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supabase/apps/docs/content/guides/platform/performance.mdx
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Miranda Limonczenko 976e7338bc docs: restructure the connecting to Postgres guide by information type (#49869)
## I have read the
[CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/supabase/supabase/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
file.

YES

## What kind of change does this PR introduce?

Docs update. Restructure, mostly moved lines, plus inbound anchor fixes.

## What is the current behavior?

The page states the same routing decision four times and never states an
answer:

- Intro bullets
- A matrix table
- A "How to choose the right connection method?" section
- A Mermaid flowchart

An agent asked "I'm deploying to Vercel serverless functions, set up the
database connection" has to synthesize an answer from four partial,
inconsistent restatements. Context, procedure, and reference material
are interleaved throughout, so background reading interrupts the action
path.

The page is also too long at 2,883 words, and grouping alone doesn't fix
that. Explainer and reference material need their own page, and the
troubleshooting group belongs in troubleshooting entries.

16 of the 19 inbound anchor links to this page are already broken on
`master`, before any restructure: `#direct-connections`,
`#shared-pooler`, `#connection-pooler`, `#how-connection-pooling-works`,
`#quick-summary`, `#connection-pool`, and `#connecting-with-drizzle`.

Groundwork for [DOCS-1312](https://linear.app/supabase/issue/DOCS-1312).
The issue stays open until the paired eval is re-run.

## What is the new behavior?

Group the guide into a decision, a procedure, context, reference, and
troubleshooting, per CONTRIBUTING § Guides on mixed information types.
Review with `git diff --color-moved=zebra`.

- Lead with "Which connection method do you use?", a decision table
keyed on where your code runs. Section navigation sits directly below
the intro.
- Collect every connection string under "Get your connection string",
with the shared Connect dialog steps stated once as a procedure.
- Move the endpoint, port, pool size, and connection limit material into
"Connection reference". These were FAQ questions.
- Split the page. The guide keeps the decision, the connection strings,
and the quickstarts, at 1,180 words and three paths. A new child page,
Connection pooling and limits, carries how pooling works, pool size,
connection limits, and monitoring.
- Move the endpoint and IP version table up beside the connection
strings it explains.
- Replace the troubleshooting group with two new troubleshooting
entries, `tenant-or-user-not-found` and
`fatal-password-authentication-failed`, plus links to the existing
entries. The existing connection-refused entry is stronger than what was
here: it names the IP ban and gives the unban procedure.
- Cut the pool size worked example. It said a pool size of 30 is a
shared ceiling across session and transaction mode, while the Supavisor
FAQ and the terminology entry both say pool size is per user, database,
and mode combination. That text came from `master`, so the contradiction
is pre-existing. Link the FAQ as the authority rather than picking a
side.
- Drop the duplicate `pg_stat_ssl` query, which already exists in
`connection-management.mdx` and
`monitor-supavisor-postgres-connections.mdx`, both with column tables
this page lacked.
- Add the subsection to the navigation, which also adopts
`connecting-to-postgres/serverless-drivers`. That page existed on disk
and was referenced nowhere in the navigation constants.
- Delete the decision flowchart. It was the fourth restatement of the
decision table, and its logic was broken: `Persistent Backend` had two
unconditional edges into decision nodes that each had one unlabeled
output, so neither node decided anything.
- Fix every broken inbound anchor, and pin stable anchors on the
headings they target. This now includes six files in `apps/www` that no
earlier pass in this stack checked, most of which were already broken on
`master`.
- Repoint the Studio Connect sheet's Drizzle link at the Drizzle guide.
It pointed at a heading this page hasn't had for some time.
- Serverless drivers: state the guide's intent, give the three runtimes
parallel structure, and link the transaction mode prepared statements
constraint. That page never mentioned the constraint that most affects
serverless connections.

## Additional context

PR 2 of 2. Base is #49868, rebased on its review feedback commit.

Three of the 13 files are in `apps/studio`, so this runs the Studio unit
tests, build, and lint ratchet. They are link string changes only. The
ESLint warning count is unchanged at 1 on the touched files, so the
ratchet holds.

## Manual testing

1. Open [Connect to your
database](https://docs-git-docs-connecting-to-postgres-structure-supabase.vercel.app/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres)
on the deploy preview.
2. Check the table of contents. The top level reads: Which connection
method do you use?, Get your connection string, Quickstarts, Related.
The intro lists three paths.
3. Open
[Reports](https://docs-git-docs-connecting-to-postgres-structure-supabase.vercel.app/docs/guides/monitoring-and-debugging/reports)
and follow "Implement connection pooling" under Disk IO. It lands on the
decision table.
4. Open [Serverless
drivers](https://docs-git-docs-connecting-to-postgres-structure-supabase.vercel.app/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres/serverless-drivers).
The intro links the transaction mode prepared statements constraint.
5. Check the sidebar. Connecting to your database expands to Connection
pooling and limits and Serverless drivers.
6. Open [Connection pooling and
limits](https://docs-git-docs-connecting-to-postgres-structure-supabase.vercel.app/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres/pooling-and-limits).
Pool size states the setting and links the Supavisor FAQ, with no worked
example.
7. Open [Tenant or user not
found](https://docs-git-docs-connecting-to-postgres-structure-supabase.vercel.app/docs/guides/troubleshooting/tenant-or-user-not-found).



<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **New Features**
* Added a dedicated guide covering connection pooling, limits,
configuration, and monitoring.
* Added troubleshooting guides for password authentication failures and
shared pooler tenant or user errors.
* Expanded connection guidance with method selection, endpoints, IP
versions, and serverless driver configuration.

* **Documentation**
  * Reorganized database connection documentation and navigation.
* Updated related links throughout the documentation to current
connection and pooling guidance.
* Improved guidance for pooler modes, connection strings, and supported
deployment environments.
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
2026-09-09 16:21:41 -07:00

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---
id: 'performance'
title: 'Performance Tuning'
description: 'Getting the best results out of your Supabase project'
---
The Supabase platform automatically optimizes your Postgres database to take advantage of the compute resources of the plan your project is on. However, these optimizations are based on assumptions about the type of workflow the project is being used for, and it is likely that better results can be obtained by tuning the database for your particular workflow.
## Examining query performance
Unoptimized queries are a major cause of poor database performance. To analyze the performance of your queries, see [Inspect the database](/docs/guides/observability/inspect).
## Optimizing the number of connections
The default connection limits for Postgres and Supavisor is based on your compute size. See the default connection numbers in the [Compute Add-ons](/docs/guides/platform/compute-and-disk) section.
If the number of connections is insufficient, you will receive the following error upon connecting to the DB:
```shell
$ psql -U postgres -h ...
FATAL: remaining connection slots are reserved for non-replication superuser connections
```
In such a scenario, you can consider:
- [upgrading to a larger compute add-on](/dashboard/project/_/settings/infrastructure)
- configuring your clients to use fewer connections
- manually configuring the database for a higher number of connections
### Configuring clients to use fewer connections
You can use the [pg_stat_activity](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/monitoring-stats.html#MONITORING-PG-STAT-ACTIVITY-VIEW) view to debug which clients are holding open connections on your DB. `pg_stat_activity` only exposes information on direct connections to the database. Information on the number of connections to Supavisor is available [via the metrics endpoint](../telemetry/metrics).
Depending on the clients involved, you might be able to configure them to work with fewer connections (e.g. by imposing a limit on the maximum number of connections they're allowed to use), or shift specific workloads to connect via [Supavisor](/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres/pooling-and-limits#shared-pooler) instead. Transient workflows, which can scale up and down rapidly in response to traffic (e.g. serverless functions), can especially benefit from using a connection pooler rather than connecting to the DB directly.
### Allowing higher number of connections
You can configure Postgres connection limit among other parameters by using [Custom Postgres Config](/docs/guides/database/custom-postgres-config).
### Enterprise
[Contact us](https://forms.supabase.com/enterprise) if you need help tuning your database for your specific workflow.