Debug Mode and Troubleshooting

ChameleonDB’s Debug mode provides visibility into generated SQL queries, execution times, and row counts — essential for performance optimization and troubleshooting.

Debug Mode Overview

Debug mode outputs:

Generated SQL — Exact query sent to PostgreSQL
Execution time — Query duration in milliseconds
Row count — Number of rows returned
Entity name — Which entity was queried

Debug mode only affects query visibility — it does NOT change query execution or results.

Enabling Debug Mode

Add .Debug() to any query chain:

result, err := eng.Query("User").
    Filter("email", "like", "ana").
    Debug().  // ← Enable debug output
    Execute(ctx)

Console output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email LIKE '%ana%'

[TRACE] Query on User: 2.3ms, 1 rows

Debug Output Examples

Simple Query

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Select("id", "name", "email").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT id, name, email FROM users

[TRACE] Query on User: 1.8ms, 5 rows

Query with Filters

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Filter("age", "gt", 25).
    Filter("email", "like", "gmail").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users 
WHERE age > 25 
AND email LIKE '%gmail%'

[TRACE] Query on User: 3.1ms, 12 rows

Query with Relations (Eager Loading)

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Include("posts").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users

[SQL] Query Post (eager load)
SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author_id IN (...)

[TRACE] Query on User: 2.1ms, 3 rows
[TRACE] Eager load posts: 4.5ms, 15 rows

Query with Field Projection

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Select("id", "name").
    Filter("created_at", "gt", "2026-01-01").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT id, name FROM users 
WHERE created_at > '2026-01-01'

[TRACE] Query on User: 1.5ms, 8 rows

Debugging Mutations

Debug mode also works with Insert, Update, and Delete operations:

Insert with Debug

result, err := eng.Insert("User").
    Set("email", "ana@mail.com").
    Set("name", "Ana Garcia").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Insert User
INSERT INTO users (email, name) 
VALUES ('ana@mail.com', 'Ana Garcia') 
RETURNING id

[TRACE] Insert on User: 3.2ms, 1 row inserted

Update with Debug

result, err := eng.Update("User").
    Filter("id", "eq", userID).
    Set("name", "Ana Martinez").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Update User
UPDATE users 
SET name = 'Ana Martinez' 
WHERE id = '550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000'

[TRACE] Update on User: 2.8ms, 1 row updated

Delete with Debug

result, err := eng.Delete("User").
    Filter("id", "eq", userID).
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Delete User
DELETE FROM users 
WHERE id = '550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000'

[TRACE] Delete on User: 1.9ms, 1 row deleted

Performance Troubleshooting

Identifying Slow Queries

Use Debug mode to find performance bottlenecks:

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Include("posts").
    Include("comments").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users

[SQL] Query Post (eager load)
SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author_id IN (...)

[SQL] Query Comment (eager load)
SELECT * FROM comments WHERE user_id IN (...)

[TRACE] Query on User: 2.1ms, 10 rows
[TRACE] Eager load posts: 45.3ms, 500 rows  ← Slow!
[TRACE] Eager load comments: 3.2ms, 50 rows

If eager loading is slow, consider:

Adding database indexes
Using field projection (.Select()) to reduce data transfer
Paginating large result sets

Checking Generated SQL

Verify that ChameleonDB generates efficient SQL:

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Filter("age", "gt", 25).
    Filter("email", "like", "gmail").
    Select("id", "name").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Expected efficient SQL:

SELECT id, name FROM users 
WHERE age > 25 
AND email LIKE '%gmail%'

Good signs:

WHERE clauses are combined with AND
Only requested fields are selected
No unnecessary JOINs

Analyzing N+1 Query Problems

Debug mode helps identify N+1 query issues:

// ❌ BAD: N+1 queries (without Include)
users, _ := eng.Query("User").Debug().Execute(ctx)
for _, user := range users.Rows {
    // Each iteration triggers a separate query!
    posts, _ := eng.Query("Post").
        Filter("author_id", "eq", user["id"]).
        Debug().
        Execute(ctx)
}

// Output shows 1 + N queries:
// [SQL] Query User (1 query)
// [SQL] Query Post (1st user)
// [SQL] Query Post (2nd user)
// [SQL] Query Post (3rd user)
// ... (N more queries)

// ✅ GOOD: Single query with eager loading
users, _ := eng.Query("User").
    Include("posts").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

// Output shows 2 queries total:
// [SQL] Query User
// [SQL] Query Post (eager load) ← Fetches all posts at once

Debugging Common Issues

No Rows Returned

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Filter("email", "eq", "nonexistent@mail.com").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'nonexistent@mail.com'

[TRACE] Query on User: 1.2ms, 0 rows  ← No matches

Filter Not Working

Check the generated SQL to verify filter logic:

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Filter("age", "gte", 18).  // Note: "gte" not "ge"
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users WHERE age >= 18  ← Verify operator

[TRACE] Query on User: 1.8ms, 42 rows

Relation Not Loading

users, err := eng.Query("User").
    Include("posts").
    Debug().
    Execute(ctx)

Output:

[SQL] Query User
SELECT * FROM users

[SQL] Query Post (eager load)
SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author_id IN (...)  ← Check IDs

[TRACE] Query on User: 2.1ms, 5 rows
[TRACE] Eager load posts: 3.5ms, 0 rows  ← No posts found

CLI Debugging Commands

Verify Schema Integrity

Check for vault tampering:

chameleon verify

Output:

🔍 Verifying Schema Vault integrity...
   ✓ v001: hash verified
   ✓ v002: hash verified
✅ All versions verified

Check Migration Status

See if migrations are pending:

chameleon status

Output:

Schema:
  Current version:  v002
  Status:          ⚠️  Changes detected

Pending changes:
  + Added field: User.age (int)

View Version History

Debug schema evolution:

chameleon journal schema

Output:

📖 Schema Version History

v002 (current) ✓
├─ Hash: 7d4e1c2a...
├─ Date: 2026-02-20 15:45:00
├─ Changes: Added age field to User
└─ Parent: v001

v001
├─ Hash: 3f2a8b9c...
├─ Date: 2026-02-20 10:30:00
├─ Changes: Initial schema
└─ Parent: none

Validate Schema

Check for syntax errors:

chameleon validate

Output:

✅ Schema validated successfully
   Entities: 2 (User, Post)
   Relations: 2

Debug Mode Best Practices

Use Debug during development

Enable Debug mode for all queries during active development:

eng.Query("User").Debug().Execute(ctx)

Remove Debug in production

Debug output adds overhead — remove before deploying:

// Development
eng.Query("User").Debug().Execute(ctx)

// Production
eng.Query("User").Execute(ctx)

Check execution times

Use TRACE output to identify slow queries:

[TRACE] Query on User: 245.3ms, 1000 rows  ← Needs optimization

Verify eager loading

Ensure Include() generates efficient SQL:

[SQL] Query Post (eager load)
SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author_id IN (...)  ← Good

Compare with EXPLAIN ANALYZE

Use PostgreSQL’s EXPLAIN for deeper analysis:

EXPLAIN ANALYZE SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > 25;

Troubleshooting Checklist

Query Returns No Results

Enable Debug mode

eng.Query("User").Filter("email", "eq", "test@mail.com").Debug().Execute(ctx)

Check generated SQL

Verify the WHERE clause is correct:

[SQL] SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'test@mail.com'

Run SQL directly in database

psql $DATABASE_URL -c "SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = 'test@mail.com';"

Check for typos in entity/field names

// Wrong
eng.Query("Users")  // Entity is "User" not "Users"

// Correct
eng.Query("User")

Slow Query Performance

Enable Debug to measure time

eng.Query("User").Include("posts").Debug().Execute(ctx)

Identify slow operations

[TRACE] Query on User: 2.1ms, 10 rows
[TRACE] Eager load posts: 450.3ms, 5000 rows  ← Problem here

Add database indexes

CREATE INDEX idx_posts_author_id ON posts(author_id);

Use field projection

Only select needed fields:

eng.Query("Post").Select("id", "title").Execute(ctx)

Migration Fails

Check mode restrictions

chameleon config get mode

If readonly, upgrade:

chameleon config set mode=standard

Verify integrity

chameleon verify

Check DATABASE_URL

echo $DATABASE_URL

View detailed error

chameleon migrate --apply --verbose

Next Steps

Query Guide

Learn advanced query patterns

Migration Workflow

Master the migration system

Performance

Optimize query performance

Architecture

Understand system internals

Get Started

Core Concepts

Schema Language

Query System

Mutations

Guides

Security

​Debug Mode Overview

​Enabling Debug Mode

​Debug Output Examples

​Simple Query

​Query with Filters

​Query with Relations (Eager Loading)

​Query with Field Projection

​Debugging Mutations

​Insert with Debug

​Update with Debug

​Delete with Debug

​Performance Troubleshooting

​Identifying Slow Queries

​Checking Generated SQL

​Analyzing N+1 Query Problems

​Debugging Common Issues

​No Rows Returned

​Filter Not Working

​Relation Not Loading

​CLI Debugging Commands

​Verify Schema Integrity

​Check Migration Status

​View Version History

​Validate Schema

​Debug Mode Best Practices

​Troubleshooting Checklist

​Query Returns No Results

​Slow Query Performance

​Migration Fails

​Next Steps

Query Guide

Migration Workflow

Performance

Architecture

Debug Mode Overview

Enabling Debug Mode

Debug Output Examples

Simple Query

Query with Filters

Query with Relations (Eager Loading)

Query with Field Projection

Debugging Mutations

Insert with Debug

Update with Debug

Delete with Debug

Performance Troubleshooting

Identifying Slow Queries

Checking Generated SQL

Analyzing N+1 Query Problems

Debugging Common Issues

No Rows Returned

Filter Not Working

Relation Not Loading

CLI Debugging Commands

Verify Schema Integrity

Check Migration Status

View Version History

Validate Schema

Debug Mode Best Practices

Troubleshooting Checklist

Query Returns No Results

Slow Query Performance

Migration Fails

Next Steps