SQL Performance Optimization Assistant

Expert SQL performance optimization for ${selection} (or entire project if no selection). Focus on universal SQL optimization techniques that work across MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and other SQL databases.

🎯 Core Optimization Areas

Query Performance Analysis

-- ❌ BAD: Inefficient query patterns
SELECT * FROM orders o
WHERE YEAR(o.created_at) = 2024
  AND o.customer_id IN (
      SELECT c.id FROM customers c WHERE c.status = 'active'
  );

-- ✅ GOOD: Optimized query with proper indexing hints
SELECT o.id, o.customer_id, o.total_amount, o.created_at
FROM orders o
INNER JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
WHERE o.created_at >= '2024-01-01' 
  AND o.created_at < '2025-01-01'
  AND c.status = 'active';

-- Required indexes:
-- CREATE INDEX idx_orders_created_at ON orders(created_at);
-- CREATE INDEX idx_customers_status ON customers(status);
-- CREATE INDEX idx_orders_customer_id ON orders(customer_id);

Index Strategy Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Poor indexing strategy
CREATE INDEX idx_user_data ON users(email, first_name, last_name, created_at);

-- ✅ GOOD: Optimized composite indexing
-- For queries filtering by email first, then sorting by created_at
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email_created ON users(email, created_at);

-- For full-text name searches
CREATE INDEX idx_users_name ON users(last_name, first_name);

-- For user status queries
CREATE INDEX idx_users_status_created ON users(status, created_at)
WHERE status IS NOT NULL;

Subquery Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Correlated subquery
SELECT p.product_name, p.price
FROM products p
WHERE p.price > (
    SELECT AVG(price) 
    FROM products p2 
    WHERE p2.category_id = p.category_id
);

-- ✅ GOOD: Window function approach
SELECT product_name, price
FROM (
    SELECT product_name, price,
           AVG(price) OVER (PARTITION BY category_id) as avg_category_price
    FROM products
) ranked
WHERE price > avg_category_price;

📊 Performance Tuning Techniques

JOIN Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Inefficient JOIN order and conditions
SELECT o.*, c.name, p.product_name
FROM orders o
LEFT JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
LEFT JOIN order_items oi ON o.id = oi.order_id
LEFT JOIN products p ON oi.product_id = p.id
WHERE o.created_at > '2024-01-01'
  AND c.status = 'active';

-- ✅ GOOD: Optimized JOIN with filtering
SELECT o.id, o.total_amount, c.name, p.product_name
FROM orders o
INNER JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id AND c.status = 'active'
INNER JOIN order_items oi ON o.id = oi.order_id
INNER JOIN products p ON oi.product_id = p.id
WHERE o.created_at > '2024-01-01';

Pagination Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: OFFSET-based pagination (slow for large offsets)
SELECT * FROM products 
ORDER BY created_at DESC 
LIMIT 20 OFFSET 10000;

-- ✅ GOOD: Cursor-based pagination
SELECT * FROM products 
WHERE created_at < '2024-06-15 10:30:00'
ORDER BY created_at DESC 
LIMIT 20;

-- Or using ID-based cursor
SELECT * FROM products 
WHERE id > 1000
ORDER BY id 
LIMIT 20;

Aggregation Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Multiple separate aggregation queries
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending';
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE status = 'shipped';
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE status = 'delivered';

-- ✅ GOOD: Single query with conditional aggregation
SELECT 
    COUNT(CASE WHEN status = 'pending' THEN 1 END) as pending_count,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN status = 'shipped' THEN 1 END) as shipped_count,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN status = 'delivered' THEN 1 END) as delivered_count
FROM orders;

🔍 Query Anti-Patterns

SELECT Performance Issues

-- ❌ BAD: SELECT * anti-pattern
SELECT * FROM large_table lt
JOIN another_table at ON lt.id = at.ref_id;

-- ✅ GOOD: Explicit column selection
SELECT lt.id, lt.name, at.value
FROM large_table lt
JOIN another_table at ON lt.id = at.ref_id;

WHERE Clause Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Function calls in WHERE clause
SELECT * FROM orders 
WHERE UPPER(customer_email) = '[email protected]';

-- ✅ GOOD: Index-friendly WHERE clause
SELECT * FROM orders 
WHERE customer_email = '[email protected]';
-- Consider: CREATE INDEX idx_orders_email ON orders(LOWER(customer_email));

OR vs UNION Optimization

-- ❌ BAD: Complex OR conditions
SELECT * FROM products 
WHERE (category = 'electronics' AND price < 1000)
   OR (category = 'books' AND price < 50);

-- ✅ GOOD: UNION approach for better optimization
SELECT * FROM products WHERE category = 'electronics' AND price < 1000
UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM products WHERE category = 
how to use sql-optimization
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use sql-optimization on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add sql-optimization
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill sql-optimizationcopy
The skills CLI fetches sql-optimization from GitHub repository github/awesome-copilot and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/sql-optimization
Reload or restart Cursor to activate sql-optimization. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /sql-optimization) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?