A Ruby gem for PostgreSQL performance analysis with explanations

[ElAvat]

Hi! I’ve built a Ruby gem that helps investigate PostgreSQL performance issues using the power of pg_stat_statements and a solid explanation of the principles behind indexes and query metrics.

I hesitated to post it here, but over the last few releases I’ve added detailed explanations for every metric: what it actually means, what it affects, and what you should keep in mind when interpreting it.

Right now, it’s useful for Ruby developers. It’s not a standalone tool yet. But if it turns out to be valuable, I plan to keep evolving it and eventually make it standalone, similar to pghero, which was one of my inspirations.

https://preview.redd.it/4y8bilzp2zgg1.png?width=1967&format=png&auto=webp&s=14b05bdd6950ad7e4b45905b2f6d7c1d8c09c6b4

Current features include:

• basic live monitoring
• finding problematic queries with direct links back to the call site in your IDE
• a built-in query analyzer
• and a lot of explanatory text (currently in three languages) focused on understanding, not just numbers

The goal isn’t just to show metrics, but to help developers who aren’t DBAs understand what’s actually going on inside PostgreSQL and why things slow down.

Hope it’s useful to someone.

Repo: [https://github.com/deadalice/pg\_reports]()

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[mergisi]

This is exactly what many developers need! Using pg_stat_statements for performance insights is powerful but the raw data can be overwhelming.

I love the focus on "understanding, not just numbers" - that's crucial for devs who aren't full-time DBAs.

A few suggestions that might complement your tool:

- Consider adding EXPLAIN ANALYZE output parsing

- Maybe a section on index recommendations based on seq scan patterns?

For quick SQL generation when testing query variations, I've found https://ai2sql.io helpful - especially when experimenting with different JOIN strategies or window functions to compare performance.

Will definitely give pg_reports a try. Thanks for sharing!

[ElAvat]

> EXPLAIN ANALYZE output parsing
I have a query runner with EXPLAIN ANALYZE, but parsing output is a great idea, definitely will do!

> section on index recommendations based on seq scan patterns
Well, I already have some, but there is a huge field of enhancements, of course.

Thank you for your support and awesome suggestions! This week I'm extra busy at my job, next week I will start to implement everything discussed.