
try:
cursor.execute(f"EXPLAIN ANALYZE {query}")
plan = cursor.fetchall()
# Check for sequential scans
plan_str = str(plan)
if 'Seq Scan' in plan_str:
suggestions.append("❌ Sequential scan detected. Consider adding index.")
# Check for high cost
cost_match = re.search(r'cost=(\d+\.\d+)', plan_str)
if cost_match:
cost = float(cost_match.group(1))
if cost > 10000:
suggestions.append(f"⚠️ High query cost: {cost:.2f}")
return {
'suggestions': suggestions,
'explain_plan': plan
}
finally:
cursor.close()
def suggest_indexes(self, query):
"""Suggest indexes based on query pattern."""
indexes = []
# Find WHERE conditions
where_matches = re.findall(r'WHERE\s+(\w+)\s*[=<>]', query, re.IGNORECASE)
for col in where_matches:
indexes.append(f"CREATE INDEX idx_{col} ON table_name({col});")
# Find JOIN conditions
join_matches = re.findall(r'ON\s+\w+\.(\w+)\s*=\s*\w+\.(\w+)', query, re.IGNORECASE)
for col1, col2 in join_matches:
indexes.append(f"CREATE INDEX idx_{col1} ON table_name({col1});")
indexes.append(f"CREATE INDEX idx_{col2} ON table_name({col2});")
# Find ORDER BY
order_matches = re.findall(r'ORDER BY\s+(\w+)', query, re.IGNORECASE)
for col in order_matches:
indexes.append(f"CREATE INDEX idx_{col} ON table_name({col});")
return list(set(indexes))
# Usage
conn = psycopg2.connect("dbname=mydb user=postgres")
optimizer = QueryOptimizer(conn)
query = """
SELECT u.name, u.email, COUNT(p.id)
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id
WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01'
GROUP BY u.id
ORDER BY COUNT(p.id) DESC
LIMIT 10
"""
result = optimizer.analyze_query(query)
for suggestion in result['suggestions']:
print(suggestion)
print("\nSuggested indexes:")
for index in optimizer.suggest_indexes(query):
print(index)
6. MongoDB Optimization
Analyze Query:
db.users.find({
created_at: { $gt: ISODate("2024-01-01") },
status: "active"
}).sort({ created_at: -1 }).explain("executionStats")
Check for issues:
// Check execution stats
const stats = db.users.find({ status: "active" }).explain("executionStats");
// Red flags:
// - totalDocsExamined >> nReturned (scanning many docs)
// - COLLSCAN stage (no index used)
// - High executionTimeMillis
// Create index
db.users.createIndex({ status: 1, created_at: -1 });
// Compound index for specific query
db.users.createIndex({ status: 1, created_at: -1, name: 1 });
7. ORM Query Optimization
Django:
# ❌ N+1 Problem
users = User.objects.all()
for user in users:
print(user.profile.bio) # N queries
# ✅ select_related (for ForeignKey/OneToOne)
users = User.objects.select_related('profile').all()
# ✅ prefetch_related (for ManyToMany/reverse ForeignKey)
users = User.objects.prefetch_related('posts').all()
# ❌ Loading all records
users = User.objects.all() # Loads everything into memory
# ✅ Use iterator for large datasets
for user in User.objects.iterator(chunk_size=1000):
process(user)
# ❌ Multiple queries
active_users = User.objects.filter(is_active=True).count()
inactive_users = User.objects.filter(is_active=False).count()
# ✅ Single aggregation
from django.db.models import Count, Q
stats = User.objects.aggregate(
active=Count('id', filter=Q(is_active=True)),
inactive=Count('id', filter=Q(is_active=False))
)
TypeORM:
// ❌ N+1 Problem
const users = await userRepository.find();
for (const user of users) {
const posts = await postRepository.find({ where: { userId: user.id } });
}
// ✅ Use relations
const users = await userRepository.find({
relations: ['posts', 'profile']
});
// ✅ Query Builder for complex queries
const users = await userRepository
.createQueryBuilder('user')
.leftJoinAndSelect('user.posts', 'post')
.where('user.created_at > :date', { date: '2024-01-01' })
.andWhere('post.status = :status', { status: 'published' })
.getMany();
// Use select to limit columns
const users = await userRepository
.createQueryBuilder('user')
.select(['user.id', 'user.name', 'user.email'])
.getMany();
8. Performance Monitoring
PostgreSQL:
-- Top slow queries
SELECT
query,
calls,
total_time,
mean_time,
max_time
FROM pg_stat_statements
ORDER BY mean_time DESC
LIMIT 10;
-- Table bloat
SELECT
schemaname,
tablename,
pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size(schemaname||'.'||tablename)) AS size,
pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size(schemaname||'.'||tablename) - pg_relation_size(schemaname||'.'||tablename)) AS external_size
FROM pg_tables
ORDER BY pg_total_relation_size(schemaname||'.'||tablename) DESC
LIMIT 10;
MySQL:
-- Slow queries
SELECT * FROM mysql.slow_log
ORDER BY query_time DESC
LIMIT 10;
-- Table statistics
SELECT
TABLE_NAME,
TABLE_ROWS,
DATA_LENGTH,
INDEX_LENGTH,
DATA_FREE
FROM information_schema.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = 'your_database'
ORDER BY DATA_LENGTH DESC;
Best Practices
DO:
- Add indexes on foreign keys
- Use EXPLAIN regularly
- Monitor slow query log
- Use connection pooling
- Implement pagination
- Cache frequent queries
- Use appropriate data types
- Regular VACUUM/ANALYZE
DON'T:
- Use SELECT *
- Over-index (slows writes)
- Use LIKE with leading %
- Use functions on indexed columns
- Ignore N+1 queries
- Load entire tables
- Skip query analysis
- Use OR excessively
Checklist
- Slow queries identified
- EXPLAIN plans analyzed
- Indexes added where needed
- N+1 queries fixed
- Query rewrites implemented
- Monitoring setup
- Connection pool configured
- Caching implemented
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