# ankane/dexter

The automatic indexer for Postgres

Repository: https://github.com/ankane/dexter
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ankane-dexter
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-15T21:08:13+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3357, "days_push": 18, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2092, forks 58 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:12.535413+00:00)

## What it is
Dexter is an automatic index advisor for Postgres that analyzes slow queries from sources like pg_stat_statements, live activity, or log files, and recommends indexes using hypothetical indexes via HypoPG. It is a Ruby command line tool that can optionally create the recommended indexes with CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY.

## Use cases
- find missing indexes for slow postgres queries
- automatically recommend indexes from pg_stat_statements
- analyze slow queries from postgres log files
- test hypothetical indexes without building them
- create recommended indexes concurrently on a live database

## When to choose
- you run Postgres and want data-driven index recommendations
- you have pg_stat_statements or slow query logs available
- you want to safely preview index suggestions before applying them

## When to avoid
- you use a database other than Postgres
- you cannot install extensions like HypoPG on the database server
- you need automatic tuning beyond indexes (e.g., query rewrites or config tuning)

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: database, developer-tools, cli
- domain: databases, developer-tools, performance
- platform: cli
- tags: postgresql, index-advisor, hypopg, query-optimization, ruby, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- ankane/dexter (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:12.535413+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:55:30.075722+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ankane/dexter (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:12.535413+00:00, sha ebacb99b766e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.