# PgHero — Performance Dashboard for PostgreSQL

> PgHero is an open-source web dashboard that gives you instant visibility into PostgreSQL performance, including slow queries, missing indexes, unused indexes, and connection stats.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# PgHero — Performance Dashboard for PostgreSQL

## Quick Use
```bash
# Docker quickstart
docker run -ti -e DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/dbname -p 8080:8080 ankane/pghero

# Or as a Rails engine
# Gemfile: gem "pghero"
# routes.rb: mount PgHero::Engine, at: "pghero"
```

## Introduction
PgHero surfaces the performance data that PostgreSQL already collects but buries in system views. It turns pg_stat_statements, index usage stats, and connection metrics into a clean web dashboard that helps you find and fix database bottlenecks quickly.

## What PgHero Does
- Ranks queries by total time, calls, and average duration from pg_stat_statements
- Identifies missing indexes by analyzing sequential scans on large tables
- Detects unused and duplicate indexes that waste disk and slow writes
- Monitors active connections, long-running queries, and replication lag
- Provides space usage breakdowns per table and index

## Architecture Overview
PgHero is a Ruby application (usable as a standalone Docker image or a mountable Rails engine) that reads directly from PostgreSQL system catalogs and pg_stat_statements. It requires no additional agents or extensions beyond pg_stat_statements, which ships with PostgreSQL. The dashboard is read-only and adds negligible load.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Enable pg_stat_statements in postgresql.conf (shared_preload_libraries)
- Set DATABASE_URL as an environment variable pointing to your PostgreSQL instance
- Deploy via Docker, Linux packages, or embed as a Rails engine
- Supports monitoring multiple databases from a single dashboard
- Optional basic auth or integration with your application's authentication

## Key Features
- Zero-agent setup — reads from built-in PostgreSQL stats views
- Query analysis with suggested indexes for the slowest queries
- Automatic detection of index bloat, unused indexes, and duplicates
- Connection and replication monitoring out of the box
- Supports PostgreSQL, Amazon RDS, and Aurora

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **pgAdmin** — general-purpose admin tool; PgHero focuses specifically on performance insights
- **pg_stat_monitor (Percona)** — enhanced stats extension; PgHero provides a web UI on top of standard pg_stat_statements
- **Datadog/New Relic** — commercial APM with deep Postgres integration; PgHero is free and self-hosted
- **pganalyze** — commercial SaaS for query optimization; PgHero covers core use cases at no cost

## FAQ
**Q: Does PgHero modify my database?**
A: No. It only reads from system views and pg_stat_statements. It never modifies data or schema.

**Q: Can I monitor Amazon RDS instances?**
A: Yes. Enable pg_stat_statements via an RDS parameter group and point PgHero at the RDS endpoint.

**Q: Does it support PostgreSQL on all versions?**
A: PgHero supports PostgreSQL 10 and newer.

**Q: Can I use it without Ruby or Rails?**
A: Yes. The Docker image runs standalone with no Ruby knowledge required.

## Sources
- https://github.com/ankane/pghero
- https://github.com/ankane/pghero/blob/master/guides/Docker.md

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-f5441ed2
Author: Script Depot