Index Optimizer

Index Optimizer

When to activate

When queries are slow due to sequential scans on large tables, when adding new features that change query patterns, during quarterly performance reviews, or when unused indexes are consuming disk/memory.

When NOT to use

Skip for tables under 10,000 rows (sequential scans are faster). Skip if queries already use index-only scans.

Instructions

1. Identify the slow queries from pg_stat_statements or slow query log.
2. Run EXPLAIN ANALYZE on each to find sequential scans on large tables.
3. Check existing indexes with pg_indexes and pg_stat_user_indexes.
4. For each sequential scan: analyze the WHERE/JOIN/ORDER BY columns and recommend a composite index.
5. Check for unused indexes (scans = 0 over 30+ days) and recommend removal.
6. Check for duplicate indexes (same columns, different names).
7. Recommend REINDEX if index bloat exceeds 30%.

Example

Scenario: orders table, 12M rows, queries filtering by customer_id and status.

INDEX ANALYSIS: orders (12M rows)

Current indexes:
  orders_pkey (id)                    — 2.1M scans ✅
  orders_created_at_idx (created_at)  — 0 scans ❌ UNUSED (47 days)
  orders_email_idx (email)            — 180K scans ✅

Sequential scans detected:
  WHERE customer_id = $1 AND status = $2  → 450ms avg (seq scan)

Recommendations:
  CREATE INDEX orders_customer_status_idx ON orders (customer_id, status);
  -- Expected improvement: 450ms → 2ms

  DROP INDEX orders_created_at_idx;
  -- Saves 1.2GB disk, reduces write amplification

  REINDEX INDEX orders_pkey;
  -- 34% bloat detected, estimated 400MB savings