I realized I could really use something like this in my Phoenix project:
I asked Claude 4 Sonnet if a port exists - it said no, and gave me this rundown:
Summary
Great question! Active Record Doctor is indeed fantastic for Rails apps. Here’s what exists in the Phoenix/Elixir and PostgreSQL worlds:
1. Phoenix/Elixir World
Unfortunately, there’s no direct equivalent to Active Record Doctor for Phoenix/Ecto yet. However, there are some tools that provide partial coverage:
Ecto-specific Tools:
- Ecto.Linter - Basic linting for Ecto schemas and queries (though less active)
- Boundary - Architectural analysis (not database-focused)
- Credo - Code analysis that includes some database-related checks
What’s Missing:
The Phoenix ecosystem could really use a tool that checks for:
- Missing foreign key constraints
- Missing indexes on associations
- Schema/validation mismatches
- Unused indexes
- Missing presence validations for NOT NULL columns
This would be a great open-source opportunity for someone to build an “Ecto Doctor” equivalent!
2. PostgreSQL Level
There are several excellent PostgreSQL-native tools:
Schema Analysis:
- pg_insights - Queries to detect schema issues
- pgbadger - Log analyzer (performance-focused)
- pg_stat_statements - Built-in query performance tracking
Database Health:
- pg_activity - Real-time activity monitoring
- pg_top - Activity monitoring
- PostgREST - Can expose schema information via API
Custom Queries:
You can write PostgreSQL queries to detect many issues Active Record Doctor finds:
-- Find tables without primary keys
SELECT schemaname, tablename
FROM pg_tables
WHERE schemaname = 'public'
AND tablename NOT IN (
SELECT tablename
FROM pg_indexes
WHERE indexname LIKE '%_pkey'
);
-- Find foreign keys without indexes
SELECT conname, conrelid::regclass, confrelid::regclass
FROM pg_constraint
WHERE contype = 'f'
AND NOT EXISTS (
SELECT 1 FROM pg_index
WHERE indrelid = conrelid
AND indkey[0] = conkey[1]
);
Recommendation
For your Phoenix app, I’d suggest:
- Create custom Mix tasks that run PostgreSQL queries to detect common issues
- Build a simple “Ecto Doctor” - this could be a valuable contribution to the community
- Use PostgreSQL-native tools for performance and schema analysis
Given your appreciation for C.J. Date’s rigorous approach to database design, you might actually enjoy building such a tool - it would enforce good relational practices in the Elixir ecosystem!
