# Fix the slowest query on one endpoint

The query that dominates one endpoint's latency, fixed with the plan captured before and after.

Category: Performance and cost
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/fix-the-slowest-query
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Reduce the latency of the slowest query behind one endpoint.

## Acceptance criteria

- The plan and timing are captured before and after
- The fix is an index, a rewrite, or fewer round trips rather than a cache over the top
- Results are identical, proven by a test
- The improvement is measured on production-like data volumes

## What lands as proof

Two query plans and two timings, taken against realistic data rather than a small development dataset.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Fix the slow query behind {endpoint}

Description: Reduce the latency of the slowest query behind one endpoint.

Acceptance criteria:
- The plan and timing are captured before and after
- The fix is an index, a rewrite, or fewer round trips rather than a cache over the top
- Results are identical, proven by a test
- The improvement is measured on production-like data volumes

Before you create the issue, check this repository's slow-query log and replace {endpoint} with the endpoint behind the worst offender.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: reduce the latency of the slowest query behind one endpoint. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means query plan and timing captured before and after, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

The run stops once the plan is written. Somebody reads the approach and approves it before any code exists, which is the cheapest moment to redirect the work.